Conradin Perner

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Conradin Perner (2019)

Conradin Perner (born August 31, 1943 in Davos ) is a Swiss humanist and researcher . He became known as a literature professor, ethnographer and delegate of the ICRC , as well as through his commitment in South Sudan , where he lived almost continuously for seven years with the Anuyak , a Nilotic people on both sides of the Ethiopian-Sudanese border, and created a comprehensive monograph . For many years he worked as a peace advisor to the Swiss government in South Sudan.

Live and act

After studying literature in France, Sweden and Zurich, Perner wrote his dissertation in comparative literature with the title Gunnar Ekelöf's Night on the Horizon and his encounter with Stéphane Mallarmé. From 1969 to 1971 he was professor of French language and literature at the Free University of the Congo in Kisangani . He then worked for three years as a delegate of the ICRC in Bangladesh , Vietnam and India .

From the end of 1974 to 1976, Perner took over the chair of French literature at the University of Khartoum . He later organized his first trip to South Sudan to prepare a research project on oral literature. From 1976 to 1983 he conducted research with the Anuyak tribe in South Sudan, made possible by the Fund for the Promotion of Young Academics at the University of Zurich and the Swiss National Fund for Scientific Research . The result is an eight-volume monograph , a four-volume dictionary, a grammar and a collection of myths, love songs, mocking verses and parables of the Anyuak.

From 1989 to 1992 he was a delegate of the ICRC in Sudan, initially in subdelegations, then as head of the delegation for South Sudan in Lokichokio . Dramatic war experiences, especially the rescue of 10,000 child soldiers (lost boys), accompanied Perner's work. From 1993 to 1994 he was an advisor for South Sudan to the ICRC, UNICEF and 45 other organizations. From 1995 to 1999 he was ICRC delegate in Afghanistan , Uzbekistan , Kazakhstan , Turkmenistan , Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and since 2000 delegate in Brazzaville , Republic of the Congo .

In 2002 Perner was the first commander of the International Peacekeeping Forces (JMC) in the SPLA sector in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. In 2008 he played a key role in the peace efforts in South Sudan and was made the first honorary citizen of South Sudan in 2011. The Anyuak people gave it the name "Kwacakworo".

Perner was visiting professor at the Universities of Nanterre and La Sorbonne in Paris as well as advisor to the Swiss Foreign Ministry for Peace Education in South Sudan (House of Nationalities program). He published extensive documentation on peace building across all tribes in South Sudan for the attention of the FDFA .

Today he lives again in his parents' house in Davos , where he still devotes his time to writing and composing various philosophical essays and stories about his life.

Publications

  • Living on Earth in the Sky: the Anyuak. An analytic account of the history and culture of a Nilotic people. holistic monograph, summary of the research results in 8 volumes, Helbing & Lichtenhahn Verlag, Basel 1994–1996 ( Vol. I - The Sphere of Spirituality ISBN 3-7190-1330-8 , Vol. II - The Human Territory ISBN 3-7190-1507 -6 ) and Schwabe-Verlag, Basel, 2003–2016 ( Vol. III - The Human Being ISBN 3-7965-1272-0 , Vol. IV - A personal Life ISBN 978-3-7965-2227-7 , Vol. V - The Anyuak Village - Center of Civilization (on Social Structures and Justice) ISBN 978-3-7965-3211-5 , Vol.VI - The Political Body: Power and Authority ISBN 978-3-7965-3402-7 , Vol VII - Spheres of Action, Anyuak Art ISBN 978-3-7965-3465-2 , Vol. VIII - Anyuak Histories. With a Bibliography ISBN 978-3-7965-3552-9 ).
  • Anyuak religion. In: Journal of Religion in Africa. Vol. II, Leeds, 1992.
  • Anyuak - A Luo Language of the Southern Sudan: Dictionary and short Grammar. Human Relations Area Files Inc., Yale, 1990.
  • Why did you come if you leave again? An Ethnographer's Footprints among the Anyuak in South Sudan. Autobiography, published in color, black and white and as an e-book, Xlibris-Verlag, Bloomington, USA, 2016/2017
  • Values ​​and functions de la terre. In: Bulletin annuel du Musée d'Ethnographie de le Ville de Genève, No.21–22, Genève, 1978–1979.
  • But You Know, Darkness is a Big Thing. A background-report on family attitudes and sexual behavior in South Sudan. Unicef, Nairobi, 2001.
  • Every step an adventure !, memories of an ICRC veteran , autobiography about the time as a delegate of the ICRC in South Sudan, Central Asia, Afghanistan and Congo-Brazzaville, 2018
  • The Anyuak - Threatened border people between Sudan and Ethiopia , with Oswald Iten. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung, No. 247, pp. 81–85, Zurich, February 10, 1983.
  • The Reward of Life is Death: Warfare and the Anyuak on the Ethiopian-Sudanese Border In: Conflicts in the Horn of Africa: human and ecological consequences of warfare. Tarje Tvedt (ed.), Uppsala, 1993.
  • Gunnar Ekelöf's night on the horizon and his encounter with Stéphane Mallarmé. Helbing & Lichtenhahn, Basel 1974, ISBN 978-3-719006-31-0 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Simon A. Mason: Lessons from the Swiss Meditation and Facilitation Services in Sudan. Retrieved August 11, 2019 .
  2. ^ Conradin Perner: Living on Earth in the Sky: the Anyuak. An analytic account of the history and culture of a Nilotic people. Helbing & Lichtenhahn Verlag, Basel, 1994.
  3. ^ Conradin Perner | ZVAB. Retrieved August 11, 2019 .
  4. ^ Conradin Perner: Why did you come if you leave again? An Ethnographer's Footprints among the Anyuak in South Sudan. Xlibris-Verlag, Bloomington, USA, 2016/2017, ISBN 978-1-5245-7188-7 , pp. 3-75.
  5. ↑ Never lick your butt | BAZ. Retrieved August 25, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Geneva Peace Talks: What does peace mean to you? Accessed August 11, 2019 .
  7. ^ Oswald Iten: A Davoser as an honorary citizen of South Sudan | NZZ . September 4, 2011, ISSN  0376-6829 ( nzz.ch [accessed on August 11, 2019]).
  8. ↑ Gurtong Trust, Peace and Media Project. Retrieved September 9, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Perner, Conradin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kwacakworo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss linguist
DATE OF BIRTH August 31, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Davos