Wednesday, 8 January 2014

GINS Post #5

In class we are learning about the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In my global issue novel “God Grew Tired of Us” the story mainly is displayed in South Sudan. During the time frame Sudan did have a constitution that included many freedom and rights and it was created in 1973. This is one of first constitutions Sudan has had and some parts of the document are similar to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms because there is many of the same rights/freedoms. In Sudan’s constitution it states that all Sudanese have equal rights and duties disregarding race, gender, origin, language and religion, just like in the equality section in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They also have the freedom of movement and residence for all citizens as well as that they cannot be deported or not allowed to enter Sudanese land. This is very similar to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms mobility rights section. Also every citizen has the right to participate in elections, organize and form trade unions, the freedom of religion, prayer and performance of religious practices, to hold peaceful meetings, receive education/healthcare and medical treatment for free, to express their own opinions and not be forced into labor unless for a military or civic necessity.

During the time frame of the book, the second Sudanese civil war was occurring. Many rights and freedoms were violated during the war as Sudanese people had the right to leave their country, but rebels and many northern Sudanese would not allow it and kill or arrest them in their path. Many refugees died along the way in making it out of South Sudan. As well as the freedom of religion was violated because the war started partially because of differences in religion. In 2005 after the second Sudanese civil war, the constitution was modified and many new rights and freedoms were added to it (a lot more legal rights), such as an accused person is presumed guilty until she is proved guilty, no person shall be arrested or detained or searched without a warrant signed by a magistrate and no one will be detained without a trail and the right to clean water and a clean environment. These are just a few new rights that have been added to the constitution making it more like the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I think if Sudan had the Charter of Rights and Freedoms during the timeframe of the book the civil war still would have occurred, but there would be many more rights for women and in general there would me a lot more legal rights and collective rights.

Link to South Sudan’s Constitution (2005):
Link to Sudan’s Constitution (1973):


  1. Aidan, after reading and listening to all of your GINS posts, I completely understand why you felt miserable for the sudanese people, they were being mistreated, abused, and killed even though they were innocent civilians trying to escape the chaos. Did you know the fighting has broke out again in South Sudan? I think the same violations of there constitution will take place again.

    I think you did a really good job of summarizing the book , connecting the book to our GINS post requirements, and expressing your feelings about your global issue.

    I really liked in this specific post, you really backed up your points with both the Sudanese Constitution and our own Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

    Great Job, keep up the good work!

  2. Hey Aidan!

    I really like the way that you pull specific details from the Sudanese Constitution and apply it directly to their society and conditions. You put in a lot of detail as to how the Sudan war violated these rights. If we were to compare our Charter to theirs do you think there any specific factors that allow us to have a stronger base during these situations? For example, when Canadians are faced with dangers the government ensures that we are either taken out of the country or put out of harms way. Should the Sudan government do anything extra to ensure that these actions are happening and that the citizen's well-beings are safe?

    Awesome post, and I'm excited to hear your response!
    - Heather :D

  3. Hey Aidan,
    I really enjoyed how many connections you were able to make from the book to our consumerism unit and that you were able to connect the issue in the novel back to the Me to We elective. The quotes you used from your book in your posts also helped to back up your ideas and information. In this post, I really agree that there is a similarity between Canadian and Sudanese rights. Do you know if these rights are being protected in Sudan now? If so, what is Sudan's government doing to protect them?

  4. Hi Aidan,
    I thought you had a lot of really strong opinions here. You had so many connections and I thought it really helped you to connect with the issue of your novel and still engage the reader instead of this huge rant that you could have had. Do you have any ideas of how you could get involved with helping at all after you finished reading your book? Great work and I look forward to reading more! - Makenna

  5. Aidan, great job! Your posts were very thoughtful and presented a lot of information to go along to show a strong demonstration of your understanding or the issue! I like how you brought it back to our learning when discussing how we had previously looked into the issue during Me to We. Why do you think it took until 1973 for South Sudan to create their constitution?? What kind of freedoms did they get? I'm curious to see where the situation in South Sudan leads!