A State of Ghost Towns

I wrote about Southern Kordofan for IPS.

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=56285


SUDAN
Southern Kordofan - A State of Ghost Towns

By Reem Abbas

KHARTOUM, Jun 29, 2011 (IPS) - While humanitarian organisations try to bury the corpses scattered across Southern Kordofan, aid to the thousands of people displaced by the fighting is slow as the country’s humanitarian commission has prohibited most aid organisations from working in the area.

On Jun. 5 heavy fighting broke out between forces loyal to the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in Kadugli and other towns in the state. Kadugli is the capital of Southern Kordofan, one of Sudan's 25 states.

Since the start of the fighting, aerial bombardments were carried out by the SAF, which according to the United Nations (U.N.), lead to the displacement of 75,000 civilians from Kadugli, Kaunda and surrounding areas with the numbers going up on a daily basis. In addition, 35,000 are expected to head to El Obeid, a town in north Kordofan.

"We have reports of ethnic Nubas being denied entrance to El Obeid. They divide the displaced based on ethnicity and the Nubas are (left) in the middle of nowhere under the scorching sun, " said Fatima* a human rights activist. The Nubas, who are a minority in Southern Kordofan, are believed to have been targeted in the fighting.

Sudanese organisations and civil society groups are already calling for food donations and sending trucks full of supplies to aid the people of Southern Kordofan.


The Politics of Southern Kordofan
Mohamed, a postgraduate student at the University of Khartoum has fond memories of Kadugli in Southern Kordofan. As a child growing up there in the 1980's and early 1990's before the fighting became very intense, he recalls a green mountainous area where the Arab world and Africa intertwined in the form of tribes peacefully coexisting for decades.

"Kadugli has a mix of northern Arab tribes and Nubas. There was no real ethnic divide until the Nubas joined the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the 1980s. They were recruited in the SPLM's army, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and they felt empowered as this elevated their social status as a marginalised minority in Sudan. They felt that their political struggle could be in the context of the SPLM," he added.

Southern Kordofan along with Abyei and Blue Nile are the three states known as protocol areas because they are geographically part of the north.

Many of their citizens were involved with the SPLA during the civil war and the states are predominantly populated by non-Arab tribes. In Abyei, the majority hail from the largest southern Sudanese tribe, the Dinka.

The protocol to resolve the conflicts in these states was signed in Kenya in 2004 and it entails that the three states hold popular consultations to determine whether they will remain in the north or become part of the south as stipulated in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005 by the Sudanese government and the SPLM to end Africa's longest- running civil war.

In December 2009, the president of Sudan signed the Abyei Referendum Act that allowed the Abyei referendum to be held simultaneously with the South referendum as agreed in the CPA. However, the two peace partners disagreed over the terms of eligibility to vote and this led to the postponement of the referendum until further notice.

Blue Nile is currently undergoing popular consultations, which are time-consuming as it is compromised of many phases. However, Southern Kordofan is lagging behind since the state-level elections that should have been held in April 2010 were only held in May 2011.

In an attempt to help out within their limited mandate, some humanitarian organisations are burying corpses scattered in Southern Kordofan. But the Humanitarian Affairs Commission (HAC), the body responsible for coordinating all humanitarian affairs for local and international organisations in Sudan, has prohibited the majority of local and international organisations from working there.

"We held a meeting with the HAC yesterday and we asked them to give us permission to aid the displaced and they said that they are sending an investigative mission to assess the situation. I don't know when this will happen," said Suhaila*, who works for a national development non-governmental organisation in Khartoum.

She said she was concerned about the availability of food in the region. "This is the time right before farming begins, families are nearly running out of stored food and many of the families living in safer towns are hosting displaced families and sharing their food with them," said Suhaila.

Many displaced people are making public schools their homes as the summer season ends and the rainy season begins in July.

"The government does not want to establish IDP (internationally displaced persons) camps, they said they don't want this to turn into another Darfur, but people cannot simply go back to their homes. The situation is deteriorating, " said Fatima.

In January 10 states, which compromise the southern part of Sudan, voted in a referendum on whether they want to remain part of the north or have a separate state. Over 98 percent voted in favour of secession.

But the security situation in the state became tense after Ahmed Haroun won the governorship of Southern Kordofan in a controversial state election in May.

Haroun is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur for his involvement in instigating attacks and arming and recruiting militias to fight the insurgency. Haroun beat Abdel Aziz Al Helow, the SPLM's candidate in the elections.

"It is fair to say that 75 percent of civilians in the state are SPLM supporters but they lean towards the National Congress Party (NCP), the ruling party, because they want to survive," Samira*, an U.N. employee said.

She said prior to the elections the SPLM began distributing flyers through tea ladies, bakers and people in the market area that warned of dire consequences if the NCP's candidate won the governorship.

Samira arrived at work at the United Nations offices on Jun. 5 to find that many of her colleagues known for their pro-SPLM sentiments had already fled the town.

"I started asking questions and wondering if something was going to happen. The fighting started that day and for the first time, there was a power cut in the entire city.

"Our only option was to hide under the bed or next to a wall because it was pitch black and it was hard to locate where the gunshots were coming from," said Samira. She was evacuated and is now safe in Khartoum with her family. "I saw a large number of women and children fleeing the town and I could tell that they have been walking for a long time... I couldn't stop crying," recalls Samira of the day she was evacuated.

But the fighting continues and Suhaila says that based on information received from her colleagues working in Southern Kordofan, there have been a number of political assassinations.

