Sudan is a country in Northeast Africa. It is the third largest country in Africa, after Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The river Nile runs from the north to the south of Sudan and the Red Sea is the lowest point in Sudan. And if these facts just aren’t enough for you did you know that there are more pyramids in one small section of the northern Sudanese desert than there are in the whole of Egypt?
Sudan has natural treasures and people who treasure her and one such individual is Esra Mansour. Mansour is a Sudanese descendant living in London and on meeting her 3 years ago in Shanghai it was obvious that Sudan was in her veins. Mansour used to call herself ‘Esra the goat’ and due to my own ignorance, I thought it was because of all the goat stories that she would share with me in regards to Sudan. You see Sudan has goats and with plenty articles such as the one titled ‘Goats and Garbage in Khartoum,’ you can see why I didn’t suspect my own ignorance. If a whole article could be written about Sudan’s Nubian goats then who was I to think anything of her Instagram handle being ‘Esra the goat’ or her display picture being a picture of her and a goat.
Thankfully I have since updated my understanding of the meaning of #GOAT. It means ‘Greatest Of All Time’ and in such times there is nobody greater than Esra Mansour to talk about the ongoing Sudanese revolution; her thoughts, feelings and her point of view. I don’t know about you but I am interested in hearing from a girl who loves goats, is grounded by her faith and is a splash of color in this our blank canvas, planet earth.
We’re Blue too
By now you should have seen people’s display pictures turn #martyrblue and your favorites use their platforms to spread awareness. No this isn’t a social media algorithms game to help you stay relevant in these Instagram, Twitter or Facebook streets but it was intended to celebrate the life of Mohamed Mattar who liked blue. Mattar was fatally shot on 3 June 2019 when he was protecting 2 women during a and I quote “a bloody dispersal of the protest camp outside the military headquarters” (Aljazeera: 2019/6). How poignantly put? Especially considering that protesters were camping at the military headquarters peacefully?
And without trying to be in my feelings too much but imagine something as valid as your favorite color and a cause you believe in being used 47.9 thousand times in a hashtag on Instagram alone. Like what’s the big deal with all the blue? Oh, you know this dude called Mohamed Mattar was killed whilst protecting 2 women at a peaceful protest camp in Khartoum and he just so happened to like blue.
Yes, these were some of the basic questions I asked Mansour before re-evaluating my life and realizing that I could ask a few more non-invasive questions and to my surprise Mansour obliged. I asked her eight calm questions. I wanted to know her stance, find out her thoughts and feelings about Sudan, about power relations, celebrations, South Sudan, deals, the internet and how we benefit when others just like you and me go through the most.
From the #GOATS mouth
Her name is Esra Mansour, her people are Sudanese and this is what she had to say.
What do you feel about what’s happening in Sudan?
My feelings are going through peaks and troughs. In the beginning, the Sudanese uprising was something to marvel at, their persistence had knocked down two leaders from the military regime in the space of 48 hours, Omar Al-Bashir and his successor Awad Ibn Auf. A regime that has been in power for 30 years. Now, I feel anguish, with the recent outbreak of attacks on protestors by the Rapid Support Forces, who are essentially the Janjaweed, responsible for the atrocities in Darfur but just rebranded their name and still led by the same war criminal, Hemeti.
Last week a power-sharing deal was reached between the military and the civilians. In this power-sharing deal, a military general will lead the joint council for the first 21 months and a civilian leader will lead for 18 months. What are your thoughts on these developments?
I feel happy and hopeful but obviously, there is always room for more atrocities. Only Allah knows and we must just keep pushing.
What do you want people to know about Sudan?
We are strong yet gentle people. We are renowned for our hospitality, if a guest comes over you give them all you have even if you only have little. If you’re an unknown and you are walking on the street, people will call you into their homes to eat and converse with them.
Oh, and we never pass up an opportunity for a party
What would you like to see happen in Sudan?
