First Encounter

Last year, Rob Visser and I went to see the arrivals of the Four Day Marches, an event that takes place in Nijmegen, The Netherlands every year. Originally from military training marches, it is a walk spanning four days at a distance of 50 Kilometers a day. 200 Kilometers in all.

There were bands performing, DJ cars blasting the latest tunes. There was also a fascinating array of costumes, reaffirming the fact that Dutch people dress up when the slightest opportunity presents itself.

There were also military personnel from various countries as well as company representatives; Albert Heijn, a Dutch supermarket chain, was there with their banners, the ING bank, the National post office and many others.

People of all ages and all walks of life were present. I couldn't help but think of a similar ordeal somewhere much farther away under more enduring circumstances.

From the mid fifties, Southern Sudanese have been at war, a very long and bloody war that left millions of its people killed, displaced and forced to seek greener pastures. In a land with zero infrastructure, many walked for days, weeks, months under dire circumstances. They walked to Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Central African Republic, Congo and Sudan. Many pershed in the war, some were born on the way at the mercy of the elements.

My father was in the army at the time. He walked from Upper Nile through the swamps of the Sudd and into Congo, trading ivory for arms, arms that can be used to fight this war of independence that we were finally able to achieve in 2011!

I want to walk for all who were forced to to walk as a result of this war. I train and when I walk, I want to remember them and the determination within them to find a better place for them and their loved ones.

I did not walk like my people did, I was lucky enough to have been spared this ordeal, but as I walk and think of them including those forced to walk again in this recent conflict, I will be blogging my journey. The sights and scenes, random in their occurrence, beautifully in their appearance nourish my vision every step of the way, to share with you.