 Or depending upon when you're watching this, maybe it's good morning or good evening, my name is Ann Smith and I'm here to introduce a friend of mine whom I've worked with for now for over nine years. Together we manage two non-profits in the main area but actually we're global because our non-profits are to benefit African refugees in New England and across the world. My friend today is Anthony Bazia and he and I co-founded two non-profits as I said, Project Bazia and Africans United. I'm going to briefly speak about, very briefly about Africans United, primarily Africans United started because we were concerned about literacy across the world with refugees who were learning English and finding the books were not interesting. So we've written about eight books now we have published through Amazon which help refugees read and learn English at different levels. These books are also used in rural schools in Africa where finding materials that are good for kids to learn English over there can be very difficult. They don't really know too much about the world that we live in so they want to read books about the people they know and the villages they know and that's what we've done. We've created books for that purpose. The second non-profit is based more locally and I would say it's definitely Mr. Bazia's brainchild. So Bazia why don't you tell everybody about Africans United of New England? African United is about to bring all African in the level of the sixth state in the England together but it's in the goal because a lot of time people think bring people together just because they are the same people but you have to be a purpose and one of the thing we're concerned about the education in the United States and the small business and how to understand the system of the United States and how to get the citizen in the United States to be willing and the process to be an American citizen. Okay so you reach out to people right now I believe you told me you're contacting many of the community organizations like the Barundians and the Rwandans and the Somalis who are here locally so that they can share accomplishments they've had as refugees and perhaps talk about common problems. That's correct. African United is going to be the bridge between the African different community in New England and then the government of United States it can be the level of the state how to make sure they can understand the system so that's how we reach out to all different communities Somalia, South Sudanese and North, Burundi and Rwanda, Zahir, Angola, some Chad and even when I'm talking about something very interesting anybody who have a small number of different of the continent of Africa if you don't have enough number feel good to be under African United we love you guys to be under us because you can see a lot because to be a community alone I think it's all about number. Today when I was in an office I met a woman who's been here for seven years and as far as she knows she and her family are the only people from Sierra Leone that live in the greater Portland area so I immediately told them about this organization because it's really important to connect with other people that have similar problems. Anthony Bazeir is well qualified to work with these people he arrived in the United States in 1990 and came back went back and forth between his homeland of what became South Sudan and the United States many times but he is also the son of a chief and that tribal chief in South Sudan which meant that he grew up in a home where serving other people was the primary goal. The dinner table conversation in Bazeir's house growing up was always about what are we doing to help the people of our tribe our village our area how do you solve problems and that's what he still does especially here because when he first came he was working with the Lost Boys down in Philadelphia. We could end up talking about what Mr. Bazeir did down in Philadelphia and in different parts of the United States with the refugees from South Sudan for probably an hour or more but what we are here for today is 2021 is a very special year so at this point I'm going to ask you to share with everybody why we're having this conversation. It's very important since South Sudan became a country in 2011 and we're coming up to the 10 year from South Sudan became a nation but I believe there was a lot of issue I don't want to go behind that right here. I'm here to tell the South Sudanese specific I know they are for 64 tribe we need to stop talking about the tribe we need to talk about we as South Sudanese what we can do for ourselves to make the country better it's enough since 1995 since 1955 since 1940 something all fighting you can't be living the life your grandpa was fighting your mom was fighting your generation generation the only true peace in to make people to unite in a common goal everybody fight for the South Sudan at a different level if you're on the RISP LA if you're under education under different country the goal all about to get dependent you guys already have the dependent now like 10 year but you guys never enjoying this dependent why the reason is because you watching the time hit each other killing each other but the nation never ever gonna be in the name of the tribe until you guys became national of South Sudanese child and this problem the problem of South Sudan on the 10th anniversary of its becoming an independent nation is not just the problem of South Sudan many countries in Africa have had these tribal conflicts some are still having them some are learning to cope with them so our for uh this particular conversation today is intended to give everybody who's listening um or watching whichever um an understanding of how South Sudan became a country independent from the original country Sudan and and from what I know in in writing some of the books we've written about about South Sudan uh South Sudan the country the country was the biggest country in Africa and very powerful but starting in at least officially in 1955 with a war called Anya one um the desire for the country to be divided the the contrast between the north and the south um became more and more obvious with more and more conflicts over the years and so my first question to you Mr. Bezier is how different is the north from the south of this rather huge country the one thing I will give a credit for the north they are more civilized more than South Sudanese ahead of the game and this is the reality since I grew up in north and I have to commit it these people that are more mobilized the only difference in Sudan and and this is going to be not only in the level of Sudan there's a three group who affected by all this issue our machine Darfurian people and Nubian people and South Sudanese the way Arab create the problem between us they never talk about us like we are black people but they use name and this is the problem in the first place even more than the