An article by Matthew Lee, Tara Copp, and Aamer Madhani of the Associated Press gave a good overview of today’s evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. About 100 U.S. troops used three helicopters to evacuate about 70 U.S. personnel from the embassy, getting them out of Sudan to Ethiopia without major incident. Such a military evacuation is unusual, but the fight between two rival Sudanese leaders has closed the main international airport and given armed fighters control of the roads leading out of the country, making it impossible for U.S. personnel to leave by civilian routes.
What has occurred in Sudan has caused me great personal sadness for the Sudanese people.
I spent a month in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1954.. Making a documentary film, SUDAN: LAND OF CONTRASTS, provided me an opportunity to visit much of this vast area and meet a diversity of people.
Sudan was comprised of the North, which was predominately Moslem including Black Nubians, and the South, diverse tribes existing under British rule and with scant ‘civilized’ amenities.
In the North there seemed a decent group that was achieving independence from the Egyptians and British in 1956. In February 1955, tribal fighting erupted in the South. The South has been a brutal hodgepodge ever since. At times Northerners ravaged huge areas of the South. Darfur has been a regular slaughter field.
The discovery of oil in the South further complicated northern-southern Sudanese relations. Ultimately an independent South Sudan was created. Its tribal leaders are still at loggerheads with the people suffering greatly.
Sudan (in the North) started shakily as a ‘country.’ It was a pass through country for radical leaders who sought to support Congolese Rebellions in the 1960s. Clashes between civilian tribal leaders escalated. A dreadful general seized power in the 1980s and ruled for a generation. He was deposed and, ultimately, two other generals, one more dreadful than the other, seized power.
Despite a ‘democratization’ agreement, they have launched what seems a civil war for personal power and loot.
Now there is total chaos and massive killings. As foreigners and Sudanese seek to flee, what I knew as the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is in tatters. I have scant hope that this poor and ravaged area, both Sudan and South Sudan, will become livable, viable nations in the foreseeable future.
Who remembers that the Nubians of Sudan ruled Egypt 700-600 BCE?
When I read the part about the women of Sudan rising up in 2019 against brutal dictatorship, I immediately thought of the title and cover of your new book, especially the graphic of the hand of Lady Liberty. Earlier in the day when you shared it on fb, it really struck me. Now I’m imagining women all over this country and across the globe taking up that torch!
Thank you, Heather for this lesson. I honestly had no idea this was going on. I don’t understand why it’s going on, but, as someone ask ahead of me on here.....
I am wondering who (country) is supplying the weapons to these groups?
Why is it that “radical groups” have to go into a country and attempt the overthrow of a government?
This reminds me a lot of our history not that very long ago. 2016-2020 as a matter of fact. And it exploded in January 2021. We had a ‘leader’ that couldn’t accept defeat. He still hasn’t, and it’s been 2 years later already. He attempted to turn our democracy into a dictatorship. He attempted to subvert our government process. He still has his ‘faction’ in our Congress attempting to do what he was, and has been, unsuccessful in doing.
Jacqueline Burns' astute comments reminded me of my favorite description of history:
"History, as nearly no one seems to know, is not merely something to be read. And it does not refer merely, or even principally, to the past. On the contrary, the great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do. It could scarcely be otherwise, since it is to history we owe our frames of reference, our identities, and our aspirations."
I lived with my family in Khartoum and also in Juba in the early 1980s….a seemingly quiet backwater at the time. It felt quiet and gentle, my children were charmed and we look back on that time with a special feeling. We were buoyed by the popular uprising that attempted yi bring a civilian government to
Power. So it is terribly sad to read about the population being trampled upon by two greedy egocentric men ( like Putin) who have no regard for the people. What can our future be as human beings?
"Wagner’s founder, Russian oligarch Yevgeniy Prigozhin, made after his group’s recent losses in Ukraine, saying he planned to concentrate on Africa, where his forces have been propping up authoritarian governments now for a while. "
Something is very wrong when corporations behave like governments. There is a long history of this and it's not good. Radical corporate "deregulation" and anti-anti-trust is bat guano nutso. Ask India about the British East India Company. We are allowing similarly impactful concentrations of financial/political power to agglomerate.
"But talks dragged on, tensions rose, and now the two men are at war with each other for control of the country"
Can't they be sent somewhere else, where they can play without breaking things?
HCR, did you ever in your wildest think that you would be giving a history lesson on Sudan? And a truly powerful distillation it is. Thank you for educating us on what is going on in another part of the world few give a passing thought to. Actually, there is no long an ¨other part of the world.¨
Thank you, Heather, for this recent history about Sudan. Forgive me, but what really has pulled me into this story is the couple of commentors who have shared their firsthand experiences from having lived in the country. So thank you, Keith and d horner, for sharing your stories to all of us.
