Hala Al-Karib

There is a Sudanese saying that goes: “You are gazing at the elephant while pointing your spear at its shadow”.

‘Meriam’s courage' is the title of a story that was told in Sudanese primary school reading books during the 1970s. It’s about the little girl Meriam who saw the floods coming from a distance towards her village, ran fast and alerted her people and eventually saved them.

The current shocking developments of the armed conflict in South Sudan were rather sudden though somewhat anticipated. Through the years, I have tried to remain optimistic about South Sudan.

She is in her twenties, confident and good-looking. She applied for a job as a presenter at a local television station in Sudan. Following her interview, the station called her and told her: “You did very well, though you have one problem. You are too dark… but this could easily be fixed”.