Sudan: peaceful revolution a dream

first published at http://opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/yosra-akasha/sudan-peaceful-revo...

On Monday September 23 a wave of spontaneous popular protests broke out in Sudan. The wave was triggered by an increase in the price of fuel and basic food items caused by a long history of impoverishment and oppression by the National Congress Party (NCP) that has ruled the country for a quarter of a century. These protests were not incited by any political organization but by citizens who are struggling to earn their daily living. It was led by high school students, youth and breadwinners in the neighbourhoods of the cities of Wad Medani, Greater Khartoum area, Port Sudan, Kassala and Ghadarif.

The Sudanese regime cracked down without mercy on peaceful protests; on the first day of protests police, security and pro-government militias used live ammunition. Bullets were aimed at the upper part of the body, in what appeared to be a shoot-to-kill. On Monday night Khartoum and Omdurman witnessed heavy tear gas accompanied with live ammunition and protests continued into the early hours of Tuesday. Wednesday September 25 was the bloodiest day in Khartoum with approximately 150 peaceful protesters shot dead by government militia and national security forces. The massacre took place when the internet was cut off for approximately 24 hours. Besides shooting peaceful protesters, witnesses testified that police and security forces retreated from many major streets and neighbourhoods in Omdurman and South Khartoum before sunset, then mass numbers of militias suddenly launched their attack using live ammunition. On September 27 and 28 the demands of the protesters went beyond economic hardship and corruption to the toppling of the regime and justice for the martyrs. This is when the police guided peaceful protestors into traps - a street or square with limited exits, where they were attacked by NISS and government militias leading to numerous deaths. Government officials and police authorities then accused the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) cells in Khartoum of killing peaceful protesters and destroying public and private property.

Aspirations for regime change

Within the past two months I’ve been interviewing activists from the Girifna (means we’re fed up) Youth Movement, Sudan Change Now (SCN) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) about the possibilities of peaceful and armed regime change.

One of the members of Sudan Change Now, Khalid Omer, detained since September 30 said when I met him last August “People previously waited for the National Consensus Forces to bring about change. Now each and every citizen is a change maker. Youth didn’t wait for political parties when they took the streets in January 2011 against the NCP. Now the NCP is on its last legs getting weaker politically and economically, interfering with tribalism and using racism to discriminate against fractions of Sudanese society."

An activist from Girifna Youth Movement, M.M, said “Girifna is a nonviolent resistance movement working on promoting human rights and sustainable peace. We are inspired by Ghandi’s non violence techniques and similar movements from Asia. Changing the regime is not our final goal but achieving social justice is. Thus if the NCP is removed and the revolution is accomplished, Girifna will continue its work on reconciliation, educating people about their rights and promoting sustainable peace”

According to Khalid, Sudan Change Now is also working on several campaigns targeting social change such as the “Against Racism Campaign” that was launched in May 2013.

Dr. Abdallah Teia Jumaa, a member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N); a political and armed movement said, “It’s time to topple the NCP or the people of Sudan will continue suffering. It has been proven that the youth can organize themselves successfully and fearlessly take to the streets in peaceful protests. But the regime is killing people daily in South Kordofan, the Blue Nile region and Darfur. Nothing worse could happen to us. More activism is needed to get rid of the NCP.”

Malik Aggar, head of the SRF, and Gibril Balal, spokesperson for the Justice and Equality Movement - an armed opposition group and member of Sudanese Revolutionary Front, maintained that they will put their arms down and stop military operations as soon as the Albashir regime has fallen.

Recent protests have revealed how fragile the NCP is. The false accusations of the SRF being responsible for killing peaceful protesters has made people reconsider the role of the government and police authorities. Residents of Khartoum believe that the NCP is targeting Sudanese citizens financed by resources which ought to be used to feed the poor and offer education and health facilities for Sudanese citizens. The use of excessive force on peaceful protesters undermines NCP justification of protecting Arab Muslim identity from traitors and western agents aimed at dividing the Sudanese community. While people in the war zones are continuing their struggle through both peaceful and armed means; people in the capital are convinced of the legitimate right of self-defense and armed struggle. Although the wave of protests has shrunk during the past few days, the list of grievances is increasing. Popular anger will soon explode in the streets: it’s only a matter of time.

