Sudanese Women Welcome Female US Prison Inmates
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Darfur, Sudan - Although the United States government has been slow to dispatch troops to the war torn area of Sudan, the state of California may have sent an even more valuable group to offer some relief. Last week, twenty female inmates from the state’s federal prison program were dispatched to Darfur to participate in an exchange exercise.
Lakeisha Sumpter, a 25 year old inmate from Cell Block 4, spearheaded the movement to help the Darfuri women. Working with the prison board and wardens from their yard, they filed a petition to start an exchange program to train the unprotected women in the region in self defense using prison warfare technique.
“We saw what was happening here on the news, and thought they could use our help,” explains Sumpter. She points out the makeshift huts, starving children and fear in the eyes of the youth. “Ain’t no way we’d let something like dis go down in Cali. Every chick on this team has killed fo’, five, some eight people in they lifetime. We takes what ours, and if I have to cut yo’ a** to get it, then so be it.”
Lakeisha herself is serving a life sentence for aggravated assault, robbery, arson, and murder. The Sudanese women welcomed the team with open arms.
“We have been feeling so hopeless,” says Aisha Yar. “These Janjaweed, they burn our crops, kill our men, and rape our little girls. No one in the world has come to help. But these brave women, warrior women, they heard our suffering from their own prisons and came and taught us our ways. God bless them forever!” The other women in the camp nodded their agreement.
The Darfuri women received instruction in weapon construction, reconnaissance and perfecting a communal “beat down.” Shanking, the act of stabbing someone with a ‘shank’, a crudely constructed knife made in prison, usually made from a spoon, was probably the technique most embraced.
“You know, these ladies have so many things they can use to defend themselves that they probably never thought of,” notes Wakida Watson. She motions towards a stainless steal pot, used locally for boiling tea.
“I’d give anything to have something like this back on the block. You could really (expletive) somebody up.”
It is rumored that a Janjaweed scout was killed during the 2 week exchange program. The body of a an Arab male was found riddled with Ninja stars, fashioned from the same stainless steal material that Watson had been frothing over. When we asked her if she knew anything about a dead man in the bush, she denied knowing anything about it, even though the news had spread through the camp and was common knowledge. A male voice screaming and begging for mercy could also be heard the night before.
“I don’t know nern ‘bout dat,” said Watson nonchalantly. “At this point, you can only speculate there is a dead man in the bush.”
The Darfuri women had a different reaction to the death of the young militant. They seemed genuinely overjoyed that one had been “allegedly murdered” in their camp.
“Until these American angels came to our land, this has never been heard of. We are really going to miss them when they are gone.”
