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A good crisis? [en]

“Thank you, Hamdok!”

Selma Badawi

Sudan is in a crisis. It’s a bad crisis. Since the old government was forced to resign, the country is in a new kind of trouble – big trouble: Out of dictatorship, right into the unpredictable whirls of revolution and political change, the feeling of safety amongst civilians seems now more fragile than ever and people’s basic human needs can be met even harder. Families tell their kids, friends tell each other, to hang in there longer.

The most known sentence in small talk conversations among youngsters is still “Thank you, Hamdok!” It’s a reference to the new Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, belonging to the civil part of the new government. Looking up to this idol, young people have created a slogan. Whenever a teenager does something generous or helpful that his friends are grateful for, they say to him “Thank you, Hamdok!” Indeed, the young generation is right when referring to Hamdok as a remarkable activist and an upholder of hope. This man honestly tries to change things. But he is neither a peace bringer nor a potent leader.

At least he is not strong enough to keep the overthrown establishment from trying to sabotage politics and economy. These days the country is troubled by a lack of infrastructure and nutrition care. Queues are longer than ever. No gasoline, no public transport, no bread, no flour. It’s a crisis. Everybody is struggling from one day to another to survive. Is this better than living safely under a tyranny? Yes, it is! – Because there is at least a chance to make it better. There is some freedom and space to create a more prospered future. There are perspectives of modernization and finally the open door for a re-approach to the outside world.

But this vision is trying to be destroyed. Collaborators of al-Basheer are still operating from somewhere inside Sudan. These restorative powers do everything it takes to keep people from believing in their liberal vision. These people from the old government are secretly supported by other Arabian nations and they wish to evoke the picture of a failed new government. They support special militias and aggressive groups of immigrants from other African countries to destabilize public safety and foster crimes.

Of course people get scared and start to doubt the new government’s competence when a sudden shooting takes place in the middle of a city and does not stop for a whole night. Such a tragedy happened one month ago in Bahri, Khartoum. People panicked and prepared for the worst. In this emotionally stressful estate, we have to keep one thing in mind: The current situation is completely different from where Sudan was standing a year ago. There is something important Sudan can lose now, if its people stops believing and stops marching on. Freedom, Justice and political participation are before them, even if it’s far away. These ideals can be reached at some point if the Sudanese people will not back down on the way. Surely, the way is painful and demands sacrifices. But walking through the storm is worth it, because this storm comes from a good crisis. So thank you, Hamdok!

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