Floods in Sudan: intervention beyond community-based initiatives is needed

Published here

The night of Wednesday July 31, 2013 in Alfath, a town northwest of the city of Omdurman, two children aged four and two died instantaneously after the roof of their house fell in; leaving their three brothers injured. When it rains in Alfath, parents have always put their children’s beds in the yard or even on the streets and covered them with plastic blankets in an attempt to keep them as far from falling walls as possible. A father of three children said "We cannot risk our children’s lives; it's better to keep them cold and wet rather than buried under debris." Another 3 kids were reportedly killed by electric shock on the evening of August 9 in the Gabra neighborhood of Khartoum.

Since the evening of August 1, 2013, Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, has witnessed heavy rainfall and harsh floods. The rainfall came up to 32-56 mml, making it higher than it has been in years and the damage even worse. The yearly rainy season, usually from the end of June into the beginning of September, always leaves many people injured or dead, due to the collapse of houses and roads. 

But these devastating effects of rainfall and floods do not seem to have much impact on the Sudanese government. Three days after the disaster, President Omar Elbashir flew to Tehran to congratulate the newly elected Iranian president without making any official statement with regards to the floods. The Khartoum state governor, in a TV interview, denied that this was a  “disaster” calling the situation a "crisis" instead, on the grounds that it was only a disaster if half the total population was affected. Abdulgadir Hemmat, head of the Khartoum Roads and Bridges Authority, meanwhile, admitted that the sacloe of the destruction was due to houses poorly built out of weak and cheap materials. He also made a point of saying that the houses built out of cement blocks were not affected and by doing so made the residents of Khartoum responsible for the damage they had incurred. 

The Sudan Metrological Authority website has apparently not been updated since 2012. They presented last year’s forecast as this year’s, failing to predict heavy rainfall. On the other hand, the website of the Ministry of Civil Defense was quick to report how a fire at the US Embassy in Khartoum was handled last January 2013.

As of August 9, the death toll came to 53 persons and the estimate of those affected by the floods exceeds 72,585 persons in Sharq Elnil, Kararri, Umbadda and northern Khartoum. According to UN dispatch, the Sudanese government has put restrictions on the humanitarian assistance NGOs can provide in flood-affected areas. As a result of these restrictions as well as the government’s reluctance in providing assistance and managing the floods, a wave of popular unrest has emerged in Alfath, Umbadda and Sharq Alnil as well as on social media sites. The protestors have demanded aid from the government, but the government has responded violently by trying to disperse the protests with tear gas. 

Nafeer, a community-based youth-led initiative, was formed on Facebook on Friday, August 2, 2013. They started operating from Gisr Centre’s headquarters, another youth led non-profit organization, by assessing and responding to people’s needs in the affected areas. They have been collecting donations, providing tents, plastic sheets, food, clothes and medical assistance to all those affected. Almost 1200 volunteers registered and joined Nafeer in its first week of operations. On August 5-6 alone they received 264 calls on their emergency hotline. Local residents and the Sudanese diaspora have made cash donations exceeding 400 thousand Sudanese pounds (approx. 57 000 USD).

Community-based initiatives like Nafeer frequently emerge to bridge the gap between people’s needs and lack of government services. Charitable initiatives, like Sadaggat and Shariee Alhawadith, have been providing food and clothes as well as medical care for years. They offer much-needed assistance and an ‘alternative’ to the official social welfare system which does not exist. 

However, Nafeer is different as they are offering ad hoc solutions for an emergency situation that needs mass government and national intervention. Although Nafeer aspires to offer assistance nationwide to all those affected by the floods, their work is inevitably limited to the State of Khartoum as it is difficult to access all the other areas. In North Darfur 2000 houses were destroyed by rainfall on August 1, 2013 and 500 houses in Dereig IDP camp in South Darfur was destroyed on July 17, 2013. 

There hasn’t been any attempt at the reconstruction of homes or shelter let alone psychosocial support for the survivors; what is needed extends far beyond the immediate assistance provided.  "It has been a horrible, unforgettable experience. My family has lost everything, thanks to Allah we are alive. Now, in just one week, I cannot imagine going back to university. We've lost everything; I'm afraid the roads to downtown Khartoum no longer function. Anyway I can't see myself ever resuming my normal life" said a flood survivor from Sharq Elnil on the eve of Alfitr day.

Diaries of Ethiopian Lady in Khartoum; 2nd Scene

The Tea Lady:

Sometimes during the midday when I'm just sitting to my stove I just wonder who am I? for the past few months I lost my feelings of my self; even the control over my body. People are calling me with names are not mine and no one what to learn my real name. Although the weather is extremely hot; I have to put loads of clothes in order to minimize the chances of being arrested. I received a phone call from one of the sweetest Amharic man in Khartoum, he wanted to know how am I doing and how was the last few days since his last call. Such a nice phone call would make my day; unless...

