The Mirage of Returning to Hell
Ashraf Abdel Aziz
Anyone who chooses to follow the available updates in regards to the Sudanese affairs today is confronted with a tragedy where governmental incompetence intertwines with media manipulation. As calls for the government and citizens to return to the capital, Khartoum, constitute the largest political and moral deception operation. The reality dictates that relocating the capital was nothing more than a notable slogan pushed by the de facto authorities, but they failed to translate into tangible realities. Furthermore, the aforementioned takes place amidst a suffocatingly blatant state of complacency within Dr. Kamil Idris’s government, which views this dilemma as an opportunity to evade responsibility and exploit the military’s desire to return, in an effort to restore its lost legitimacy and assert that its the government of Khartoum, not Port Sudan. In a way, they aspire to incorporate the afore referenced aims in reality without any genuine desire to exert practical effort or assume administrative and service-related responsibilities.
For citizens returning from arduous journeys of displacement and exhausting refuge, the first shocking reality confronting their hopeful beliefs is the stark contrast between what the media machine supporting the continuation of the war broadcasts and what is -actually- happening in the alleys and neighborhoods. As posing for commemorative photos of officials in cramped spaces, and the ostentatious display of drinking juices or sipping untreated Nile water in front of cameras, has only served to obscure reality and distort public awareness. Even the efforts put forth by the committee led by General Ibrahim Jaber to rebuild what the war had destroyed proved futile, falling prey to overlapping jurisdictions and an embarrassing lack of a comprehensive vision. Hence, any hope for building a viable capital was lost, and Khartoum transformed into a vast prison shrouded in darkness, devoid of basic necessities like water and electricity. In addition, a number of diseases like malaria, are rampant, ravaging the bodies of children without access to health centers or adequate care.
On the security front, the city is actively flailing widely in the grip of widespread chaos and armed lawlessness. Dangers are no longer limited to mere rumors; they are bitterly documented on camera.
A recent scandalous video from “Al-Thawra” district documented an unarmed young man being robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight. That, is in addition to the tragic murder of a doctor within the capital, and the escalating abuses perpetrated by the Armed Movements, as the latter proved to be complicit in creating this chaotic security situation. Organized looting networks and gangs have triumphed, plundering the homes of returning citizens and leaving behind empty shells. The aforementioned scenarios are taking place amidst an unfortunate state of security vacuum compound with a disturbing silence from the de facto authorities.
The suffering of the population doesn’t end with fear and chaos, rather, it extends to suffocate their bodies and minds through the looming ghost of soaring living costs and the catastrophic collapse of the Sudanese pound value. Naturally, this has turned basic goods into mere displays for viewing, not purchasing, and transformed even the simplest foods, like meat, into unattainable dreams, even for those with prestigious government jobs whose salaries barely cover basic needs for a few days. In addition, this burden is made heavier by the blatant and chaotic imbalance in transportation fares, now set according to the whims of drivers without any government oversight, which, certainly prompted the former to double the cost of travel and made moving around the capital a taxing ordeal. Therefore, i believe it has become clear to everyone that the return was nothing more than a hoax, a response to the media ploy orchestrated by an incompetent authority seeking to beautify its ugly face at the citizens’ expense, after they sought refuge from the scorching heat of displacement, only to find themselves burdened further, suffering in the fires of their wounded homeland.
