Lamentations from the Heart: CRY FOR MY COUNRY

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

Friday, May 6, 2011

CRY FOR MY COUNRY

My country, my motherland,
My home!
No home, like home
East or west
Sudan is the best
The Sudan is a home
Never to be abandoned
Not forgotten
Till death be passed
My longing, my yearning
For thee

The land of our ancestors
The lands of our forefathers
The land of my birth
True home is the Sudan
In despair my live shall ever be.

I left you.
When I was young and strong
In search of peace, security
And freedom.
Shall I ever see you again?
Those beautiful landscapes.
I vividly see mountain Gumbiri
Standing elegantly high
And pompous
As if directing river Motutu
As it reluctantly meanders
In search of Nile
Eating the soil, as it creeps
Leisurely to pour our rich
Soil and precious water
To give life in distance lands
And mountains Imatong boldly
Guarding the borders

While mountains Boma
And upper Tanga vigilantly
Watch in defense.
The swamps bursting its banks
Sounding the battle cry
And throbbing the war drums
The echo evaporating loud
And clear in Zande land
The Nba Mountains explode
With anger
Rejaf confused wondering
Why the Nile flows by unconcerned
The sand dune of Darfur remembering
Ali Dinar supervise the warriors
Hinterland

Oh How I miss you
I wonder how you look now?
Do you really miss me?
As I do
How I long to walk on your soil
To feel
And consoling live and warmth
The freedom of the Sudan
So soothing to me
Till death be passed
My longing, my yearning
For these shall ever be
In despair my love shall be
Till death be passed

Though now
Poverty stricken
I still cling to thee
Your potential resources
Un-exploited there is
Scrambling for thee
Thoughts memories
Animosity is tearing
My heart apart
As days, weeks, months
And years drift by
They set my memories ablaze
My eyes are red and wet
My nose flooded in tears
My mind drowned in thoughts
As I run through the African jungles
To hide no afraid or ashamed of you
You the one I so much love
My land
My soul
My everything
I have nothing to you
But only my love and blood
No matter, how long
I will always be there to defend thee
Fleeing through African jungles
Crossing streams rivers and desert
And mountains where I drunk
And sheltered under our trees
I saw horizons of hope
I came to learn
New tongues and re-discovered
My roots, my distorted identity

Latio Lo’ Jaden
1996

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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

Friday, May 6, 2011

CRY FOR MY COUNRY

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Post a Comment

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