Arab Forum for Thought and Dialogue

In two days, the Arab Forum for Thought and Dialogue will host, via Zoom from Berlin, Sudanese intellectual Dr. Al-Shafi Khidir Said for a discussion titled: 'From Revolution to War, Where is Sudan Heading?!' We hope to find new and useful insights in this seminar, especially given that the main speaker is Dr. Al-Shafi Khidir Said. He is known for his intellectual sobriety, the profundity of his analysis, his respect for opposing opinions, and a calmness that reflects an inner peace, emanating safety and comprehensive harmony for all with grace, generosity, and an outstretched hand of friendship and goodwill, without affectation or false pretense. It is as if he is saying, 'I am from you and for you,' and the truth remains between us as a witness to the era and the shortest path to victory... victory over enemies and over the self, which, if we do not bridle it, will lead us to the paths of loss and ruin!! I sincerely ask the doctor—given the highly reliable information available to him—is all this fire that our beloved country has suffered, which has consumed both people and stone, solely caused by a race to the presidential chair between Al-Burhan and Hemedti? Does this mean the whole matter was merely personal ambitions with no connection to the safety and security of the country, and that the livelihoods and welfare of the citizens were not the goal? And before the first bullet was fired, even though the two generals were at the height of harmony, did close observers notice that each was provoking the other with signs—some hidden, some as clear as the sun? Yet the hour of reckoning was postponed between the general who stretched the ropes of patience for his deputy, who began to stray, seeing that their ranks were aligned and that the father should follow the advice of the wise, which dictates that 'if your son grows up, treat him as a brother.' But the father general said it quite frankly to his pampered son: 'Bite me, but do not bite my presidential chair,' and this is something I will not allow as long as a vein pulses in me. With the hardening of views between the two partners, the raven of separation covered the sky of the capital, Khartoum, and the hordes of owls celebrated the ruins they never dreamed of having. Strangers arrived, and the inhabitants of the house departed to their inevitable fate in a journey of displacement unparalleled in history books. Those who remained alive are still enveloped in shock, with one thought in mind, even though the answer no longer matters: who fired the first bullet? You were like fat and honey together, hand in hand, when the sit-in was dispersed, and in the coup against the transitional period, you both rushed with the gun to abort the civilians' dream of choosing a head of state according to the agreed-upon deal witnessed by countries and organizations. Yet all this, in the blink of an eye, died and was buried, and the military entrenched itself in power. But as they say, 'two captains sank the ship'; one of the generals had to have his companion for lunch before he was had for dinner. There is no blame on either of them, for the presidential chair is sought after with great sacrifice, and everything is trivial for its sake. This struggle has extended throughout history; how many palaces have witnessed purges between the closest of kin and the most loyal of friends in the name of 'correction'? In ancient Rome, Julius Caesar said, 'Et tu, Brute?' The question remains: who fired the first bullet? Although the question no longer matters, as Sudan has become a thing of the past!! Doctor Al-Shafi, if Paris and its sisters are burning today, and students are no longer convinced by the education in their own country—despite all its academies, poetry, arts, and culture—and in this country, it is conceivable that the high cost of living forces workers into the streets to trade blows with the police, we are stunned to see with our own eyes scenes they said were familiar in the poor third world, but impossible in democracies, especially the established ones in America, Britain, France, and Italy. Doctor, where is our country compared to French education and Western welfare, while our military, since seizing the reins, has introduced oddities and curiosities into our curricula? They are taught against the will of the teacher, who is ordered to read to his students the president's speech delivered in Abbasiya, where he spoke admiringly of Ho Chi Minh's shoes, the asceticism of the Soviets, the chastity of Gamal Abdel Nasser, and Che Guevara's canteen. And when this president was inaugurated as the Imam of Muslims, he said within earshot of the people gathered around him: 'You are all equal before the President of the Republic, except by piety!' Doctor, could Sudan have returned to the Stone Age had it not been for the plague of ignorance or the deliberate dumbing-down practiced by imported ideologies? They seized power and imposed the education they wanted, as well as the media. Since their stay in power was prolonged, the people turned into parrots repeating what was dictated to them, and some of them, out of extreme passivity, began to say in public: 'We want a military ruler to discipline us.' I heard a famous journalist say he prefers military rule because there is discipline, despite claiming he loves democracy!! We still hear about countries fueling the conflict among us, but none is mentioned explicitly except the UAE, which is said to be buying weapons from the market at the highest prices and sending them to Hemedti. This weaponry, by the admission of the other party, is specialized, and their opponent does not possess its like, although this opponent is not 'cut from a tree' either and has friends who send him ammunition, but who are they? Well, Doctor, the flow of arms to both sides is a reason for this war to become like a life sentence. The most optimistic see this as a civil war, and civil wars usually last between twenty years or more, as happened in Lebanon, Syria, and other countries!! Let us dream that the Umma Party unites and becomes one, as well as the Democratic Unionist Party, and that the head of each party is confident, not needing a guardian or sponsor from the sectarian leaders. The sectarian leaders should stick to their prayer rugs and be guides, reformers, and teachers, far from politics and disputes, all being brothers, loving science and work in agriculture, livestock, industry, and trade with transparency for the sake of the nation, pushing it forward!! In conclusion, who would believe that a Saudi and a Yemeni would fight each other, with rivers of blood flowing between them instead of love, affection, and tenderness, while the people are displaced, Israel rejoices and sings, and Trump chuckles, brazenly asking for the Nobel Peace Prize!! If Trump tackles solving our country's problem, know, ladies and gentlemen of Sudan, that your night will be long, with bundles upon bundles of nightmares, headaches, and irritable bowel syndrome!! Thanks to the presenters of the seminar, but our country is no longer an experimental field, and quartets, quintets, and envoys are swarming like ants—every time one ant leaves, another enters!! After all this harsh lesson, is it time for the people of the country to return to their senses, or should we say, 'The lesson is over, Zaki'!! Ghamed Al-Neel Fadl Al-Mawla Abdul Rahman Qurashi. Veteran Teacher. ghamedalneil@gmail.com