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Letters From Isohe
In 2011, following the independence of South Sudan, Elizabeth Hodgkin - a historian and human rights researcher - went to teach in a village in the Dongotono Mountains, joining South Sudanese colleagues in their struggle to keep their school open as the country pulled back from war. Sometimes there was no food; girl students were pressured into marriage; violence was commonplace. These letters home - joyful, comic, and terrifying by turns - are a compelling account of a world where rainmakers, priests, and cattle thieves strive to live from day to day, and young people yearn for education in a world of danger.
111 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2022
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February 13, 2022
I've never gotten to add a book to Goodreads before! This was a delightful little book, more a collection of short descriptive essay/letters the author wrote while she was in a beautiful and remote little corner of South Sudan in a fascinating moment, just after independence and before the resumption of warfare that happened at the end of 2013.
As someone who worked on and off in South Sudan from 2012-2016, I delighted in the everyday experiences and observations of the author, who is an astute observer and certainly not wearing rose-colored glasses (after a career as a human rights researcher for Amnesty International). She reminded me of some small things that really took me back there (e.g. how people say "next tomorrow" for the day after tomorrow, and "footing" for walking), while also teaching me about this beautiful mountainous corner of the country, far from the places I spent time. I appreciated how clear-eyed she is - not shying away from the violence her students experience, and also not generalizing or moralizing about it.
This book will not help you understand the very complicated political and social dynamics of the country (for those, I highly recommend starting with "South Sudan: A Slow Liberation" by Edward Thomas - who happens to be the person from whom I heard about this book). But if you've spent time in South Sudan, or are interested in an well-observed account of a place quite unlike the places most of us live, this is a great and quick read.
As someone who worked on and off in South Sudan from 2012-2016, I delighted in the everyday experiences and observations of the author, who is an astute observer and certainly not wearing rose-colored glasses (after a career as a human rights researcher for Amnesty International). She reminded me of some small things that really took me back there (e.g. how people say "next tomorrow" for the day after tomorrow, and "footing" for walking), while also teaching me about this beautiful mountainous corner of the country, far from the places I spent time. I appreciated how clear-eyed she is - not shying away from the violence her students experience, and also not generalizing or moralizing about it.
This book will not help you understand the very complicated political and social dynamics of the country (for those, I highly recommend starting with "South Sudan: A Slow Liberation" by Edward Thomas - who happens to be the person from whom I heard about this book). But if you've spent time in South Sudan, or are interested in an well-observed account of a place quite unlike the places most of us live, this is a great and quick read.
Displaying 1 of 1 review