26 January 1885- Khartoum

On this day, 127 years ago, Sudan became independent for the first
time as Khartoum was freed from the grip of British and Egyptian
forces after a battle known as the battle of Khartoum.

The liberators were the Mahdist Sudanese army led by Muhammad
Ahmad (Al Mahdi), Sudan's first contemporary leader.

Sudan's history shows that many powerful kingdoms and one of the
oldest civilizations in the world were born in Sudan. Egypt's rival in
Africa, Nubia, was powerful for thousands of years, but it had become
a weak kingdom by the end of the 18th century. So did the kingdom of
Sennar which ruled a large part of Central Sudan and spread into Chad
and other countries.The collapse of powerful kingdoms in Sudan
attracted the Ottomans who invaded Sudan and annexed it into the
Ottoman empire in 1820.

In 1881, the Sudanese rebelled against the Ottoman administration and
Sudan became independent, but the British were eyeing the country at
the time.

The British invaded Sudan in 1882, but they didn't govern it until
1899 when they finally defeated the Mahdist forces.

Charles "Chinese" Gordon who was a famous figure in England was
brought over from China to gain control of Sudan. He cited the
founding of an Islamic state at the hands of the Mahdi as a reason for
the need to invest in defeating the Mahdist army.

Gordon believed that he can accomplish this mission, however, the
Mahdi army proved to be strong and sieged the city of Khartoum from
March 1884 to January 1885.

The siege was brutal that it caused the food supply in Khartoum and of
Gordon's garrison to run low. The entire garrison was killed and
Gordon was shot and his head cut-off.

Muhamed Ahmad became the ruler of Sudan , but he died 5 months after
the battle , however, a modern Sudan was born.

In late 1898, in another attack led by Lord Kitchener, the Mahdist
army were defeated in what came to be known as the battle of Omdurman.

The battle of Khartoum became popular as it was chronicled in the 1966
film, Khartoum, and in the novel "Desert and Wilderness" by Polish
Nobel Prize winner Henryk Sienkiewicz.

The Democracy of Hypocrisy is killing me!

Jeffrey Gettleman's article called War in Sudan? Not Where the Oil Wealth Flows and a year later, Rob Crilly's Boom belies Sudan’s pariah status have 2 things in common

1- They give the impression that the Sudanese living in Sudan and most specifically Khartoum don't give a damn about Darfur and the plight of Darfurians while the whole world is campaigning, protesting and generously donating thousands of dollars.

2- The US-sponsored international sanctions on Sudan are not doing much so (the international community might as well increase the sanctions or ban all companies from doing business in Sudan).



Why the sanctions are not cool

First of all, increasing the sanctions on Sudan are not going to make the Sudanese government "surrender" and stop killing innocent civilians. In the 1990's, when Sudan didn't export any oil, they still managed to fund the holy war on the "kuffar". There are many generous donors who supported our government for many years. Currently, things are different. We export oil. Our economy grows about 10% every year making it one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa. Sudan is a popular investment destination. New hotels are being built every day( The manager of Rotana hotel said that another one is being built).
The development ,economic improvement and investments are benefiting the people more than the government because they are creating new employment opportunities( we desperately needed that!)
Isn't it a good thing?

Three years ago, we only had a couple of small boring channels and of course the disappointing Sudan tv. Now there are at least 3 new channels promoting investment in Sudan and creating a very attractive image of the " New Sudan" or at least this is what they call it.

Not to mention the availability of all kinds of goods in supermarkets, cafes and even international brands such as Espirit.

Oil and self-interest

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that in the next 50 years, oil will be very precious.
John Ghazvinian(author of untapped: the scramble for Africa's oil) pointed out that oil will make Africa the new Middle East, the new Saudi Arabia.
If you read Untapped: The scramble for Africa's oil, you are going to know that the US, other western powers and China are very very interested in oil-producing African countries. The US is serious about stabilizing the gulf of guinea region to guarantee a steady oil supply. The Middle East is on fire now while Africa is cooling down.