“... if we are going to stop the “continued cycle of violence and human suffering,” negotiators must stop prioritizing the voices of “the armed and corrupt” over those actually interested in real political reform.”
I wonder how much more difficult this becomes considering the Wagner Group’s role and agenda. It seems as if global destabilization is Putin and Russia’s oligarchs current play. Like a moving object, may they make the acquaintance of an immovable object.
Heather, heartrending reporting from Sudan. Thank you! I just wonder who is supplying the weapons to those “armed groups” you describe. The interconnectedness of all humans on Earth is always astounding to me.
Wagner is focusing on Africa because Putin needs its gold and other natural resources to help him evade Western sanctions imposed because of his unprovoked war in Ukraine. Destabilization is the name of the game because it draws focus away from Ukraine. It also sets up opportunities for Biden to publicly fail--imagine if the evacuation of the embassy had been as chaotic as in Afghanistan. That would provide an opportunity for the MAGA chaos monkeys to take their destruction to a whole new level.
Wagner is a major presence in many African countries providing training and security services to the more authoritarian regimes in exchange for control of mining and resources. I would not be surprised to see fighting break out in other countries on the continent. Much of Africa is suffering from food and water insecurity due to climate change and mass population migrations are bringing new ethnic rivalries and pressures into play. The destabilization is happening on many levels in society, for instance the extreme anti-LBTGQ+ policies and rhetoric in Uganda and the attribution of LBTGQ+ influences as coming from decadent Western societies. Putin is playing the culture war card in more than just the US and Hungary.
"There are signs that Russia’s Wagner group is supporting Hemedti, which would be in keeping with the statement Wagner’s founder, Russian oligarch Yevgeniy Prigozhin, made after his group’s recent losses in Ukraine, saying he planned to concentrate on Africa, where his forces have been propping up authoritarian governments now for a while."
My first thought upon reading this was imagining African mercenaries showing up in Ukraine. My immediate second thought was that was very unlikely, but, third thought, as the Russian situation in Ukraine deteriorates, anything is possible. Putin is capable of anything as support for his Ukraine invasion/quagmire wanes at home.
As to Wagner mercenaries already in Africa propping up dictators; paid by whom? I'd look at corporations involved in extractive mining and petroleum operations. Wagner forces In Sudan indicates someone is betting on Hemedti to emerge the winner. Who is footing that bill?
So, now we can split our attention and anxiety to two separate wars on two continents. This most recent conflict sounds more familiar; there have been similar conflicts between warlords, between tribes and ethnicities, between political parties in a series of African countries over many years in post-colonial Africa. Are there any greater implications for world power dynamics, beyond those vying for the raw materials resources in the region? I don't hear this being described as a proxy-war for bigger elements like east and west, democracy versus autocracy in world powers (however, locally it appears to be at least one principal backdrop for the conflict). It certainly has no naval or international airspace implications to the degree of the most recent preceding conflict in Ukraine. I seriously doubt we'll see anything even close to the kind of international interest that has led to blocs of countries lining up to contribute to the war effort in Ukraine. As usual, the casualties are at least partly civilian and internal disruption and dislocation is a significant component of the cost of conflict. I wouldn't be surprised at all if this devolved to zones of control by military forces in conflict, i.e. a more low level, long term conflict that increasingly looks like guerilla war such as in Yemen. It is heartbreaking as history more or less repeats it self yet again in a place that can ill afford destruction of its infrastructure and loss of life on a macroscopic scale. Is this a powder keg with imminent possibility of a regional/continental expansion? Is this a (how did he label it?) regional territorial dispute? Oh, Lord I(we) are weary. When can we start beating those swords into plowshares?
"In the wake of the coup, foreign aid was halted, the economy collapsed"
The economy was already collapsing - that was an important factor in the revolt of the women in 2019. If you look at the World Bank figures, all the metrics were already down in 2021, quite dramatically so.
As for foreign aid, not all of it was halted. Global health organisations have continued to boost the health system and procure medicines for the Sudanese people and the WFP has continued distributions in regions in difficulty (primarily Darfur). Humanitarian organisations never left.
Powerful Nubian Queens... My mind conjures up images from Marvel .... a victorious battle well fought. Brave warriors who want to live in a better world that has more love than hate.
I remember with vivid detail the Sudan pavillion at The 1965 Worlds Fair. It was colorful and exotic. But i don’t recall much more about Sudan since then. Thank you for these details HCR and reminders that power and greed are basically very destructive forces.