issue of South Sudan so so let me let me interrupt you a minute here and I'm trying to think of this huge country which is about twice originally was at least twice the size of Texas okay because I know South Sudan is the size of Texas and they're about equal the territories all right so you have an area in the south that is predominantly black African people many different tribes but you are all black Africans and then if you go up to both the east and the west side of the upper part you have the Darfurians in the west and you have in the east you have the Nubians living in the mountains and they are also black African people but then you have a group of people in the capital in the middle in the north and spread out from there of Arabs who are also in terms of their culture and religion Muslims and you say they were more civilized they had more experience with government because they came from Egypt and from the north and so for many many years they controlled both of these groups that were all around you how did they treat you said they called them by a name I'm not concerned with that but how did the cartoon government treat the black Africans who were all around them how did they treat them differently from their own people when I say name because the cartoon government never used you guys all the black people who are supposed to see what we can do for you guys if I just say example Darfurian they are Muslim if I look at the Nubian there is a Christian and there is Muslim if I look at southern the old Christian so I have a few pagans yeah so those idea came from the north who are to make these three groups to be divided by different issues and that they can fight so we have to separate right but I'm saying even if in my choice if you were looking in the beginning before even southern became a nation we are black people in Sudan who need to create a system to solve the issue but now it's late but today because I cannot talk about that much today I'm talking about south Sudan Pacific they have 64 tribes and since they they got depended I don't feel like they enjoy the depender okay and and and the difference again my question is they controlled they the people of Khartoum who were primarily Arabs and as I said dominantly Muslims they controlled this whole huge country how did they treat without saying it how did they treat the areas that were that where the black people lived as a different from their own area yeah the reason they was living there they feel like the second citizen in Sudan does include Nubian include Darfurian include South Sudanese but to look at in the big picture there was a game behind it but even the true group they never understand it even no South Sudanese even not north of Nuba Darfurian they weren't they weren't as I think the word is sophisticated that's correct they didn't know enough about how the world operated these were people many tribes of which were living as they had and and and my audience isn't going to believe me it not for hundreds of years they had been living the way they're a thousand years ago their tribe had been living the same way raising cows moving from place to place not having any education not knowing anything other than the uh the unit of the tribe for government so they didn't know they were being taken advantage of and and I would like you to speak at this point what was the north getting out of this by keeping all these people ignorant of of their rights as people at the same time they give them a little of attention they are part of the system like job and all that but they don't have the full citizen I can give you example when the north's running the business if I say the north's people have a store of supermarket when the South Sudanese came or when a person come from Darfur or from the Nubian their price is different but the norths who were running the game they got different price but we never know about that until a lot of issue happened and this is the one other thing I keep saying the game of the people who mobilized our civilized of the north there was a head of the game but my concern I wish if the black people in the general that includes South Sudanese include the Nubian include the Darfur if we were just talking about let united only we are black it doesn't matter if you're Muslim you're Christian and I think we are each of the same but we never have a chance to come to that idea that's right and right now for me I'm not willing to get to back that but right now it's too late because since South Sudan left the north if I right or wrong South Sudanese they need the north and North Sudanese South Sudanese that's right now is a different game but South Sudanese even know when they left North Sudan the North say South Sudanese they cannot run them all live by themselves right that's telling me the north was right and and that and and I think one of the reasons they feel very comfortable saying that is that continuously since in the last 10 years there have been conflicts over and over and over again and and I guess the other thing I'm fishing for here is what was the north getting besides the power I mean there's enormous resources in South Sudan why don't you you know mention some of those to the okay there's a two research in in the north and the different in south South Sudanese have diming have a uranium have even oil so they have to keep that in the control I can tell the story when Shofron is one of the companies of the United States that was there when Ananya too that under second second revolution revolution under John Grant they killed some American in in the Shofron company who came from the United States how to dig the oil out so United States because they have value for the woman race they give up the contract the left Sudan and left because they cannot afford to let American die in the soul of the north Sudan so that's for me show me something nobody even in that time look at it in a value but American this is what the woman race in American have value so what I'm gonna go back to to my people right now it's hard for me to repeat what is past I'm just gonna tell anybody who watching this interview ask yourself if your grandpa born in the issue and you born in the issue do you think it's fair to be killing each other all the time until we finish I don't think so I gotta give you two country example we have Burundian used to fight among themselves that's Hutus and Tutus after all this killing what happened Burundian today our Rwandian today have a nice country and they give up even right now in Rwanda if you ask somebody about some tribe you can get arrested because the land was a hard way so I want my South Sudanese people to give up hatreds among themselves if your cousin died your mom your sister nobody gonna bring him back in the way you're thinking it's only if we want to remind those people who died in the name of South Sudan let's do the right thing for myself your as we think about the CPA 