"The SPLM launched attacks that targeted certain leaders loyal to the NCP and this sparked a retaliation from the Khartoum government. Even the citizens of Kadugli and other towns were asked to leave because the situation became characterised by political assassinations," said Suhaila.

Suhaila added that there are snipers located in the mountains and her colleagues informed her that politically active civilians have been shot dead inside their homes.

* Names have been changed to protect our sources.

SIDEBAR:s

The Politics of Southern Kordofan
Mohamed, a postgraduate student at the University of Khartoum has fond memories of Kadugli in Southern Kordofan. As a child growing up there in the 1980's and early 1990's before the fighting became very intense, he recalls a green mountainous area where the Arab world and Africa intertwined in the form of tribes peacefully coexisting for decades.

"Kadugli has a mix of northern Arab tribes and Nubas. There was no real ethnic divide until the Nubas joined the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the 1980s. They were recruited in the SPLM's army, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and they felt empowered as this elevated their social status as a marginalised minority in Sudan. They felt that their political struggle could be in the context of the SPLM," he added.

Southern Kordofan along with Abyei and Blue Nile are the three states known as protocol areas because they are geographically part of the north.

Many of their citizens were involved with the SPLA during the civil war and the states are predominantly populated by non-Arab tribes. In Abyei, the majority hail from the largest southern Sudanese tribe, the Dinka.

The protocol to resolve the conflicts in these states was signed in Kenya in 2004 and it entails that the three states hold popular consultations to determine whether they will remain in the north or become part of the south as stipulated in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005 by the Sudanese government and the SPLM to end Africa's longest- running civil war.

In December 2009, the president of Sudan signed the Abyei Referendum Act that allowed the Abyei referendum to be held simultaneously with the South referendum as agreed in the CPA. However, the two peace partners disagreed over the terms of eligibility to vote and this led to the postponement of the referendum until further notice.

Blue Nile is currently undergoing popular consultations, which are time-consuming as it is compromised of many phases. However, Southern Kordofan is lagging behind since the state-level elections that should have been held in April 2010 were only held in May 2011.

Becoming a Refugee (part 1)

Our country receives refugees, it doesn't produce refugees, we believe. We like to think of our country as safe and stable. Stable is the keyword here. We want to leave it and come back only to find it there. To find that nothing has changed. It is still the same.

We want to make future plans and we want to dream . We want to believe that our future is in our country. We want our dreams to become true even if a new government came to power.
We want to live in our country with dignity. We want to make the choice to leave it or not.
We don't want to be forced out of it. Noone wants to live in exile, noone wants to be a refugee. We think of Refugees as second-class citizens . The host countries are like airports. They wait there until they can go back to their homelands. They wait while we take our country for granted.

My parents used to take Sudan for granted. My dad was a doctor. We lived in a nice apartment in Khartoum. My mother loved her career and we even had a good old Eritrean nanny. Her name was Momena and we called her Nana.

Then the coup happened.

On the 30th of June 1989, the army was on the streets. It didn't take long until we heard the coup music on the radio. The familiar music they play everytime a coup happens.

We've had so many coups in Sudan. In some places,people vote to bring a new president to power, in other places, you just wake up one day only to find out you don't even know the name of the current president.

No one expected the government to last long, I mean who would have thought an Islamist government would find any support in Sudan?

20 years on, we were proven wrong. They did find a place in Sudan through terrorism.
My dad was told he is now a retired man. He was in his 30's at the time. Apparently, he was on the government's blacklist because he was in the opposition. All of a sudden, he found himself unemployed with the rest of his friends. They compromised the professional class in the Sudan. If you wanted a job, you had to be with them. You had to support the regime if you wanted food on the table.

He looked everywhere for any kind of job . Finally, he found a job. He became a truck driver.


To be Continued

Me on the BBC radio

Listen to some of my comments on Africa have your say, BBC Radio.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/africa_have_your_say/default.stm
The topic was African films and as an aspiring scriptwriter, I was asked to join the discussion. It was an honour to hear some of Africa's greatest film-makers share their thoughts on the future, past and present of African films.

Paying for your rights

In Sudan, there is no rule of law, I believe.
I've been trying to convince myself that things in Sudan are "not that bad" for a while now.. but it is not working!
Sudanese people are known to use the word "ma3leesh" ( sorrry) and"mafi moshkela"( no problem) a lot. Something happens and we are quick to say not a big deal, thank god for everything else!
The war in Sudan is the longest-running war in Africa- it's ok, at least it's not the longest-running war in the world!
At least 2 million died in the war- well, 38 million are still living! Thank god for that!

But sometimes it's difficult to say mafi moshkela.

We have two stores in my house in Sudan. They are facing the main street and we usually rent them . A few years ago, we rented it to this guy who looks exactly like an arms dealer.
Anyways, a few years later, our deal with him was over and we wanted him out. He also didn't pay a penny in a very long time.
Apparently, the guy had contacts in the government. We had documents and we were the owners of the store. So, the court was on our side.

Wrong Answer.

I don't know how much it costs to bribe a judge , but he bribed him and we knew it.

Three years on, three lawyers and thousands of dollars later, he is out of OUR property.

I don't feel any better knowing that there is no rule of law in Sudan. I don't feel any better knowing that if you don't know the right people, you don't have any rights.

I can't help but wonder if my mother's friend gave us the best advice when she said " hire a few thugs, let them break into the store and smash everything there"
I mean I don't support violence , but what do you do to get your rights in Sudan?

Take up arms like the rebels. Be gangster about it. Bribe or my favorite, sleeping with an official to get what you want ( according to my sources: it works!)