May 16, 2023 • Volume 26, Issue 10 • Complimentary • BlufftonSun.com
INSIDE • School District names, honors Senior Scholars 18A • Life with TSC, rare disease, ‘revolves around struggles’ 19A • Memorial Day observance, ceremony to be held May 29 21A • Town to host 8th annual Historic Preservation Symposium May 18 22A • New assistant chief named for BTFD 28A
Bluffton couple escapes from Sudan following outbreak of hostilities By Gwyneth J. Saunders CONTRIBUTOR
On April 15, Bluffton residents Denise DiBiasi-Bowers and her husband Chris were doing their regular Saturday grocery shopping at the market 15 minutes from their apartment in Khartoum, Sudan, when they got a school security alert on their phones. “If there’s a protest or demonstration, we get an alert from the school. It’s an order to avoid the area, stay at home, seek shelter, or do not leave, but we were already out and there were no details,” said Denise. Not knowing what the alert was for, the couple “literally raced through the store” and got what they needed. “All the locals were like ‘No, it’s fine. It’s Sudan. Inshallah. It’s going be fine, nothing bad happens here.’ But we [thought] we’ve got to get home, and on the way home we started getting texts from friends saying that the airport was attacked, and fighting had begun,” she said. The conflict was between the forces of Sudan’s paramilitary chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and the country’s military leader, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, a situation
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that had been simmering for some time. That was not the kind of educational experience the Bowers anticipated when Denise signed up to teach kindergarten at the Khartoum International Community Schools in Sudan. “I’ve taught since I was fresh out of college, but always in the Beaufort County area, public and private schools. Then I had a few friends that went international and so I was interested, but it was never the right time for me,” she said. “When our youngest graduated high school and secured a job in the fire department, I said to Chris, let’s do this. Now’s the time. We don’t have any other responsibilities.” Their Sudan experience wasn’t anything like what they had when living in Bangladesh, where they were able to immerse themselves in the local culture and activities. “When you’re an international teacher, part of it is the travel experience, so this was the gateway to all of Africa,” she said. “I accepted the contract, and then the coup started. I called back and said I couldn’t take this. I don’t know how safe it is. They assured me it was safe. They talked to the people who used to work there, and current
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PHOTOS COURTESY DENISE BOWERS
Shortly after arriving in Sudan in August 2022, Denise and Chris Bowers enjoyed a rainy day along the Nile near the school where Denise was a teacher. This year, they were forced to evacuate the country after fighting began April 15. It took the Bluffton residents eight days to get out of the capital, and five more to finally reach the United States.
employees, and they said, ‘No, it’s safe. The coup is relatively quiet. They do demonstrations, but at a given time and location.’ You just don’t go to that area. It’s very peaceful.”
Denise was told the school had a tight evacuation plan.
Please see SUDAN on page 8A