A Sudanese customer was sitting next to me. he is very annoying passing by me every day to have tea and chat. His eyes was following my moves, my expressions even while I'm talking to others and in phone. He gave his self the right to ask me to speak only Arabic; not to him only but whoever I talk with I should speak Arabic. I asked him why? he said because you came to Sudan; the people here should only speak Arabic and If I want to use this jargon I should go back to Habesha. He was so mean, his eyes was full of anger. It was one of the moments that you just want to close your eyes and its gone. All I need in this country is to earn some money peacefully.

I lost my name, my appearance and now I should lose my mother tongue to avoid this kind of harassment.

Some Sudanese People Don't Eat

I was motivated by the article "What do Sudanese People eat? written by Reem Shawkat and published here" to share this story of a displaced family.

A mother of 3 primary school students; was abandoned by her husband because he couldn't feed them. The mother tried to work as domestic worker but she couldn't sustain regular income. for months she was feeding her children with Balila with sugar or oil and fennel, rarely they would have Sakhina which is a bread with tomato juice and onions. She cannot afford them more than one meal a day; so they go to school without having their breakfast. Fortunately the woman managed to operate a small bussiness; her family and friends bought her a small fridge so she can make and sell ice cream. She earned 33 pounds in one day and thought to prepare a feast for the children. She bought for them fish, Jagajig (chicken guts) and green salade. When her children saw the dishes they were crying from happiness. For a long time they havn't eat a real meal. The elder brother said when it is breakfast time at school; he used to take his brothers and sit inside the class room. He didn't want them to see their class mates eating while they are hungry.

In South Kordofan; despite the drought which affected sub Saharan region last year; the farmers were not able to farm because of the war and aircraft bombing to their villages.Some Nuba families in Khartoum tend to send wheat and packages of corn to their relatives there. Corn packages (Shawal) in some South Kordofan local markets costs 1,300 pounds and rarely can be obtained.

Sudan Will Revolt Again

I'm writing this post and very excited about the whole issue of #SudanRevolt. I think it was a success story rather than a sign of failure. Deeply in my heart I didn't expect this massive protests will withdraw NCP regime but I was convinced that the protestors were celebrating the "last" anniversary of Ingaz revolution. If Ingaz survived to celebrate its 24th anniversary; more protestors will join the celebration of the "last anniversary" next year.

After 23 years of oppression and crimes committed against regime opponents Its seems impossible in few days and even months to see thousands of people taking the streets and protesting against NCP regime.

On January 30th 2011 the protests lasts for less than an hour while June-July 2012 lasted for approximately 6 weeks. Since more virtual activists have joined on the ground demonstrations.

Sudan June-July 2012 revolution was a success story because regime opposition took another level compared to January 30th, 2011. The number of people who took the streets was incomparable to those of January 30th. Ordinary citizens who haven't any relation to politics and activism have joined the protests simply because they fed up with high living costs, oppression and high rates of corruption among government officials.

The rape of Safia Ishag on January 30th protests was an announcement and threatening message to all Sudanese women to protest. The brave Safia has inspired a lot of women to take the streets and even to ignite June-July 2012 protests. Women had too reasons to protest against NCP and the rape of Safia has changed from being an instrument of oppressing the protests to a reason and inspiration to start a new wave of protests.

The teenagers catalyzed the success story of June-July protests. They didn't witnessed the violent phase of Ingaz in the early 1990's so they have less fears than young activists who were born in the 1980's. High school students has lead many neighborhood protests; and because they are still in high school and they didn't get engaged in any political activities yet; NISS regarded them as "kids" and have no idea about them and even not aware by their brilliant protesting strategies. Even me I was surprised to know that the younger brother of my friend were involved in one of the biggest neighborhood protests; he has no political affiliation, very young and brave to handle arrest and one day under NISS custody. Now he is very motivated to continue the struggle against NCP after his detention ad torture by NISS. The teenagers of today are the next generation of politicians and human rights defenders.

photo from Bashir's Diaries FB page

The detained activists who were arrested from the Friday protests testified that they meet in detention many people who are not activists at all as housewives, high school students and even elderly people.

