Anthropology / Nuer
The Nuer are a nomadic lot. This is a statement I believe in because of what I have read. They are refugees who have travelled far from their country Nuer in Sudan to become American citizens through the help of such organizations such as UNCHR that helped them resettle and find a new and peaceful life in the USA. They may have found this kind of life but the question still remains, are they home? Are they being treated fairly by the USA government? Is the violent life of the Sudanese, Nuer really all behind them or did they find it all back with them in the USA? Do they have enough to live on in the suburbs of the US? I think that these are the common problems faced by the Nuer people in Minnesota.
They treat their cars as though they were his cattle. Back in Nuer his life was his cattle. Everything, even their very names were lent from the cattle that they raised. They thought of everything in terms of cattle. So, in the USA, the car is considered their cow. They go to the United Sates and buy a car because it is the all American dream. They cannot go to their relatives’ places far from Minnesota without a car. They cannot go to work or buy food for their families without a car. Also, the greatest shock for them in coming to America is the real grounding issue of work. Work has to be learned through further education and work is food. They want to work to pay their rent and their rent is an important issue because they might not be able to buy food if the rent is too high. Too much earnings is hidden from social welfare so that rent is not raised. Their living condition is far from the tribal housing they had in Sudan. They have almost little or no souveniers of the life they had as though they wish to forget and fade into the lifestyle of Americans. Their friends are fellow Americans and they take on American names. Even the women’s gender issues have become different. If they had become used to the lifestyle wherein the women back in the village were under their control, in the USA the women are of equal rights and they question domestic violence if the women are not questioned to have a hand in the violence that he did to her, as well. The questions I want to ask are whether it is right for the Nuer to forget their tribal origins and if they can find ways to bring their ways to the USA and contribute to the cultural spirit of the new America. Are women liable in domestic violence for having nudged their men who are tired from work and they were not doing anything to contribute to the welfare of their family. Should not social welfare also develop a sense of cultural freedom for the Nuer so that they do not become black Americans but would have a sense of identity even in a foreign country. Should the government help them find ways to alleviate poverty therefore violence?
The Nuers have become so Amercanized that the people have lost their sense of identity. Poverty and violence come hand in hand. They join Christian communities and become Christianized to become part of something that is bigger than their lives. They want to go on living in their new country but they desire to marry women from Africa whom they choose and lead on to marriage with the promise of a new life in the USA. Kelly, an American was able to go to the Sudan and talk to rebel leaders and immerse in the Nuer way of life. This is a good start because it means that someone in Minnesota is interested in the Nuers because their plight has been a long and risky one. I ask, what can the Americans do as they immerse in the culture , social and political lives of the Nuers? What can the US government do to alleviate the poverty or the poor living conditions of the Nuers who opt for poor housing just to be able to stay? How much more can they stand and is the Christian way of life a way for their community to thrive?
2018/1221
