Racism in Sudan

[Elisabeth Janaina]

Racism in Sudan

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by Salah Shuaib

It is a very sensitive topic. But, we should try to constructively
address it. Since the priority of our oppositional grounds is to
topple the regime, those who engage in discussing racism must present
a creative alternative - not just blame - regarding the lack of
peaceful coexistence. Otherwise, we cannot overcome our historic
crises for the sake of maintaining a national unity.

As most of us know that the issue of racism is deeply rooted in our
entire social components, one cannot imagine that it can be thus
eliminated overnight. Rather, Racism needs extraordinary, intellectual
contributions from those whose objective perspective is highly needed.

Also, there should be a healthy societal environment in which a
comprehensive debate about racism can be held. Unless there are free
media institutions to generate ideas about such a problematic subject,
without any fear of treason, the outcome will not sustain the
treatment of this social disease.

It appears to some folk that racism is not the only crisis that has
helped undermine the country’s chances of progress. But, there are
rather a lot of crises causing us to lose the country’s southern part-
its population, then, complained about how they were affected by an
offending second-class position.

Depending on one method to resolve Sudan’s crises is a state of
cognitive failure. Those who try to analyze our historical problems
according to Center/Margin Theory are having some valid points. But,
there are also those who make a great insight that the exploitation of
religious factor is playing a major role in our crises.

So, too, some knowing schools depend on analyzing Sudan’s problems
based on the Marxist method, where the superstructure is a phenomenon
that has connections with economic, historical, social and religious
backgrounds. In fact, the progressive world centrifuges the dependence
on a sole method to solve problems.

Interdisciplinary methods are now demonstrating their richness in
analyzing human practices. Moreover, with these combined academic
disciplines, we can produce a variety of sustainable knowledge, which
gives us a wide scope of understanding complex phenomena.

Racism is a product of historically settled procedures that have been
accumulated for a long time, and that it could be difficult to put an
end to it by producing solely political complaints. There should be a
mutual cooperation between those eager to make a tolerant change in
the centre of power. It is against consistency that you, as an
intelligent person, engage against racism in Sudan while working to
devastates the unity of all opposition groups, which John Garang knew
their roles in helping his movement to struggle for the new Sudan.

Controlling power for nearly three decades, the regime was continually
able to target such Sudanese national parties, so it can partially
deal with their resistance in an easy manner. Sudan’s opposition
parties, despite their historically painful mistakes, have contributed
to the necessary transformation from the tribal past to the national
future.

Therefore, the regime, aggressively initiated through a military coup
to be in power for ever, knew that such parties must be crushed to the
maximum. If not, the only option the Sudanese Islamists consider to
maintain power was to absorb their leaders through governmental jobs.
By doing so, the regime ensures that Sudanese will resort to their
tribal alliances, and thus our national resistance be weakened.

Through nearly three decades, the Al-Bashir regime was able to
eliminate the impact of any regional opposition that tries to fight in
the name of undeveloped boundaries. Looking back to the peace accords
signed by the regime and the armed movements, one will find that the
governing Islamists systematically constitutes the partial, regional
solutions that lead to absorbing these war leaders in power, no more.

Such a Machiavellian politics have helped raise sporadic, ethnic
resistances to change the regime or to pursue power, wealth and
leverage. In result, tribalism in Sudan became an active political
trend as our political national parties are now extremely weak, yet it
became so difficult that they could lead change movements.

Nothing can much hurt Sudan’s present and future other than this
reactivated tribalism damaging national thoughts, senses and concerns.
With the existence of this demonic regime in power, racism will
escalate its narrowly thinking ways that endanger any potentiality of
achieving a country of peace, tolerance and progress.

The writer is a Sudanese journalist,