thoughts of news year By: Abdul-Aziz Ali Omer

Another last word

This is the proudest moment of North Sudan. The flag was raised the work had begun for building A Sudanese renaissance began with un-slackening energy.

By: Abdul-Aziz Ali Omer.
It is December, 30 and much has been said of 2013 emotions and events. More can be added as the the Sun of January, 2014 rises over the melodramatic stream of life. This contribution is just another last word. I am writing to you from Gedaref, the Eastern window of Sudan with Ethiopia that comes to Sudan as broker and peasant in the lush plains of Gedaref. On the roads of this dismal city, twins of flags indicate the approaching Independence Day, first of January (1956). The country’s national banners in the sultry breeze nod longer than the flashes of traffic light. I hope they will not flutter longer than the twinkles of artillery fires in Bantiu and Malakal. Anyone who is aware of the importance of human feelings for the civilized Sudanese community doesn’t it difficult to understand me. I drank a cup of water from one of itinerant water vendors. As he passed by , he sung :”mashaina Juba, Ajmal madina” “ We went to Juba , the most captivating city .” It was as if he heard one of Southern friends repeat that Northern song which says:” O, my brothers’ sing for us…” The water seller voice was a resonance of another voice we all knew and loved, Mahmoud Abdulaziz, the late public singer. Neither the sweet voice of neither water seller nor the potted ferns before handful of pharmacies cooled the vent of hot Air that blew through Juba. Juba is beautiful, very beautiful, the passing singer said in contrast to the Newspaper of the respective day that pictured the city as boat mounted by a man with an oar raking over sea of human skulls . The sight was reminiscent of an ominous and dark view of George Orwell “if you want a picture of future, you can imagine boot stamping over a human face”.
As I knocked on the door of our home, another terrible scene confronted me through that the Radio that broadcasted one of Independence commemorating songs. It depicted the English-made atrocities against the soldiers of Mahdi. The song lyric literally goes as “The river “Nile” is over floating with bodies of victims and pink with blood” . Another forgotten and ostensibly good sight is living in “Khartoum, the ultimate imperial adventure” by Michael Usher who claimed that Kitchener, the English leader wept over the ruins of Sudan’s palace. Were these tears of crocodile or sadist? I can’t judge.
Some of Sudanese intellectuals argue that saying we salute the memory of martyrs is counterfeiting or forging history. In fact, the lastly obtained independence, the abolition of condominium, the joint rule of United Kingdom and Egypt was a peaceful transition of power into native Sudanese hands. But,”Rome wasn’t build in one day” . Those who fell as martyrs from the Mhadi soldiers and ancient kingdom merit more than a salute. If constructing memorials was a part of Sudanese culture, Sudan would have become the largest country in the world that accommodates statues. I take off my hat to the members of Sudanization commission, Graduates Congress, the voice of enlightened Sudanese and members of Legislative Council and to the crew of diplomacy and civil service in all Sudan.
The last days of December were cold. How biting is the equatorial winter and the South-South salt of disdain! Independence is peace and not mere flags and anthems that turned into Trojan horse. 2013 is a sad year for Juba and Khartoum because they lost Martin Luther and Mandela. Martin Luther would say to Juba:” I have a dream.” And Mandel would add:” a nation in peace with itself”.
One of recurrent questions every year: What is the identity of Sudan? Africans?! Arabs?! Let us remember the answer of AbdulGadir Wad Haboba, one of Sudanese resistance pockets put down by the British. The English judge in his execution trial, what is your tribe? Asked him and he replied ““Sudanese “infuriating the judge. Let us remember one of Shakespeare sayings: “To be or not be that is the question.”
Marking the nee year, In 1984, ships sirens dinned the ears and colored flare of lights capped port Sudan where it‘s stadium roared in the presence of provincial governor from Medni. Meanwhile, official trucks banished pale emaciated victims of drought so as not distort the image of city and not to occupy the pores of New Year cakes. These were the grimmest memories of the Sudanese veteran journalist Jabrallah El-amin Omer. I met him in the recent festival of tourism and shopping in Port Sudan. He told me about the heart-breaking story of Fatima, little soul and how she escaped from trucks that drove out the poorest from the city. He said that nobody could reproach her even by a look for she spent two days with no food!
He thought that the festival of tourism and shopping should provide curative services and health sensitization programmes to the drought affected citizens in recent years in the slums of Hambakta, Tindilia and Tahamim in Port Sudan. It is a good message. We also hope the New Year, 2014 will be good too.