Celebrating Comboni’s Memory in Sudan: “The Heavenly Spirit and the Great Love”

At this time of every year, for about a quarter of a century, there used to be a constant movement, activity and vitality with rehearsals in several halls. Look at Robert with his light movement, his mastery of English and his Arabic gibberish. How we laughed at some of them in a time full of laughter! He grunts: “look, look, look, this is not good”. The tenth of October nourishes our steps every year with heavenly spirit and great love.

In the immortal elegy of Mahjoub Sharif^[1] – may God have mercy on him –, for Abdul Karim Mirghani, “Dad, goodbye” (Ya baba, ma’al-salama), we find the spirit of Saint Daniel Comboni (1831 AD – 1881 AD), the founding father of Comboni schools in Sudan as we celebrate the memory of the anniversary of his passing away every year on 10/10. And what a memory of a lover of Africa and Sudan in particular, and his great motto: “Regenerate Africa through Africans”!

The love for Sudan and the Sudanese will always be present, expressed by the members of the Comboni Congregation, Fathers, Nuns, Brothers who take turns working in the land of Sudan. Most of them are non-Sudanese, yet they carry love, dedication and loyalty that deserves to be emulated.

Shortly before the devastating war of April 15, I saw one of the priests rolling up his sleeves, tucking his pants together while he was cleaning the Comboni Primary School in Khartoum, carrying the garbage to a nearby dump. I told him that I would help him carry the garbage. He smiled at me and thanked me that he could accomplish the task without needing any help. He does this with great humility, and he is the first person responsible for the school. It is the Comboni spirit that runs through their souls and occupies their hearts. Their deep faith is confirmed by work. All paths lead to God, the one God, as the famous Lord’s Prayer concludes.

The late Father Beppino and Father Norberto had official Sudanese nationality and their happiness for that was indescribable, just as the Sudanese are happy to obtain an American or Canadian nationality.

As for Fr. Beppino, Sudan was his country as he lived in it the longest periods of his life. He served in it with loyalty and indescribable love. He loved all people, he did not differentiate between Arab and foreigner, between Muslim, Christian and Hindu. He wished that his grave would have been here in the land he loved next to the grave of his role model Comboni, but he died there among his Italian family and in the land of his ancestors.

The Combonis integrated into the lives of the people, they visited the sick, buried the dead, offered condolences in deaths and danced at wedding parties. They contributed financially in every occasion related to the workers. They helped the needy without specifying what religion or race they belonged to.

A quarter of a century of real coexistence, including difficult times and less difficult times. Students’ communities are a unique mix without discrimination, classism or prejudice. The only characteristic that everyone shares is the characteristic of being son/daughter. They always use the expression “our sons and daughters”. And among the taboos that rise to the level of a heinous crime is the use of hate speech on religious, ethnic or cultural grounds. They are doing in Sudan what the largest institutions have failed to do! And they always look to the future with optimism.

A few days ago I was talking to Father Diego. His talk was full of hope: “Sudan will return to peace, God willing”. You reminded us of peace! Teachers and workers form a cohesive hybrid. Harmful disagreements rarely occur and there is no room for intractable disputes. When the Comboni spirit flows through all, the ice between the discordant ones melts and respect prevails between beliefs, as religion is all for God, even if the paths differ. The celebration of Christmas and its gifts are for everyone, just like the celebration of Ramadan. The annual breakfast (Iftaar) attended by everyone is a lesson of awareness of the other and of intimate knowledge of the human being in his essence. As a consequence friendships cross the barriers of religions that ignorance and illusions create.

Here in Comboni, knowledge is available to everyone. The mind is built, feelings are harmonized, the spirit is elevated and, in the fields crowded with the colors of sports, there is space for building bodies. The golden trinity “spirit, mind, and body” is not other that the whole human person!

A quarter of a century passes in the blink of an eye, during which Comboni University College has stood tall, making an increasing contribution to providing higher education with high-quality outputs in several specializations.

The nightmare of April 15^th and the world become fasting. We spent long hours under bombardment, the biggest concern being the girls and boys who were forcibly imprisoned, and there was no one to answer our cries for help. We left the next day. We lived to write, peace be upon the memory of Comboni, peace be upon colleagues, Fathers and Nuns, boys and girls. Peace be upon the souls of those we lost directly (teacher Peter Kiano) and indirectly from the devastating effects of the war (teachers Murtada and Hisham) and all our lost ones whom I did not know. Peace be upon Sudan despite the wounds and pains.

The morning will come and Comboni with its human, intellectual and emotional contributions will be at the heart of the operations of rebuilding Sudan from the beginning anew, with God’s help. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and to the people love.

Khalid Fadul, Al-Rakuba
Thursday, October 10, 2024

To read the original, which was published in Arabic, click here.