So what if he is not a good president, he is a great dancer!

So Basheer the butcher is a good dancer! yes, good for him!

now shake it elsewhere please!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jIBwApdJl4&feature=related

Professor Collins

I first met him last summer, the 29th of June to be exact. It was my second day in Santa Barbara, California and my first time in America.
It was about 2 o'clock and I rushed back to the hotel to meet him because I didn't want to be late.
When I emailed him a week before travelling, I didn't expect a reply. After all, he was a distinguished professor and a well-known author. To my surprise, he emailed me back and told me to write to him as soon as I arrive.
I did. He agreed to come to the Upham hotel, where I was staying at the time. He said he knows the place very well.

We talked about politics, the Sudan, the war, the referendum in 2011, the future of the country, my family, my studies, his life in the Sudan and his books.
He was my favorite author. A Sudan expert.
He was first introduced to Africa in the 50's through books. He went to Sudan a month after its independence, in 1956. For the next 52 years, Sudan became his interest. He wrote atleast 15 books on the Sudan alone, he met many intellectuals, leaders and liberation fighters and he is one of the few people in the world to have traveled in every part of the country ( including Sudanese and non-Sudanese).

He knows the country better than all of us combined.

I've emailed him a few times after I came back. A few days ago, I wanted to e-mail him about a couple of interesting articles I wanted him to read.

I forgot his e-mail so I looked at his page only to find the following announcement
"We are sad to report that Professor Robert Collins passed away suddenly on Friday, April 11, 2008. A full obituary will be available soon."

This can't be happening. We were supposed to meet again, right? I was supposed to write my phd under his supervision. He was supposed to live love enough to see Sudan at peace. He was supposed to celebrate with us.
He should've waited, 2011 is only 3 years from now. He wanted to know the future of South Sudan more than any other person.

When Judgement day comes,the Sudanese deserve to go to Heaven

Decades of war, a psychotic president and an unendurable climate , I believe that the Sudanese should go to heaven.

Everytime I lose hope, I look at the average Sudanese and I'm optimistic again.

Burj El Fateh

It's a good imitation of Dubai's Burj Al Arab.

We, the Sudanese are excited about Burj El Fateh, the new egg-shapped hotel/mall in K-town.

I'm talking about a country at war and under severe American/ European and UN sanctions. I can't help but think about a Sudan at peace. It could easily become a regional powerhouse!

Sudan, the pride of Africa ( in the near future, say ameeen!)

Breakfast in Khartoum by Rob Crilly

Interesting article by Rob Crilly, a freelance journalist writing about Africa for The Times, The Irish Times, The Daily Mail, The Scotsman and The Christian Science Monitor from his base in Nairobi.

Breakfast in Khartoum

The coffee tastes like coffee, the croissants are flaky on the outside and soft on the inside, and the wifi is running at the speed of light. But this isn’t breakfast in Kenya - where the coffee was probably grown and which is setting itself up to be an internet hub for East Africa. This is Sudan, which is still recovering from decades of civil war in the south and where sanctions are supposed to be bringing the economy to its knees.
But since arriving in Khartoum I’ve updated my iTunes and downloaded new software for my phone. Doing that back home in Nairobi would have meant leaving my computer on overnight.
Khartoum has some of the most sophisticated coffeeshops in Africa. Wifi at Solitaire is some of the fastest I’ve found and I won’t bore you again by talking about Ozone’s fantastic carrot cake. (Danish pastries appear not to have been banned, incidentally.)
It’s all a long way from the Khartoum of the imagination - crowded souks, fiery imams and grilled goatmeat.
But there is one problem. I’ve been invited to a friend’s house for dinner tonight with a cheery reminder to bring a bottle. I’m not sure a bottle of Coke is going to hit the mark but - for the time being at least - the city remains dry.

Sometimes when I look at different parts of Sudan, I can't believe it's one country.

At War

Dear government of Sudan and SPLM,

If you are planning to start another bloody civil war, evacuate a few villages and kill each other there.
There is no need to kill innocent civilians, focus on the real "enemy".

Revolutionary Sudan

الحكومة دي كاتمة على نفسنا ليها 19 سنة انا خلاص زهجت

Dear Mr. President.

I really can't tolerate your government any longer. It's a criminal regime in every single way.
For the last 19 years, you've tortured, killed, looted, traumatized and you've failed to stabilize the country.

Two decades ago, Sudanese marched in every single city and they've succeeded in overthrowing the Nimeri dictatorial regime.

We are going to do it again.

All you care about nowadays is peace talks to solve the Darfur conflict. you know something, you are our biggest problem.

You can't solve the Darfur problem. You don't belong in the presidential palace, you should be in Kobar ( a jail in Khartoum North).

If we want to solve the Darfur problem, we need a comprehensive peace agreement. We need justice, we need equality, we need peace-makers, we need democracy.

We need another president.

We don't trust you Mr. President. You've failed us too many times. You've dishonored too many "peace" agreements.

I don't feel safe in my own country anymore.

Millions are living like refugees in their own country.

If we complain, you prosecute us.

We've been silent for 19 years.

Now, it is time to speak. It's time for you and the world to hear our voices.

We need a revolution.

We need to fix our crippled civil society and fight back.

But we are not going to be like you, we are going to protest peacefully.

We don't like your violent ways. Remember what you did in Nuba mountains, remember the Jihad in the South, remember Darfur, remember the ghost houses in Khartoum, remember the soldiers buried alive in 1990- no, they were not planning a coup, remember the mothers complaining about their 15 year old sons being forced to fight a war they don't believe in.

A war we never understood.

You've had your cake, you've licked the plate and you've broke the plate...now keep your shattered plate, we are buying a new one.