The protests occured in middle class inhabited neighborhoods as Wd Nubawi, Beit Almal, Eldeim, Jabra, Elgirif, Aldanagla and others; while the highly populated neighborhoods and the former IDP camps around Khartoum remained dormant; although they are the most impoverished and disadvantaged population. Many activists questioned the situation of displaced people around Khartoum and how they surrender to NCP. We should take into consideration that the moment those people join the peaceful revolution and take the streets this will be the end of NCP because of they are the majority of Khartoum population. The majority of them were displaced due to civil wars; many of them believe in armed struggle and are waiting for those groups to reach Khartoum and take the control over government. Joining one day protest by those people means not working that day and hence not earning money to feed a person or a family that day; taking the risk of joining the protests is affecting their survival directly.

The most influencing factor for marginalized persons not joining the peaceful revolution is the limited solidarity among the activists specifically and the whole Sudanese society with the displaced and minor groups. This has lead to the mistrust in the whole activists community and a huge social gap. While the cities around the world were protesting against war in Darfur; only Darfurian activists were protesting in Khartoum in the early 2000's. Now the western communities are campaigning against wars in Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile and the anti-war national campaign is limited to individual activists.

We cannot demand the displaced; the marginalized disadvantaged communities to join our revolution. Our cause is built basically around their grievances, but it took us a long time to do so. Its a matter of time and efforts to build trust on activism and peaceful opposition among these communities in order to join anti NCP; peaceful revolution.

The June-July 2012 revolution has redefined the notions of activists; solidarity and most importantly defeated the myth of undefeated NCP. The protests came to an end but the revolution never ends; soon or later more people will take the streets to bring the regime down. Till that time the activists community should pay their share in putting the revolution in the right track.

Freedom.. Peace & Justice... Sudan will revolt Again.

Unhealed Darfur… Nyala Massacre

On July 31st 2012, I was a little bit sick that day; actually the sickness was a result of fasting without eating enough food. It was Ramadan and many friends were fasting under NISS custody, probably they were tortured and find no mercy in the month of mercy. It was a nightmare for the families to gather at breaking the fast and a beloved person is missing. The intensity and frequency of protests were decreasing in Khartoum. All the elements of frustration were there in addition to hunger and low blood pressure. I decided to spend that day just laying on my bed. Not to do any thing and basically to avoid FB and twitter. I heard my father sadly saying There is No Power but from Allah. I run to his room and asked him whats happening he said " they killed the kids in Nyala"
I've just turned backwards and slept. This was too much sorrow, anger and sadness to handle. I kept following the news from my dad and my brother. I expected the day after to find the streets of Khartoum are full of protesters demanding justice for Nyala massacre victims but nobody were there. I wasn't surprised; more than 300,000 persons were killed in Darfur; 2,000,000 were displaced and nobody were protesting against this in Khartoum. I was also surprised by the shocked faces of Khartoum people; I kept saying yeah they shot fire on peaceful protesters, they are killers, nothing is new about this; the killers are still there. What would we expect from a government killed more than 300,000 without held responsible and being accountable to these crimes. Simply they'll continue killing and firing them. I was so angry and so many people were angry too, but we didn't took the streets. Khartoum anti regime protesters waited Friday prayers and gathered again in Wd Nubawi mosque. Although many of them have mentioned that Ansar sect were not happy with Friday protests heading from their mosque since Shozaz Alafag Friday on 6th July 2012. On 13th July; the Kandake Friday some Ansari women quarreled with protesting women telling them that It seems they didn't came for the prayers rather than the "protests" and they are ruining some marriage ceremonies. Finally on Friday August 3rd, when people gathered to pray for the souls of Nyala Massacre victims Imam asked them not to distort the mosque mandates and activities by organizing protests.
Although it was a big frustration for the protesters but the whole issue were distorted. Most of the activists rather than thinking about managing protests from other place than Wd Nubawi mosque; were busy with analyzing if Umma party and Ansar sect betrayed them or not; was this failure due to lack of coordination or it revealed the party standing point.  The whole issue of solidarity and demanding justice for the Nyala massacre victims' were forgotten.

It took me 3 weeks to write this post; because I didn't know how can I write it. Even-more; I was questioning the value of blogging about peaceful protests firing and murder of children without taking the streets.I'm convinced that justice would never be achieved under this regime. The atrocity of Nyala massacre could never be reflected in a blog post; at the same time I could never pretend that nothing happened and continue writing about trivial things.

Although protests subsided now but it will revive again soon or later. This wouldn't be the last massacre in Darfur and we must never forget the victims. July 31st will always be a sad day witnessed the killing of 13 peaceful protestors and the injuring of more than a hundred of them.

