Swenson shares her travel experiences in war-torn Sudan

(Editor’s Note: Sabrina Swenson, a 1986 graduate of Postville High School, is the daughter of Erma Swenson and the late Marlin Swenson. A world traveler, Sabrina is sharing her experiences in Sudan. Printed below is the first of a three-part series.)

On January 27, 2017 President Trump signed an executive order blocking entry into the US for 90 days, the citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries. Inconveniently, Sudan was on that list and that’s exactly where I was headed five days later.

Upon arrival at Sudan’s capital airport, Khartoum, I wasn’t sure if I’d be allowed in. If the Sudanese government felt like reciprocating a ban on Americans coming into their country, I could have very well been denied entry. Fortunate for me and my travel plans, the Sudanese allowed me in with no delay what-so-ever.

The Republic of the Sudan is the third largest country in Africa. It’s sometimes referred to as North Sudan since South Sudan’s independence. Before the Sudanese civil war, South Sudan was part of Sudan. It broke away in 2011 becoming the youngest country in the world to date. The second Sudanese civil war was a conflict from 1983 to 2005 between the central Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army. It was largely a continuation of the first Sudanese civil war of 1955 to 1972. The second Sudanese civil war lasted 22 years and is one of the longest civil wars on record. The war resulted in the independence of South Sudan six years after the war ended. Unfortunately, in 2013 civil war erupted once again in South Sudan and continues today.

Read part one in the August 9 edition of the Postville Herald.

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