Where pursuit of fairness highlights colour bar

Jeevan Vasagar in Khartoum
Saturday July 17, 2004
The Guardian

The stereo throbbed with the latest Lebanese ballad and a European football match unfolded silently on the big screen as the waiter set down the drinks: fruit juices and milkshakes. In the dimly lit surroundings of one of Khartoum's hippest bars, young women slid their headscarves down to their shoulders and sat on sofas holding their boyfriends' hands.
They were the modern face of Sudan's capital, but their conversation reflected a traditional anxiety.


"My mother says that if I gave her all the money I spent on hair-straightening products, she'd be a rich woman," one woman said. Her copper-coloured skin reflected her Arab heritage, but it required a dedicated chemical battering to remove the mark of her African genes from her glossy, jet-black hair.


Her companion smiled and slipped off her headscarf to reveal straight hair cropped close to the scalp. "My mother can't understand why I cut my hair," she said. "She says, 'You have dark skin, but at least you had that long hair.'"


Across Africa, straightening hair and lightening skin is considered an essential part of good grooming for women. Pharmacists' shelves are stacked with bleaching and defrizzing products, some of which contain levels of damaging chemicals that would be banned in Britain.


But in Sudan it is not just a question of vanity, but politics. The Arab world and sub-Saharan Africa meet in the continent's biggest country, which stretches from the fringes of the Sahara in the north to equatorial marshland and jungle in the south.



Even the country's name contains a reference to colour: Bilad al-Sudan means "the land of the blacks". Skin tones range from the nut-brown of northerners of Arab descent, to the aubergine-black of the southern Sudanese. The perfect tint for a woman's skin is described as "wine-colour" - not a reference to grape wines, but the golden honey wine fermented in the horn of Africa.


Islam urges its followers to treat all Muslims as equals and in Khartoum's mosques, black believers and Arabs pray together in fraternity. But in wider society, a colour bar is evident.
The men laying tiles, digging foundations or watering lawns are always black: tall, shaven-headed southern Sudanese dressed in sweat-stained vests and baggy cotton slacks.
The dusty children who tap at car windows to beg are invariably black, too.
At one traffic-snarled junction, I saw an impatient driver lean his head out of the window and snap " abid " at a persistent child. The word means slave.


Behind Sudan's dysfunctional race relations is a history of slavery. Khartoum was once a slave trading centre, in which the black southern Sudanese were the human commodities. "We are the grandchildren of those who were being sold like goods," said the Reverend Enock Tombe, at Khartoum's Anglican church, All Saints. "But now we are saying, 'We are your equals.'"


The prejudice takes its ugliest form in Darfur, where predominantly Arab Janjaweed militiamen have used racist epithets while raping black women. The women have spoken of being called zurgha (black) and abid . In some cases, women have reported that their rapists told them, "We want to make a light baby."


If Sudan is to make peace with itself and heal the divisions which have ravaged it for years, some Sudanese believe it must first address the race question. Mr Tombe said: "When you come to the crux of the matter, these northern Sudanese are the same colour as the Eritreans and the Ethiopians, but they call themselves Arab.


"Then when they go to Arab countries like Egypt, the Arabs say, 'No, you are African.' So they have an identity crisis. "We, the Africans, have to assure them that we are one people, 'You don't look like us, but you are our brothers.'"

Damn!

And some people find the whole white supremacy bit and how it influences Blacks "fascinating". I say they are most definatley taking the piss. Black or white.

I dont like this:Behind Sudan's dysfunctional race relations is a history of slavery. Khartoum was once a slave trading centre, in which the black southern Sudanese were the human commodities. "We are the grandchildren of those who were being sold like goods," said the Reverend Enock Tombe, at Khartoum's Anglican church, All Saints. "But now we are saying, 'We are your equals.'"

We here that over here as well. To me its called begging. What else can it be?


The identity crisis angle is crucila too. Here we can see a case point in the present and recent history where if there is integration in a white supremist mind set then the Africans might as well kiss everything goodbye.

These are another set of leechers to my mind that have to be forced out of Africa. Any African that wants to convert and give these Africans full status as Africans is deluded at best. When will we stop accomadating all and sundry.

And theres nothing wrong with Arabic. Its like those folls who protest to keep rascism out of football. How the hell u gonna do that when the country is infested. Same as Islam. Arabic culture seems to be based on the same premise as western culture. And its not new to them either.

This is what I meant on another thread about the war of the mind. Im beginning to feel that it is equally important as any physical war.

Or it seeps in and kills resitance at source.

Who makes these bleaching creams? Any multinationals involved?

Hmmmm I smell a rat....Is it that you want to bleach your own skin and are looking for tips?

I bleach CERTAIN parts of my skin. (My legs) I do this because of scars that Ihave. I don't do it because I want to get lighter, cause I am notdark but even if I was, I would accept me for me. niceone.gif

Tammyboo

Respectfully. There is nothing to accept about being dark.

Its something to have pride and love not accept.

Without wishing to sound callous. If you accept you for you.. why bleach. Surely there is a more health concious alternative to your scars.

Its not good for you sis.

Just my view.

OK I'M LIGHT BROWN WITH DARK PATCHES OVER MY BODY COS OF MY ECZEMA, WHERES THE BEST PLACE FOR ME TO BUY SKIN BLEACH, OR WOULD A BOTTLE OF FLASH LIQUID WITH BLEACH DO THE TRICK? AND MY FACE SEEMS TO BE DARKER THAN THE REST OF MY BODY. PEOPLE LOOK AT MY FACE AND THINK I'M LYING WHEN I SAY I AM LIGHT BROWN, BUT THEY BELIEVE ME WHEN THEY SEE MY ARMS, LEGS AND CHEST. HOW CAN I OVERCOME THIS PROBLEM?

FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PEOPLE TOO DUMB TO REALISE, I WAS BEING SARCASTIC, AND HOW BLACK BUTTERFLY CAN CALL SKIN BLEACHING FASCINATING MAKES ME THINK SHE EITHER ISN'T BLACK HERSELF OR IS LOOKING FOR TIPS ON HOW TO BLEACH HER OWN SKIN. TRY DOMESTOS BLEACH!

Bleaching,

well it is just not confined to Sudan, Nigerians, Jamcians, Serre Leone, Indiathe list goes on all bleach their skin.

BUT without getting into Arab,African tired rambling, I will answer the question

Do I bleach?

NO

Why do people do it?

because they want to be white, which is seen as better

Can we stop it?

I hope so

How?

I have not got a foggiest clue

Do I know someone that bleahes?

Yes, but will not mention nationalites



I hope that was fascinating for you

Sooofresh wrote:

If I go to a dermatologist it is going to cost alot of money. Those scars need to go. I would try to find out more about the health hazards but for right now bleaching those scars are the only alternative.

@Tammyboo

try a chemical peel, my mum used on her scares and it disappered. They use naturall occuring acids like phenol.

www.skincultre.com

Thank you sooo fresh. I would try it. I just want these scars to hurry up.