#SudanRevolts

Published also herehttp://sudanyat.wordpress.com/2012/08/24/unhealed-darfur-nyala-massacre/

One Year After South Sudan's Secession, the North Is on Fire

Published here

"I called my mum and dad's mobiles but they were not picking up. I kept calling them for the whole of last night until their phones were switched off. Then I started calling our neighbors, one of them answered my call saying that my family and all the people ran away after war broke down in our village. Nobody was left behind except the dead." Ibtisam* is a student from Deling in Southern Kordofan and these were her words on Thursday 9 June 2011 when she spoke about the war she had suffered. One year ago.
I thought that the secession of South Sudan would be the price of peace; preserving the lives and the dignity of the Sudanese people so that we could hold the pain of our failure to coexist peacefully. But losing the South, not making peace and triggering a war in the new South is a nightmare. It is hard to think about your government's aircrafts bombing your fellow citizens and sleep comfortably that night, even if you are living thousands of miles away from the war zone. Our innocent people in the Nuba Mountains are losing their homes, their families and their lives; they are paying the price of our Government's greed.
Since June 2011, the Nuba Mountains have been a restricted access area with no relief or humanitarian aid able to reach the victims of war. While aircrafts have bombed villages, few local human rights monitors are documenting the violations. While the international community was silently watching, Blue Nile state followed the Nuba Mountains in its decent to war in September 2011.
Another episode of war began three months ago as clashes took place between South Sudan and Sudan in Heglig, an oil rich border area. These clashes affected the citizens of both countries. In Sudan, the escalation of war has worsened our poor economic situation even more and living expenses have doubled in just a few days. The lives of Southerners who remain in the north have been threatened by hate speeches made by President Al Bashir and Government officials. People went crazy on the streets chanting for Sudan's Armed Forces (SAF), to beat the "insects" of South Sudan's army as Al Bashir called them. One day after declaring victory in Heglig, a church was burnt in Khartoum.
Freedoms have shrunk since July 2011. We now have a one party government attempting to impose a single identity on the nation. Every person or group which dares to declare itself different is regarded as "other".
My generation has witnessed the North-South war in the name of religion. In the 1990s many Sudanese youth took part in the Jihad, believing that Allah would reward them with heaven if they died at war. Most families have lost a loved one. We were the children of war propaganda; few of us realized the sins of war after struggling emotionally and mentally to understand the necessity of peace.
I believe that many lives have been destroyed by the war. But being killed in war isn't the worst that can happen. Children have lost their families and have been displaced and exploited as soldiers. They've lost their hopes for a better future. Women were raped and tortured and saw their own children and husbands slaughtered. People were starved to death while escaping war. A whole nation has been deformed by the sins of war.
I dream of a country where civil records officers do not put your tribe as a vital information for a national ID. I dream of a better Sudan where my children and the children of the Nuba Mountains enjoy the right to life, access to education and health care.
For all of the above mentioned reasons I say "never again".

*Name changed for security reasons
www.wechoosepeace.org #ChoosePeace

To Margret: I Hope This Post Will Find A Way To You

Since I was a primary school child, I was told in the school and TV that southerners are our enemy, they want to control our country and if we let them to do so, they will confiscate our houses and treat us as their slaves. They will destroy our mosques and burn Quran. We told that they are already doing this in the areas controlled by SPLA. We were forced to chant for Jihad, pay our share of feeding the soldiers and pray for our brothers to be safe and win "our" battle of Islam. 

I remember one of my class mates (Margret) was crying someday; she was terrified by war slogans and felt threatened by them. That day I questioned myself why the sweet Margret was terrified? We were chanting for the bad southerners not her, I told her she will be OK but somehow I felt guilty of letting her feel as such. Surprisingly I realized later all southerners felt like Margret.

The 9 years old girls started talking; why Margret was attending the school with us while all Southerners were attending Comboni school attached to the Evangelical Church? she will be fine there and will be easily integrated ignoring the fact that she is Sudanese and has the right to attend any public school.

Dear Margret;

please accept our deep sorrows and apologies for hate we spread; you know we liked you very much. We were just school kids and didn't mean to hurt you. Now I can imagine the pain you felt while the girls asked you to leave the school. The fear you lived in when we chant for Jihad and the killing of Southerners. If you voted to South Sudan separation no body can blame you. If you choose not to leave your home in Algazeera, you should have the choice, and for you Sudan revolts.