Lamentations from the Heart: A BLACK ARAB

2011 FREEDOM IS COMING SOON !!! 25th DEATH ANNIVERSARY

Saturday, December 18, 2010

A BLACK ARAB

For many centuries
My color despised
My impelled abused
My beliefs mocked
My existence disregarded
My creation held in contempt
I, intimidated
And forcefully converted
As if god was wrong to have created me black.
I. have discarded myself
Our cultures
Our traditions
Our beliefs
Our everything
I am no more, I have no pride!
I talk like an Arab
Dress like an Arab
Smile like an Arab
Walk like an Arab
Laugh like an Arab
Sing like an Arab
Dance like an Arab
Eat like an Arab
Sleep like an Arab
Dream like an Arab
Behave like an Arab
Pray like an Arab
Lie like an Arab
I think I am Arab
I am a black Arab
Induced by despise
Abuse and disregard
So, I sought acceptance
Admittance.
A second class citizen
No
A third class citizen
No
The invisible voice
Kept saying
I mistakenly persuaded
To believe that to alleviate
My status to status of respect
And worth,
I have to think
And believe
I am a back Arab!
But not an Arab!
All in vain
Despite discarding
My old self
And changing
My ego
I am still rejected
Despised mocked
Disregarded and abused
Ya abide
Ya haiwan
Ya kelab
Ya homaar
Ya afew
Ya weyaid
How can we co-exist?
It is our land
They want to grab
The invisible voice said
It is your potential
Resources
They want to loot
Don’t you know?
You fool.
They invisible voice advised.
So doubt pretend he continued
Call a spade a spade
If you are really an Arab
Be an Arab.
If you are African.
Be proud of being an African.
That is the creation of God all mighty,
Men cannot change nature (Biology)
The invisible voice said
Many years later
I re-discovered
My old self and found that
Was converted into a central slave
And being taken for a joy ride.
Then in dreams I remembered
The ancestral message.
“And you shall always remain one to protect and further your ancestral heritage and beliefs of your society and shall not succumb to external ways that will bury you for good the memory of your ancestors and cultural continuity”
I am a black Arab roaming the world seeking for peace.
Peace of mind and to heal my wounded heart.
Latio Lo’Jaden
20/1/1994
Nairobi

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Brief Life History of the late Richard Latio Lo'Jaden

Richard was born on 5^th Novermber 1947 at Round Loka, in the Southern Sudan province of Equatoria in Yei District,to Mr.Aggrey Jaden Luwani and Mama Sarah Rejah Lopuru. He started his early primary schooling at Juba 1 Primary School. Due to the nature of his father’s ‘ work he also had an opportunity to school at Torit, Malakal, Al Fasher(in Dafur).When he finished his primary schooling he was to be admitted to secondary school as he was also one of the top twenty students in Juba but to his surprise he was rejected and instead admitted to a MAHHADS(a Muslim training centre to be taught Islam to become a Muslim teacher for the KHALWAS Islamic schools).The school administration had earlier on tried to convert the whole school system to Muslims by handing each a Koran and giving them Muslim names. But due to the resistance to this and their boycotting of school and until the system was changed.

When he father learnt of this he advised him to stay out of school which he did until he resumed at the age of 15 years.By 1958 Aggrey had fallen out with the Government due to several factors and had been sacked as an Administrator and placed under house arrest. He had also been informed by the then Government that non of his children would be educated lease they been as “hard headed” as he was.

In 1960 Aggrey and his colleagues(the group of eight) decided to flee Sudan and go into exile in Uganda. The following year Aggrey sent for his family who then joined him. Richard then resumed his schooling in Kampala at EDELVALE PRIMARY SCHOOL, he had to start learning from scratch again as he had been schooled in Arabic. So at the age of 15 years he started learning English.

He also attended Kibera Primary School, Eastleigh Secondary School and finally Animal Health Institute (A.H.I.T.I.) Kabete, Kenya where he studied Animal Health and Range Management.Richard worked there after for various organisations,got involved in politics and twice had to be smuggled from Sudan due to death threats.In 1983 he was involved in the formation of the short lived "THE UNITIED MOVEMENT FOR THE TOTAL LIBERATION OF SOUTHERN SUDAN" UMTLSS.Which led to his final exiling to Zaire and susquently to Uganda.

He fell ill in Kampala in October of 1996 and passed away in Mulago Hospital.May the almighty rest his soul in peace.

For a person who learnt English at age 15 he became a profilic reader and writer of the language.

Poems written by the late Richard Latio Lo' Jaden

These are a collection of poems written by the late Richard between 1972 to 1996 during the period of liberation of the South from the yoke of Arab colonialism.There is a collection of almost two hundred poems that will be published on this blog site.
Most of the poems had already been published on the "UPDATE"(SPLM/SPLA quaterly newsletter)produced during the early 1990's .Some of the poems have also been published in the book"An Introduction to the Resistance Poetry" by Korbandy Kodis ,who describes the late's poems as pure Negritude especially the attention he gives in articulation of the black consciousness. Most of the poems are really his lamentations from the heart and mostly describe his inner thoughts and feelings.
Richard had always dreamt of having his poems published in a book form.As a mark of respect and to fulfill his wishes the rest of the family have thought of publishing the poems in a blog form for prosperity.As you will realiase most of the poems were written following real events either in the war zone or where Richard was living then.

Lamentations from the Heart

2011 FREEDOM IS COMING SOON !!! 25th DEATH ANNIVERSARY

Saturday, December 18, 2010

A BLACK ARAB

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