I would like to see peace and justice in Sudan. A ruling power that reflects the dignity of its people.
What makes Sudan so unique?
It’s hard to choose! I would say our faith and morals; Sufism is extremely popular in Sudan and our religious leaders are beautiful warm people. Also, our women are mothers of revolutions – they are visionaries who are outspoken as they are nurturing.
If you could solve one problem that affects Sudan what would it be?
The handling of the economy, poverty is on the rise in Sudan.
What are your thoughts about the activism that has swept over Sudan?
It’s brilliant but not new. Sudanese people have never shied away from revolution, risking their lives and livelihoods for a righteous cause.
What are your thoughts on the mobile internet access being restored and according to Al Jazeera (2019;7) slowly?
What people might not know is that Sudan is similar to China in that many websites like Instagram or snapchat have been restricted in Sudan under this regime. This has been a way to suppress expression, art, culture and the recent shut down is simply an extension of the silencing. Now they have conveniently reconnected the internet after the power-sharing agreement it’s just another power move but either way it’s great that we are able to reconnect with our families and receive live information on the uprising.
How have you benefited from what’s happening in Sudan or not living in Sudan?
Yes, of course, I am one of many in the diaspora whose parents fled Sudan because of political persecution. I am able to benefit from the education, career opportunities and freedom of expression in the UK that so many back home in Sudan have been stripped of. Many of the protestors in Sudan are university graduates who have been struggling to find employment, this is a huge issue and there is a high degree of disillusionment amongst the youth especially.
South Sudan celebrated 8 years of independence from Sudan after a decade long civil war on July 9th; do you remember when that happened or the years before their independence? What are your thoughts and what do you think of South Sudan celebrating their 8 years of independence whilst Sudan was going through their own conflicts?
Yeah, I definitely remember it happening, but I was too young and politically apathetic to understand its significance. I remember years before it, on my visits home, the South Sudanese were treated as second class citizens and experienced many violations under this regime and often worked as servants to the northerners. It was very sad to see and now I’m older and have learned more of the history this differential treatment began and was institutionalized during the colonial period that had a ‘southern policy’ which effectively isolated them from the north. Post-independence, the two distinct peoples were brought together and the longest civil war in history ensued and the injustices towards the south were sustained politically and socially. Looking back, the split was inevitable, maybe even calculated by the colonizers.
In regard to what I think of their celebrating independence, all the power to them! Who am I to say anything about it. They deserve self-determination after all these years of mistreatment.
This regime that is being toppled is also criticized for the way they treated the south, and maybe if things were handled differently the ‘Sudan’ (Land of the blacks) would still be one, but instead, the north since its independence has played into the ethnic and religious divisions galvanized during the colonial period for their own political and economic gains and so here we are. Sudan has sadly in recent times been a history of conflict, more so than other nations. This is the sad reality of nationhood, however.
What is your power?
I am still discovering it. At the moment I can play a small part by raising awareness on social media or donating to funds for medical care and getting food out to people trapped in their homes to avoid the violence on the streets. Hopefully, in the future, I can play more of an active role but am still yet to know what exactly that looks like.
Complex
Wow! Powerful? Right! Whether we are going #blueforsudan or reading up on what’s happening around the world, wanting to be more informed, sharing through social media when so many aren’t allowed to use platforms such as social media, reach out and connect with people around the world and walk a mile in their shoes by just listening. Who knows you might learn something new like how your favorite color to what you stand for is always valid. And the Sudanese people’s desires are not only valid but are proving to be fruitful and continuous.
Thank you for reading to the end of this article. We would like to wish Sudan a successful political transition. We would also like to wish South Sudan many more years of independence as they celebrated 8 years of independence from Sudan after the longest civil war Africa has experienced.
References
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01190132
http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2014/08/29/the_nubian_meroe_pyramids_in_sudan.html
https://www.okayafrica.com/inside-sudans-viral-revolution-what-you-need-to-know/