How a Sudanese refugee made my Christmas less pessimistic

This year, a accidental brushwood with a chap pessimist helped maine find immoderate Christmas magic successful the imperial capital.

As a kid increasing up successful the 1980s successful Washington, DC, Christmas was a clip erstwhile the accustomed monotony of my Catholic schoolhouse beingness gave mode to an indescribable magic. It was not truthful overmuch the presents arsenic the consciousness that world had been temporarily suspended and replaced by thing acold much invigorating – which I accidental is portion of the crushed I insisted connected believing successful Santa Claus until I was 10 years old.

Of course, excavation was a comparatively privileged puerility successful the United States capital, an imperial office that continues to this time to embody the racism and socioeconomic inequality that governs beingness successful the alleged “land of the free.” While I knew vaguely of specified home issues increasing up, I knew adjacent little of my country’s contributions to planetary suffering; successful my commencement twelvemonth of 1982, for example, Washington had greenlit the Israeli penetration of Lebanon that killed tens of thousands of people.

Closer to home, the decennary of the 1980s was characterised by US backing for mass right-wing slaughter successful Central America, each successful the noble pursuit of making the satellite harmless for capitalism. That the tedium of Catholic schoolhouse was my top earthly ailment meant that I was doing overmuch amended than a full batch of folks – thing that became adjacent clearer erstwhile I abandoned the US successful 2003, astatine the property of 21, successful favour of an itinerant manner that brought maine into interaction with the fallout of US misdeeds from Colombia to Vietnam.

I americium present 42, and I did not person precocious hopes for Christmas erstwhile successful mid-December I flew from Mexico to DC, wherever my parents had returned to unrecorded – pursuing their ain lengthy agelong overseas – soon earlier my father’s death past year. This year, it was not conscionable my dad’s lack that seemed to preemptively enactment a damper connected festivities. The imaginable for indescribable magic would look to person been reasonably soundly obliterated by the dismal terrestrial authorities of affairs and the US-backed Israeli genocide that continues to rage successful the Gaza Strip, wherever astir the full colonisation has been forcibly displaced.

Meanwhile, America’s conversion of Christmas into a elephantine postulation jam of Amazon transportation trucks simply drives location the all-consuming beingness of apocalyptic capitalism and the simplification of humanity to an infinite soul-sucking bid of economical transactions.

And yet, ironically, my archetypal inkling of vacation cheer present successful DC was triggered by conscionable specified a transaction-based interaction, erstwhile a Sudanese operator moving for the ride-share institution my parent uses gave maine a hug.

Hailing from the Sudanese superior of Khartoum, the antheral – we’ll telephone him Alsafi – had registered his enthusiasm astatine the show of my “Free Palestine” sweatshirt erstwhile helium arrived to prime maine up. Also 42, helium had worked arsenic a quality rights lawyer successful Sudan – itself nary alien to systematic sidesplitting and wide forced displacement – anterior to fleeing the state successful 2013 aft 1 excessively galore arrest-and-torture sessions.

Upon getting to the United States, however, Alsafi had determined that the American imagination was not astatine each what it was cracked up to be. Not lone did helium regularly find himself connected the receiving extremity of overtly racist comportment, helium had besides rapidly bushed of the oppressive consumerism that has go a substitute for beingness itself. He, too, was present plotting his exit from the country. Needless to say, we had overmuch to speech about.

Days earlier Christmas, Alsafi invited maine to meal astatine a lowkey Ethiopian edifice successful Arlington, Virginia, conscionable crossed the span from DC. I had spent a period successful Ethiopia successful 2016; Alsafi had spent respective months determination successful 2013 successful betwixt fleeing Sudan and relocating to the United States. Over Ethiopian Habesha brew and injera bearing mounds of lentils and collard greens, I heard immoderate of the details of Alsafi’s Sudanese carceral experiences.

During 1 of his detentions, helium was blindfolded and beaten portion his torturers continuously commanded him to determination to the country of the room. He stumbled astir successful hunt of the corner, to nary avail. “It was funny,” helium remarked to maine with a genuine laugh. “When they took the blindfold off, I saw determination were nary corners successful the country aft all. It was round.”

Alsafi was not a instrumentality of driving, but had to enactment successful agelong hours successful bid to enactment his household successful Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, wherever they had sought refuge from Sudan’s ongoing violence. On the thrust backmost to my mother’s spot successful DC, helium pointed retired cardinal landmarks successful a geography helium by present knew acold amended than I: the Pentagon building, the Watergate hotel, the spot of tents lodging stateless persons whom Alsafi informed maine had besides been forcibly displaced successful the involvement of “security” erstwhile successful July Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had descended upon the US capital to marque the lawsuit for genocide.

There was thing paradoxically uplifting astir our shared pessimism, and the evening ended with different hug successful beforehand of my mom’s flat gathering – the lobby of which present hosted a gigantic Christmas histrion and an ever-multiplying heap of Amazon transportation boxes. Alsafi went connected his way, and I was near with the reminder that adjacent successful capitalist-conquered nine determination are inactive humans retired determination – which mightiness conscionable beryllium arsenic magical arsenic it gets.

The views expressed successful this nonfiction are the author’s ain and bash not needfully bespeak Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.