What has occurred in Sudan has caused me great personal sadness for the Sudanese people.
I spent a month in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1954.. Making a documentary film, SUDAN: LAND OF CONTRASTS, provided me an opportunity to visit much of this vast area and meet a diversity of people.
Sudan was comprised of the North, which was predominately Moslem including Black Nubians, and the South, diverse tribes existing under British rule and with scant ‘civilized’ amenities.
In the North there seemed a decent group that was achieving independence from the Egyptians and British in 1956. In February 1955, tribal fighting erupted in the South. The South has been a brutal hodgepodge ever since. At times Northerners ravaged huge areas of the South. Darfur has been a regular slaughter field.
The discovery of oil in the South further complicated northern-southern Sudanese relations. Ultimately an independent South Sudan was created. Its tribal leaders are still at loggerheads with the people suffering greatly.
Sudan (in the North) started shakily as a ‘country.’ It was a pass through country for radical leaders who sought to support Congolese Rebellions in the 1960s. Clashes between civilian tribal leaders escalated. A dreadful general seized power in the 1980s and ruled for a generation. He was deposed and, ultimately, two other generals, one more dreadful than the other, seized power.
Despite a ‘democratization’ agreement, they have launched what seems a civil war for personal power and loot.
Now there is total chaos and massive killings. As foreigners and Sudanese seek to flee, what I knew as the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is in tatters. I have scant hope that this poor and ravaged area, both Sudan and South Sudan, will become livable, viable nations in the foreseeable future.
Who remembers that the Nubians of Sudan ruled Egypt 700-600 BCE?
When I read the part about the women of Sudan rising up in 2019 against brutal dictatorship, I immediately thought of the title and cover of your new book, especially the graphic of the hand of Lady Liberty. Earlier in the day when you shared it on fb, it really struck me. Now I’m imagining women all over this country and across the globe taking up that torch!
Thank you, Heather for this lesson. I honestly had no idea this was going on. I don’t understand why it’s going on, but, as someone ask ahead of me on here.....
I am wondering who (country) is supplying the weapons to these groups?
Why is it that “radical groups” have to go into a country and attempt the overthrow of a government?
This reminds me a lot of our history not that very long ago. 2016-2020 as a matter of fact. And it exploded in January 2021. We had a ‘leader’ that couldn’t accept defeat. He still hasn’t, and it’s been 2 years later already. He attempted to turn our democracy into a dictatorship. He attempted to subvert our government process. He still has his ‘faction’ in our Congress attempting to do what he was, and has been, unsuccessful in doing.
Jacqueline Burns' astute comments reminded me of my favorite description of history:
"History, as nearly no one seems to know, is not merely something to be read. And it does not refer merely, or even principally, to the past. On the contrary, the great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways, and history is literally present in all that we do. It could scarcely be otherwise, since it is to history we owe our frames of reference, our identities, and our aspirations."
--James Baldwin
I lived with my family in Khartoum and also in Juba in the early 1980s….a seemingly quiet backwater at the time. It felt quiet and gentle, my children were charmed and we look back on that time with a special feeling. We were buoyed by the popular uprising that attempted yi bring a civilian government to
Power. So it is terribly sad to read about the population being trampled upon by two greedy egocentric men ( like Putin) who have no regard for the people. What can our future be as human beings?
"Wagner’s founder, Russian oligarch Yevgeniy Prigozhin, made after his group’s recent losses in Ukraine, saying he planned to concentrate on Africa, where his forces have been propping up authoritarian governments now for a while. "
Something is very wrong when corporations behave like governments. There is a long history of this and it's not good. Radical corporate "deregulation" and anti-anti-trust is bat guano nutso. Ask India about the British East India Company. We are allowing similarly impactful concentrations of financial/political power to agglomerate.
"But talks dragged on, tensions rose, and now the two men are at war with each other for control of the country"
Can't they be sent somewhere else, where they can play without breaking things?
HCR, did you ever in your wildest think that you would be giving a history lesson on Sudan? And a truly powerful distillation it is. Thank you for educating us on what is going on in another part of the world few give a passing thought to. Actually, there is no long an ¨other part of the world.¨
Thank you, Heather, for this recent history about Sudan. Forgive me, but what really has pulled me into this story is the couple of commentors who have shared their firsthand experiences from having lived in the country. So thank you, Keith and d horner, for sharing your stories to all of us.
Thank you Heather.
“... if we are going to stop the “continued cycle of violence and human suffering,” negotiators must stop prioritizing the voices of “the armed and corrupt” over those actually interested in real political reform.”
