12/2020: Long Walk to Water

  Long Walk To Water is a book written by Linda Sue Park telling 2 separate stories from 2 people at different times. The characters are Nya, eleven years old girls in 2008, and Salva, eleven years old boys in 1985. 

    

Nya, the Nuer kid, was in the middle of trouble between the Dinka and Nuer thousand years war. Every day she walks 2 times from her village to the pond for some dirty water. In the dry seasons, she and villagers would move from a village to a lake that was dry. It’s the time with stress from both sickness and fighting between the tribes. She said, "In the dry season, she can’t find any possible needs like water and food."

Salva, the Dinka kid, was at the beginning of the Sudan civil war. Salva was also no different, he got the impact of war. He was forced to leave the school and escape. He was one of the lost boys who tried to survive. It was very sad when he was to take a journey by himself in a group of strangers and move out of his motherland. He immigrated from his home in Sudan to Ethiopia and Kenya. He lived in sadness and fear of the war. He finally survives as one of the lost boys. 

Since the beginning of the book, they show people's life in Sudan is in both situational and cultural context. At first, Salva is a weak little boy. He had to run for survival to Ethiopia. He felt nervous because he thought that his family had all died. He faced how his uncle was killed in the journey. He is very sad about his plan between his uncle and him failing. This shows how he is a very patient kid.

Many years later in Ethiopia, he was older. His camp was invaded by the Ethiopian new government army, which pushed his group to the river. He was able to cross the river with some adults to help him from the bullet. He was the oldest kid in the survival group, so he led them to Kenya. He demonstrated that he has good leadership. He walked many years and waited for a long time to get a chance to move to America. This shows how he has a brave heart from the long walk and how he never gives up. He also had a very strong spirit when he succeeded, he came back to help his motherland although the Neur village is the opposite tribe. It strongly proved that patience, leadership, bravery, and spirit are his identities.

After I read the book, I felt sad for both of them and others who also faced the trouble that they didn't cause. All agree that our world need is peace led to the solving of the dirty water issue. When I compare it to Thailand, I feel that we are facing problems similar to them; paradox, and sickness from COVID-19 throughout the country. I see someone attempting to break down the central power of the government by programming the kids to anti-government and reform the monarchy. Some kids want to cut half of the country and change it like Sudan then led to communist. No one wants to see our country divided into 2 countries, 2 governments, doesn't she? I hope that we will end both the COVID-19 pandemic and the street protests before we become refugees.

"Peace is hard to attain, but it is harder to maintain." King Naresuan, The Great