10 years after the CPA the comprehensive peace agreement which was basically started by Tony Blair and the second president Bush correct the two of them got together and decided that this was ridiculous this country just kept trying to emerge as a nation the southern part of South the southern part of Sudan the South Sudanese but they would just keep going on and on and the incidents with Chevron I think you're right that's what brought it to their attention as much as anything else here was a world resource going to waste in the middle of a war and they pushed the north to discuss an agreement and then there was a vote all the people of South Sudan were asked to vote at a certain time after several years of preparation right with the CPA they were asked to vote did they want to be part of the north or did they want to be a separate country and the vote was tell us 99 no the other way we're 99% 99% wanted to separate to separate and one other thing I will have a chance to match in this book here this will talk about it it was about Tony Blair and young bush who bring the peace of South Sudan I want to repeat this I know there's people until today they claim South Sudan came with the gun the truth is about the international community agree and especially I gotta mention something very important because South Sudan is one of the people fighting in the long term was Arab and that the only people say Arab was not helping them the way they wanted until 9 11 happened in United States and and and American and British except what South Sudan fights for so I'm repeat myself to anybody he he claimed South Sudan just came by gun I know they fight to bring the right but in the end of the day bush and Tony Blair in the last minute there was a part of the people to make this agreement of CPA and then the South Sudanese people vote to be a nation so that's for me it's like 100 I can just say 100 there is no country in the world vote for that number you're right let me honest and these were these people were not just the people who were still left in South Sudan this was well over a million people worldwide who had fled from the wars who didn't want to be there anymore but they were contacted they were said come and vote on this day and decide and they decided they wanted to be a separate country and and you told me that you were there when the votes were counted you were in South Sudan uh tell tell uh our audience what was the crowd like you said they were crazy yeah the crowd was hopping us it's like somebody have a heavy thing in his head and he'll release it down when South Sudan voting to have South Sudan dependent but today we're in 10 year and this 10 year if I say if I'm right or wrong maybe the the people who watch in this program they can correct me maybe since we have South Sudan currently maybe we celebrate maybe twice yeah maybe that's mean eight years we never celebrate July 9 so make me my heart is broke make me useless in a way I look at it because I'm part of it even I know I'm American citizen but before I became American citizen I can call myself I was Sudan was this South Sudan divide became South Sudan but it still is bothering me of course so this message we hear was honest me I want you guys to know we are not just here to talk about what is happening we're here to talk about forgiveness and let the nation come together if one or South Sudan to go there's nobody above the law let's create the system who you can be fair for all of us like America like Canada how come if we have just in United States 100 South Sudanese and I will debate any South Sudanese who live in America I don't want to talk about Canada you mean 100,000 100,000 you live in America you play by the book but why you cannot play by the book in South Sudan and if America was doing bad for us I don't think we're going to be here thank you that's okay I think what we want to continue in this conversation and we have we have a lot of things we'd like to develop is independent topics and I want to list a few of them here because Bessie and I have been talking about this we actually had planned with the to have a celebration on July 11th because the 9th was a weekday we found a place and we were going to have a celebration but we did one of those what was it two years ago before COVID and nobody came nobody came it was just to celebrate the accomplishments of the newest nation on our planet and so we decided instead to make this TV program hopefully to see if maybe a year from now after talking about what's going on in the South Sudanese community and what might be preventing South Sudanese from celebrating the CPA and its independence that there might be a real physical celebration someplace and I have my own theories one of them is that when we wrote this book we compared South Sudan to the United States as a in other words a country that had had a revolution and got its independence from a stronger power but you know I went back and I did some research not too long ago and I discovered that the first 10 years of the United States independence were not a piece of cake there were a lot of problems and there are reasons why the South Sudanese struggle with building a strong stable government many of the problems they have have nothing to do with the people themselves but just circumstances so we would like to return and have another interview fairly soon in which we talk about basically tribalism which you've also introduced as always also introduced as a problem one big thing that separates two groups of people in South Sudan is the farmers from the nomads and how the could they solve the problem of people who don't have any fixed location for a good part of the year and then the third thing is talk about the leadership and the dream of the man who made the CPA possible John Garang now we haven't gotten to that today but John Garang unfortunately died even before the vote that's correct and I think it behooves us to acquaint our audience whether it's you're an American or whether you're South Sudanese or whether you're from another part of Africa or another part of the world we want the world to know what happened to John Garang and why his death had such a strong effect on the future of South Sudan imagine for a minute and this is just a proposal for a topic for another show imagine for a minute what would have happened in the United States if George Washington had not been able to be the first president what if the ball was just thrown into the court and the power struggle began immediately instead of having the man who had been at the helm for the entire revolutionary war who was obviously a very steady stable individual thank you for listening to what we have to say I hope we haven't been too confusing but you can contact us all you have to do is go to the Project Bessia website and we will be more than happy to respond to any questions you have if you email us or call either of us on the phone thank you