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Basketball giant brings joy
Yasser Arman
On July 20, 2024, a historic match, the basketball giants from South Sudan almost snatched a precious victory from the United States, just as they had done before against China.
They truly represent Sudan, Africa and the countries of the Global South, symbols of struggle, the search for a new society and human reconciliation through sport, creativity and culture. What a joyful friendly match that epitomizes the noble spirit of sport in building social connections.
Who told you that the South has nothing to offer the world? Who told you that the story of the South is only about wars, tribal conflicts and complex nation-building issues? These issues are not only relevant to the South, but also to Africa, the Global South and even the First World, albeit in different contexts and at different times. Who said that malnutrition, lack of adequate healthcare and rural-urban divides would stop Southerners from standing up, embracing the ebony and the sky, making their presence known on global television and liberating basketball from something that only belongs to the First World? Just as Africans have done time and again in various sports; just like Manute Bol, who emerged from the neat and narrow shoes of villages and neglected countryside to the world stage. Manute Bol was a skyscraper and in his footsteps, Luol Deng emerged.
The Nile existed before skyscrapers, and it provided the beginnings of science. Don’t underestimate the Southerners, for they have wisdom in their long struggle for rights. We were there that day. Most Southerners respect their opponents after the war, they don’t hold grudges, they don’t betray, they draw strength from generosity and courage, and they don’t hurt those who are good to them. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule.
I was born and raised in North Sudan, but for me, North and South are just geographical labels that do not always give them deep meaning. In my mind and heart, North and South occupy the same space. Fortunately, I met martyrs who showed me the real image of Southerners, beyond the mental image portrayed by government news agencies and state agency agenda archives. I know what the South is going through, I follow its good and bad news. I have never wavered in my belief that Southerners will one day realize his wishes with his usual tenacity. North and South have another chance to correct past mistakes and historical pains, and they will create a new picture with the Sudanese Union between two sovereign states. Unity comes in many forms; look at how Europe united after the war and retained its countries, kings and republics in the European Union.
Thank you to the Southerners for welcoming thousands of Northerners with open arms, and to the Northern professionals who chose to work in the South, who are valuable moral capital. The poor are the ones who produce truly noble human values, so stick with the poor and you will gain something. The basketball giant brought joy and pride to the Southerners, all Sudanese and Africans. In this turbulent world, sports is a space for love. Thank you to our American brother LeBron James, who praised the young people and the South Sudanese team, acknowledging the difficulty of the hard-earned victory at the last minute.
In sports, the South affirms that marginalized groups have the power to compete with monopolists and that the Global South can bring joy and happiness to people’s souls. This team deserves national attention so that their blood does not flow in the ruthless globalization of sports, which has become a commodity that does not care about national symbols. The South has a bright future in sports, culture and creativity, and culture is more precious and influential than minerals.
Last June, at the Juba Stadium, during Sudan’s victory over South Sudan, I was struck by the love and solidarity that the South showed for a Sudanese team beset by war. I paused to take in the sharp irony of Dengok’s words, and the words of a kind young woman, Masir Stephen, as she celebrated the Sudanese people’s emergence from the sorrow of war with joy in their hearts and new hope. She concluded by adding, “We are one people.” This is true; despite our differences, we share the same deep-rooted values and traditions. We are linked by culture, blood, community, history, geography and interests, forming an indivisible unity that we will strengthen on new foundations, no matter how long it takes. To demean Sudan’s history is to demean its geography.
If one day I leave this world, please know that my love for you is boundless, without borders, passports and immigration stamps. The North and the South will create a new story with their closest neighbors and humanity, seeking brotherhood, love, equality, and a fair and just world without prejudice, injustice or greed. This basketball team has fulfilled one of the dreams of the Southerners. Until the global broadcast stops erasing the memory of South Sudan and mentioning it without the news of war, may South Sudan be blessed on earth and in heaven.
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