“Sudan has become unrecognizable.” That’s what I heard my mother say after she got off the phone with a relative. I knew something bad was happening, the kind of thing that doesn’t leave your mind easily. I just never really asked at first, because I knew that if she told me, it would become real.

Before I really get into it, you first need to understand who Omar al-Bashir is. Omar is the president of Sudan, and he has been since June 30, 1989. That’s 30 years, which is shocking, right? Some of you may be asking yourselves, “So why hasn’t there been a reelection yet?” Well, there actually has been a reelection. Multiple ones, in fact. But there have always somehow been “accidents” or “problems” with the ballet boxes. In other words, Omar would cheat. If you are already thinking he’s a selfish and power-hungry man, this was only the beginning of his tyrannical rule.     

Corruption was the first stage into this alarming territory. For years, the government exported all of the country’s goods and resources behind the people’s backs. They weren’t supposed to export the goods at all and they should have used those exported goods to help the people. Instead, they then took the money acquired from the illegally exported goods and kept it for personal use.

The government also sold the University of Khartoum, which was the most prestigious university in Sudan. They also sold the al-jazeera farmland, which is the largest most important farmland they had. This farmland has been well known for over 50 years and feeds most of Sudan.

As a result, the country became poor and resources became very limited. Even basic necessities became hard to purchase and families began struggling to find food for their children. Congress made a new law saying that any one involved in these scams would be questioned and would go to court. The president needed to sign this law for it to be effective, and when they presented it to him he refused to sign it. Omar said he wouldn’t sign it unless they changed it, and that change was that anyone of high authority such as the president or the prime ministers wouldn’t be put on trial. The congress refused to make such a change because if this happened, people wouldn’t be investigated properly. The people then asked Bashir for lower prices and affordable bread and gasoline. After he refused, they began to protest.

The protests started mid December 2018, and are still happening. Bashir felt threatened by these actions and sent police enforcements to stop them. All of these protests ended in tear gas and awful beatings. Although the people were being badly hurt, they never showed a hint of fear. They stood tall and marched for what was needed. Soon the people of Sudan were asking Omar al-Bashir to step down from his position and leave. This enraged him and frightened him. The police enforcements were not just beating the people, but were now killing protestors, raping women and arresting the people organizing these movements as well as anyone involved in them.

Getting arrested was one of the most dreadful things that could happen in these situations. After they arrested them, they would throw them in jail and consistently torture them. In many of these cases, the victims have either been mutilated and if they were still alive, they suffered from some kind of permanent damage. The amount of pain they would inflict on these brave people was unbelievable.

Bashir saw how determined the citizens were, and knew they weren’t going to give up any sooner. So he changed the government, replacing all of the senators. He was afraid that the military would soon turn against him as well, so he gave them a position in the new government hoping it would please them and get them to stand by his side. The people still weren’t pleased with this decision and continued to ask him to step down. They still have not come to a solution, and are still fighting for what they want. Tell me, is this a place someone should have to wake up and see everyday?

I wanted to write about this because it isn’t something that you are just reading. It’s real, and it’s terrifying. My family lives in Sudan and they have witnessed some of these events themselves. I pray each day that they can make it another day in that mess. This is a burden I carry but I hope that you can acknowledge this to. Families are suffering and children are dying. This isn’t an average disaster, it’s hell. I am not writing this for your pity but so you can be concious of what is happening out there and how these fearless people are suffering.