I wonder how much more difficult this becomes considering the Wagner Group’s role and agenda. It seems as if global destabilization is Putin and Russia’s oligarchs current play. Like a moving object, may they make the acquaintance of an immovable object.
Heather, heartrending reporting from Sudan. Thank you! I just wonder who is supplying the weapons to those “armed groups” you describe. The interconnectedness of all humans on Earth is always astounding to me.
Wagner is focusing on Africa because Putin needs its gold and other natural resources to help him evade Western sanctions imposed because of his unprovoked war in Ukraine. Destabilization is the name of the game because it draws focus away from Ukraine. It also sets up opportunities for Biden to publicly fail--imagine if the evacuation of the embassy had been as chaotic as in Afghanistan. That would provide an opportunity for the MAGA chaos monkeys to take their destruction to a whole new level.
Wagner is a major presence in many African countries providing training and security services to the more authoritarian regimes in exchange for control of mining and resources. I would not be surprised to see fighting break out in other countries on the continent. Much of Africa is suffering from food and water insecurity due to climate change and mass population migrations are bringing new ethnic rivalries and pressures into play. The destabilization is happening on many levels in society, for instance the extreme anti-LBTGQ+ policies and rhetoric in Uganda and the attribution of LBTGQ+ influences as coming from decadent Western societies. Putin is playing the culture war card in more than just the US and Hungary.
"There are signs that Russia’s Wagner group is supporting Hemedti, which would be in keeping with the statement Wagner’s founder, Russian oligarch Yevgeniy Prigozhin, made after his group’s recent losses in Ukraine, saying he planned to concentrate on Africa, where his forces have been propping up authoritarian governments now for a while."
My first thought upon reading this was imagining African mercenaries showing up in Ukraine. My immediate second thought was that was very unlikely, but, third thought, as the Russian situation in Ukraine deteriorates, anything is possible. Putin is capable of anything as support for his Ukraine invasion/quagmire wanes at home.
As to Wagner mercenaries already in Africa propping up dictators; paid by whom? I'd look at corporations involved in extractive mining and petroleum operations. Wagner forces In Sudan indicates someone is betting on Hemedti to emerge the winner. Who is footing that bill?
So, now we can split our attention and anxiety to two separate wars on two continents. This most recent conflict sounds more familiar; there have been similar conflicts between warlords, between tribes and ethnicities, between political parties in a series of African countries over many years in post-colonial Africa. Are there any greater implications for world power dynamics, beyond those vying for the raw materials resources in the region? I don't hear this being described as a proxy-war for bigger elements like east and west, democracy versus autocracy in world powers (however, locally it appears to be at least one principal backdrop for the conflict). It certainly has no naval or international airspace implications to the degree of the most recent preceding conflict in Ukraine. I seriously doubt we'll see anything even close to the kind of international interest that has led to blocs of countries lining up to contribute to the war effort in Ukraine. As usual, the casualties are at least partly civilian and internal disruption and dislocation is a significant component of the cost of conflict. I wouldn't be surprised at all if this devolved to zones of control by military forces in conflict, i.e. a more low level, long term conflict that increasingly looks like guerilla war such as in Yemen. It is heartbreaking as history more or less repeats it self yet again in a place that can ill afford destruction of its infrastructure and loss of life on a macroscopic scale. Is this a powder keg with imminent possibility of a regional/continental expansion? Is this a (how did he label it?) regional territorial dispute? Oh, Lord I(we) are weary. When can we start beating those swords into plowshares?
"In the wake of the coup, foreign aid was halted, the economy collapsed"
The economy was already collapsing - that was an important factor in the revolt of the women in 2019. If you look at the World Bank figures, all the metrics were already down in 2021, quite dramatically so.
As for foreign aid, not all of it was halted. Global health organisations have continued to boost the health system and procure medicines for the Sudanese people and the WFP has continued distributions in regions in difficulty (primarily Darfur). Humanitarian organisations never left.
How the Nubian mighty and the Kingdom of Kush are fallen!
We are far from the days of building pyramids, of ruling Egypt and saving the Isrealites from disaster in their fight with the Assyrians.
(with apologies to the Old Testament, 2 Samuel 1:19.)
Powerful Nubian Queens... My mind conjures up images from Marvel .... a victorious battle well fought. Brave warriors who want to live in a better world that has more love than hate.
I remember with vivid detail the Sudan pavillion at The 1965 Worlds Fair. It was colorful and exotic. But i don’t recall much more about Sudan since then. Thank you for these details HCR and reminders that power and greed are basically very destructive forces.