In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.

 - you know where that's from.

Abdul Azziz... The hope of the Nuba people. I've heard the word salvation used by educated people. They believe in this guy. I want to believe.

Background: Sudan fought a civil war from 1983 until 2002, north versus south. Depending on what you read, you might hear it was over religion and race. Arabs against Blacks. Muslims against Christians. The truth is never that easy. Muslims fought for both sides. So did Christians, though not always of their own free will in the north. Black Africans fought black Africans, with some groups switching sides throughout the war, often based on years of bad blood between tribes. 

The Nuba Mountains are the melting pot, blacks and arabs, muslims and Christians. The SPLA first entered the Nuba Mountains in 1989. Until 2002 the area was a war zone. The SPLA had a strong support base, in large part because government soldiers and militias initiated a scorched earth campaign against the Nuba people in the attempt to root out rebels. The rebels were led by a man named Yusef Kua. His second in command was Abdul Azziz. He took charge when Yusef Kua died during the war. 

He's a Muslim with one parent from Darfur and one from Nuba. But a good man by all accounts. He was forced out of leadership by the SPLA leaders after the war, according to the local story because they saw him as a threat to their own power. I believe that to be true. He went to the U.S. where he's been in school. Recently the SPLA asked him back, rumor being that they were pressured by the U.S. and others. He is now acting as the deputy governor, the head of the SPLA in Nuba. The people love him. They say he's honest, doesn't favor the Christians or the Muslims, and has what it takes to change Sudan. There's rumors of a presidential run, and a likely victory if there was a clean election. That's a heck of an "if".

To sum it up, he is the Nuba Mountain's George Washington. A war hero and a statesman. People have hope again because he is here. I want to believe.

The pictures are all from the parade to welcome him. He's above in the baseball cap.