Opinion

Dogs Never Forget Kindness… But Some People Do

Dr. Amin Hassan Omar

In my country, people do not like dogs, despite their deep loyalty to their owners. A dog never forgets kindness, yet in this regard, some people are less honorable than dogs. I am reminded of this every time I think of Anas Omar, whom I visited when he first took office. Years later, I saw firsthand how the town he governed had transformed from what it was in the beginning. I witnessed its progress from a large village into a thriving city with an airport that welcomes travelers, a university where its youth study, paved roads, bustling markets, and new opportunities that led some of its residents to appeal to the president for Anas’s reinstatement as governor.

Now, however, he is a prisoner in the worst conditions. They have transferred him from Khartoum to Nyala, and only God knows his fate among people who have betrayed kindness and borne false witness.

In this context, I recall a short story about a village notorious for lying and false testimony in exchange for money. It is said that in this village, a man secretly married a woman in a legitimate ceremony officiated by a religious scholar and attended by witnesses.

After some time, the couple quarreled, and the husband expelled her from their home, denying her rights. She went to the judge to file a complaint, saying, “He married me legally, and these men—so-and-so—can testify to it.”

The judge summoned the husband and the witnesses, but they all denied knowing the woman or having ever seen her before. The judge carefully observed the witnesses and the woman, then asked her, “Does your husband own dogs?”

She replied, “Yes.”

The judge then asked, “Do you accept the testimony and judgment of the dogs?”

She answered, “Yes.”

The judge then ordered, “Take her to the dogs. If they bark at her, she is lying; if they welcome her, she belongs in that house.”

At this, the witnesses became nervous, their faces turned pale. Seeing this, the judge commanded, “Flog them, for they have lied! Wretched is the village where dogs are more truthful than its people!”

And wretched are the Janjaweed among their people, for even their dogs are more truthful than their men. Their dogs never forget kindness, yet they do. Their dogs do not steal unless they are starving, but they do!

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