“It’s as if I had spent thirty years in the depths of a dungeon. And that, when I was finally allowed to breathe in the open air, someone grabbed my body and tried to send me back to this dungeon”, describes Tahra Al Mahdi. This professor of medicine alludes to the coup that allowed the military to regain control of Sudan on October 25, two and a half years after the fall of the military-Islamist dictatorship of Omar El Bashir.
In this month of January, the fifties takes part in a procession, in the east of Khartoum, to denounce the fierce repression of a peaceful pro-democracy parade. The day before, police bullets killed seven people, bringing the death toll to 79 in three months. The survivors alternate between disillusionment and determination to erect their Culture (“civil government”).
Young people fear for their future
One foot in her imaginary dungeon, Tahra Al Mahdi began to decline invitations to dinners and weddings. She doesn’t even go to the hairdresser or have her hands painted with henna anymore. “I feel guilty for feeling happy for anything because I know that young people continue to die, she continues. I did not observe such mourning when my mother passed away. But this coup revives the wounds of the dismantling of the sit-in. » On June 3, 2019, soldiers and militiamen had murdered at least 127 people and perpetrated numerous rapes.
→ REPORT. In Sudan, women no longer want to be “decorative”
Despite this massacre, a coalition of civilians signed an agreement with the generals in August 2019 to establish a transition until elections are held. However, with the restoration of military authority, “the population has definitely lost all confidence in the army”, believes Abdallah Abdon. This economics student has dropped out of college. “My mind is constantly occupied. I can’t focus on anything other than the political situation and street mobilization. I lost a friend during the demonstration on December 30th. »
“At our age, we generally try to build our own future. In this country, we have to create a future for the whole nation, and that’s a huge responsibility.”, summarizes Abdalla Ibrahim, 28 years old. A civil engineer, he left his post in the United Arab Emirates to devote himself to the resistance committee of his district. These local branches orchestrate the processions and plan to set up the first free ballot for more than three decades in Sudan. “If I left now, I would feel like I was betraying my friends”, adds Abdalla Ibrahim.
Fear of being arrested at any time
Others, like Razan Badr, are losing hope. The return from the army encourages this public health student to apply for master’s degrees abroad. “I no longer feel safe with the military. I know they can attack me at any time, for no reason. I happen to take another path to avoid an army vehicle and I stopped going out after dark because the soldiers are deployed all over the city”, she lets go.
Sitting behind his clothing stall, in the heart of a large market on the outskirts of Khartoum, Saeed Bashir evokes this same fear vis-à-vis state agents, once symbols of security. He no longer dares to cross the Nile in the evening to frequent the restaurants of the capital where he liked to go with his wife. This merchant is mainly worried about the survival of his shop. “We only work two or three days a week, he regrets. When the police block the streets (especially to prevent demonstrations), customers are afraid of being arrested and prefer to stay at home. If this continues, we will have to close. »
Doctor Tahra Al Mahdi concludes: “The economic situation certainly deteriorated after the revolution, but we accepted these sacrifices which we knew were necessary to achieve the slogan of our revolution “freedom, peace and justice”. This putsch made us lose the control that we were just beginning to exercise over our lives. »
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Facing the junta, continuous demonstrations
11 avril 2019. Coming to power in 1989 by a coup d’etat, Omar El Béchir was deposed and arrested by the army. A Transitional Military Council replaces it.
October 16, 2021. Supporters of the army demonstrate outside the presidential palace in Khartoum to demand a military government.
October 25. Coup fomented by the head of the army, General Abdel Fattah Al Burhane and dissolution of the civilian government.
January 2, 2022. Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok announces his resignation.
January 17. Seven people are killed and dozens more injured during the “million march”.