Sudan In Crisis: A Country That Is Depending On Your Voice To Save Lives
By this point, we’ve all seen the viral Instagram photo circling around that says Sudan doesn’t have access to the internet, so share their story. But what is their story? The viral post says nothing about it and if you look online, you get conflicting, and sometimes confusing, accounts. It’s important to know the full story before you decide which side you support, so here it is.
Yes, Sudan does not have much access to the internet, but to be fair, they never really did in the first place. Sudan is our planet’s newest developed country and is by all means the classic definition of a third world country. According to a BBC article, only 15% of the country’s population own a mobile phone and their wealth is still measured by the size of their land and the size of their herds.
For the last 20 years, Sudan has been ruled in an almost dictatorship way by President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. The citizens of Sudan never really liked him, but what finally pushed them to protest his rule was when he cut wheat and oil subsidies for the country. Peaceful protests arose all around the country thanks to the leadership of Sudan’s doctors, and they succeeded in kicking President al-Bashir out of his seat of power in April of this year.
The citizens of Sudan thought their troubles were over; they had pushed for a democracy and thought that they might finally get one. That was until the Transitionary Military Council took over that was led by Sudan’s military generals. This council originally tried to work with protestors to appease their wishes until powerful Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates funneled over $3 billion into Sudan’s government. These Gulf countries were scared that something similar to the Arab Spring uprisings might happen again, so they crushed the Sudan citizens’ chances of having a democracy.
Sudanese protesters burn tired after attack on June 3 via Express Co UK
Very soon after this donation, in early June, the Transitionary Military Council sent security forces to storm a major protest camp in Khartoum. These same doctors that helped organize the peaceful protests were the ones to report 100 people dead and over 300 injured in this attack. Many citizens also reported that members of the military robbed and raped them.
The reason almost no one heard about this is because what little access Sudan citizens had to the internet was restricted by their government that attacked them. There wasn’t adequate news coverage and what was covered was confusing and not linear.
Donate Here. via Unicef
This is why we were all urged to tell Sudan’s story. It’s true that they can’t tell it by themselves. It’s as if they live in a completely different time period, so we must help tell their story so they can get justice. Whether that means donating to a charity like UNICEF or simply reposting an image, you can do so much more than you think.
Sign the petition. Though it may not feel like significant change, the petition will go to António Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, and is calling for the UN to investigate the Sudanese government. Sign it here.
Cover image via BBC