Although the civil societies in Japan (just an example) are concerned about the innocent civilians dying in Darfur , the Japanese government wants more oil from Sudan now (they just signed an agreement).
If the government of Equatorial guinea is a dictatorship then why is America its number one costumer when it comes to oil exports?
Self-interest is important however, oil is more important. Countries are willing to pay alot of money to get oil, secure and stabilize the region they get their oil from and most importantly, overlook brutal governments and human rights abuses for it.

Why are Sudanese living in Khartoum portrayed in this negative way?

The title of Gettleman's article really irritated me. His article starts with a picture and this is written below it "As one of the world’s worst atrocities unfolds in Darfur, some 600 miles to the west, young women enjoy the good life at the Ozone Café in Khartoum, including ice cream and outdoor air-conditioning".
A couple of young girls are having a nice time at the Ozone cafe...so? Did you even ask them how they feel about Darfur?
Last time I checked, many Sudanese people wanted Darfur to stop and wanted the displaced people to go home. My neighbours back home rented their house to an organization aiming at helping Darfurians in Khartoum etc..
I really don't think people in Khartoum should stay home and be depressed. Speaking of depression, I really think we spent most of the 1990's being depressed.
I'm glad people in different parts of this world are concerned about Darfur (although I find it funny how many people always say we were silent when Rwanda happened ,let's stop Darfur..feeling guilty are we now?)


Funny thing

It's funny how a year after Gettleman's article was published, another journalist called Rob Crilly travelled to Khartoum to write about the same issue!
Seriously, both journalists failed to point out something very important..actually, this is my own personal observation:S
China can give Sudan all the money in the world and Sudan can become one of the largest oil-exporters in the world but this doesn't make China or any other country buying oil from Sudan or engaging in a mutually-beneficial relationship with Sudan a "bad" country. Why do people care about the money China gives to Sudan for its oil? Why do they keep calling china's Olympics "genocide Olympics"? Why are other western and eastern countries banned when they try to invest in Sudan?
PEOPLE SHOULDN'T CARE ABOUT WHO GIVES SUDAN MONEY, THEY SHOULD CARE ABOUT HOW THE SUDANESE GOVERNMENT USES THIS MONEY!
I said it! Yes! loud and clear.
It's really not China's problem that Beshbesh's government is using it's money to buy arms and train its soldiers.

I'm glad Khartoum is booming or whatever.... however, I'm hating the democracy of hypocrisy in this world.


articles:-
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/24/world/africa/24sudan.html?ex=1319342400&en=9fa37c1bffd09db2&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article2436998.ece

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Good bloggers listen to their readers. I did :)

Here are more pictures of my beautiful homeland. I picked this title because most people don't think it's beautiful. It's too dry,too hot. Home to amazing sandstorms and disasters. If you forget about Sudan's painful modern history and focus on the history and civlizations,culture and people,deserts and forests,the nile and coral reefs and sunsets, you will see alot of beautiful things. Simple things limited to this huge african country. Things you will always remember.

I don't have many pictures of the Sudan. Almost all the pictures I have are collected from websites and friends. It's hard to find pictures of Sudan online. 1-Nobody goes there except the braves ones who ignored people,went there and loved it 2-Unfortuantely, I don't visit it alot because of personal reasons. So, I didn't get the chance to take pictures.

Here are pictures of places and people.

Note:-

1- white nile and Blue nile. When you stand on the bridge you can notice the difference. It's like this natural barrier separating the blue nile from the white nile.

2- The North is mostly desert and the south is green.

3-The coral reefs in port sudan are gorgeous and since noone goes there, there is almost no damage at all. It's a great diving area but honestly, if tourists started going there. It will be ruined.

4-Sudan has more pyramids than Egypt and Mexico.

5-The market featured is called the arab market.

6-The first lady is wearing "the toub", it's supposedly the national costume but I don't think so. It doesn't represent all ethnic groups.

Enjoy the beauty of The Sudan