To Be or Not To Be: Sudan at Crossroads (Preface)

To be or not to be

I have been an avid reader of the work of M. Jalal Hashim (MJH) for about a decade. This is the first time I read a book of his in English.

For me, as a Sudanese reader and writer, MJH has a firm place in a special, short list of critically important, contemporary Sudanese writers, due to his prolific and valuable record of publications, mostly in Arabic (with some papers and essays in English), addressing various topics from Sudan’s social history, to political theory, to cultural analysis and literary critique.… More

On Voting

Voting does not change the power structures in any given society. This is a general rule. The powers-that-be are typically so entrenched in the economic and political strata, as well as the mainstream culture, that the act of casting a ballot would not be able to remove them from rule, change hierarchies, and transform the big picture. There may be exceptions, you say?… More

Amilcar Cabral on Decolonization and Culture (and Sudan)

“A people who free themselves from foreign domination will not be culturally free unless, without underestimating the importance of positive contributions from the oppressor’s culture and other cultures, they return to the upwards paths of their own culture. The latter is nourished by the living reality of the environment and rejects harmful influences as much as any kind of subjection to foreign cultures.More

What is Africa?

“The great powers of the world may have done wonders in giving the world an industrial and military look, but the great gift still has to come from Africa – giving the world a more human face.”– Steve Biko.

Not too long ago, the late Dr. John Garang was asked once, regarding the name of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army/Movement, “liberation from whom?”… More

Quotes from a Sudanese Leader

Dr. John Garang de Mabior
The direct quotes, below, are from his book, The Call for Democracy in Sudan, 1992, edited and introduced by Mansour Khalid.

What does Garang Want?
Sometimes the questions are asked; what does John Garang want? What does the SPLM want? And then the answers are given: they want greater autonomy for the South. It is a fight between Christians and Muslims.… More

Empathy is a National Duty

“We may not be deceived by the wealth to be seen in the cities of India… It comes from the blood of the poorest… I know village economics. I tell you that the pressure from the top crushes those at the bottom. All that is necessary is to get off their backs.” 
– Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi, 1944

People of the centre – in Sudan – are not only unable to understand the suffering of the people of the margins, but are even unable to imagine their own inability to understand.… More

CUSH Manifesto on culture and politics

It is said that Dr. John Garang DeMebior called it, “the most comprehensive treatise of its kind.”

In my previous article I mentioned the CUSH Manifesto briefly, and said that it would be called for to return to it with a bigger summary, within the topic of “the political role of culture”.
“The paper homework of this alliance has been done in what has come to be known as the Congress of United Sudan Homeland (CUSH). In… More