Hi Lovebugs,
I apologize for the delay on this post but this is one that I have been wanting to share for the last week. I know we have been seeing lots of posts about the tourists dying in Dominican Republic and the speculation around the causes. And while the intrigue is going to be a lifetime movie (or true crime documentary), there is another pressing situation that has been going virtually under the radar for the last few months.
So here is a post with all that I know about the massacre in the Sudan. I was able to have lunch with one of my coworker/sisterfriends to give me more insight into the crisis. I felt so blessed for her willingness to do the emotional work, as she is a Sudanese immigrant and her mother is actually there now.
What is this about?
The crisis in Sudan goes back to April 2019 [1] with the ex-President Omar al-Bashir being deposed after 30 years in power.
The overthrowing of Bashir was largely the result of protests over the growing economic disparity (a lot of which were the result of Dubai and Saudia Arabia getting their cut[3].) in the country. It was to the point that people were having trouble affording basic items like bread.
Once al-Bashir was ousted the situation did not get better. They first tried to put one his friends from the old guard, Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf, into power. But the people were not going for it. He was in office a whole whopping one day [2]. Even the present de facto leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, is definitely part of the Bashir regime. He is seen as a marginally better choice than the last one, but the game has not really changed.
Protesting continued.
The peaceful protests regarding the economic problems and the transfer of authority to a civilian administration continued culminating with the violent and brutal attack by the military that lead to over 30 people dead. People without guns. People without weapons of any kind. They were only armed with the desire for a better life for their people. They were murdered for that.
After the massacre, reports of women being raped came out, bodies of protesters were being pulled from the Nile, hundreds missing, and many more Sudanese people were terrorized to the point they were afraid to leave home. News services were banned from reporting and eventually internet access for the masses was suspended. Family members were unable to reach their loved ones to check their whereabouts. If this sounds like something from a horror movie, it is indeed a horror. As of today, there are loose reporting that there is over 500 people dead.
So what can be done now?
That’s the question I had to. I knew that I could put up the hashtag or change my profile blue to raise awareness but I wanted to know more. When I was speaking to my sisterfriend of all the stories she shared of her own family and friends I was in shock. But my shock turned to distress almost as quickly. I wanted to know what I could do or what they need.
Here are some of the things that I learned:
If you live in the US text RESIST to 50409 and enter CONGRESS. Contact your representative and ask them to help support the Sudanese civilians people #1 – get justice for the victims by getting the killers convicted and #2 – help continue the work of the protesters who died trying to have a democratic way of life, where the people are able lead their own governments.
For the social savvy among us we can share the issues and requests of the Sudanese people both in Sudan and expatriated.
You can have the conversations and tell the stories that so many are sharing. There are people willing to die for the freedoms that so many of us enjoy.
[1] Well much longer than that but I am talking about the current issue.
[2] I was going to make a Kim K short marriage comment but hell she has a whole family and kids now. The joke just seems like I am being a hater at this part.
[3] There was the wife of a wealthy man in the UAE who had a great debt. Her solution? Give her debtors prime real estate on the Nile River in the Sudan. How you ask? Because she could.
Hello 40s (formerly the Kword) 