September 2015 Issue by Mazin Abusin

Issue 7, September 2015

Sudanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s only Regional English magazine for current affairs

Elaborate Report analysis

Statistics

interviews

Country Profile

A $4.5 Billion plan to share the water of the Nile

Can Sudan Be REBRANDED?

To Print or Not to Print

Altayeb Salih A True Sudanese Palm Tree

Hammour Ziada A Being With A Background 1 | Elaborate

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CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER 2015

66 TRAVEL

06 Statistics 44 Media

10 Views

At a time where technology seems to spearhead the direction or the future of various industries, print journalism...

40 Travel 50 Arts

58 The Nile

Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia took a step to defuse tensions around Ethiopiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s construction of a massive dam on the Blue Nile...

60 Agriculture 66

Sudan News

68 Obituary Elaborate | 2

52 Hall of Fame

The American University in Cairo Press announced today the award of the 2014 Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature to the Sudanese writer Hammour Ziada...

14 COVER STORY

37 Nation Branding

The straightforward definition of the tem “brand” is a name, term, sign, symbol, design, or any combination of them...

25 Interview Jens Petter Kjemprud Norway’s Ambassador to Sudan

25 Education

Professor Eltayeb Ali Ahmed Abusin, Elaborate’s Education Consultant, talks about the importance of...

26 Women

Zeinab for Women Development (ZWD) is and NGO founded in 2000 focusing on direct... 3 | Elaborate

Sudan VOICES We at ELABORATE believe that readers are the pillars of this publication. Their VOICES are the directions in our compass. We go wherever they want us to head. Please write to voices@elaboratemagazine.com to let us know where to go.VOICES are for Direction. Thank You

really an sue and it is is e is th d a “I re I really valu endeavor. e v ti n ia a c d re app kle Su effort to tac er. your sincere ctive mann je b s in an o e on ti su a is iz il d b te o rela eds m e n n a d Su d rage it Our belove om the suff fr it e g a lv sa lad and of efforts to ays . I am g d a w o n g in ORATE.” is undergo ceive ELAB re to d e e d an, interested in dri Mohamed El Hass a B l Engineer E Khartoum

“The magazine is fabulous; rich content and very attractive .. Thank you so much for sharing” Sara Omer, Tijari ct the orts to refle ff e d te ia c re “App n” of the Suda e g a im e u habi tr idir, Abu D h lk A m a Hish ncil, nning Cou la P n a b r U i Abu Dhab

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“Great effort. It is very difficult to maintain this standard. I will always support your noble tendencies.” M utawakil Abushama, HR Advisor, DoT, Abudhabi

“You have definitely chosen a very difficult project, but, as I said, as a Sudanese citizen, this is a dream come true” Isam Al Asad – Sharjah National Oil Company

ge you d encoura n a rt o ff e turct good e, Infras fi is a really a is N th b k a h in “I th ve.” I Urban this initiati u Dhabi b A , r to support e g ct Mana bi ure Proje Abu Dha Council, g in n n Pla

“This is a great initiative. I wish you all he best.” Dr. Ibrahim M. El Sanhouri Transportation Planning Manager – PARSONS

“Congratu lati on an elab ons to Mazin and te orate effo am rt. We will you in eve support ry way we can” Dr. Ahme dY Section M oussef Ali, Psychia try anager, N ational Rehabilit ation Cen ter, Abu D habi

“Really appreciate how your brings your news, business innovations especially covering South Sudan news and businesses”. William Clement-Talent Management ProgramDAL Group

Editor’s Note A New “Migration Season” of Hope “The World is a fine place and worth fighting for” were Ernest Hemingway’s words that capture the seemingly contradicting facts that preside over our own existence. Fighting for a fine place means guarding its values, defending its beliefs, and preserving its culture. Hemingway surely did not mean going to war or raging battles against those you perceive as enemies. On the contrary, humanity should spare no effort in resisting the temptations of reverting to force when defending an idea, a concept, or a land.

Mazin Abusin, Editor

“The notion of image and reputation is a direct product of how a nation manages its relationships with others” EDITORIAL Editor: Mazin Abusin mazin.abusin@elaborateagazine.com Art editor: Maha Al Khulaidi maha.alkhulaidi@elaboratemagazine.com Designer: Ifteqar Ahmed Syed Syed.ali@elaboratemagazine.com Staff writer: Reem Mazin reem.mazin@elaboratemagazine.com Staff writer/sub editor: Adam Soney adam.soney@elaboratemagazine.com Picture desk: Loay Derar loay.derar@elaboratemagazine.com Editorial secretary: Samah Yousif samah.yousif@elaboratemagazine.com ADVERTISING Sales Manager: Waleed Mustafa waleed.mustafa@elaboratemagazine. com Business Development Manager: Tariq Yousif tariq.yousif@elaboratemagazine.com MANAGMENT Publishing manager: Wadah Abusin wadah.abusin@elaboratemagazine.com Licensing director: Yassir Awad Yassir.awad@elaboratemagazine.com Licensing executive: Khalid Osman Khalid.osman@elaboratemagazine.com International circulation manager: Ebtehal Gelwan ebtehal.gelwan@elaboratemagazine.com Production manager: Leena Abusin leena.abusin@elaboratemagazine.com

In the past couple of years, our country has experienced numerous challenges that would rock any establishment regardless of size, population or economic state. The skirmish with South Sudan threatened a return to the half-a-century all out war, the economy was dealt a blow after the loss of the oil revenue, the falling value of the national currency led to numerous economic challenges, the unrests in Darfur continue to be a painful wound in our country’s body putting pressure on our development efforts, and the constant outflow of professionals keeps draining the country from its much needed human resources. Despite all this, our country remains, to us Sudanese, as one of the most beautiful spots to live in. And despite the fact that most of us reading this magazine most probably reside outside Sudan, we never lost that connection with our homeland. Nothing can describe a Sudanese individual better than Altayeb Salih’s words “I feel a sense of stability ... that I am continuous and integral. No, I am not a stone thrown into the water but a seed sown in a field”. Sudanese people possess a great sense of orientation no matter where they go in the world or what they do in life. ELABORATE was launched with a focus of helping both Sudanese and non-Sudanese to revisit their perception about the country. The notion of image and reputation is a direct product of how a nation manages its relationships with those interacting with it. During the past couple of years, Sudan’s international image has always been of war, famine, failed state and poverty. We cannot, and should not, blame the outside world for this. We probably did just about enough to help create this negative image. An image is a product of demonstrated behaviour which leads to others making certain decisions that shape the perception of others. In this issue we look into how Sudanese institutions can work as an integrated unit in order to promote a positive image and build a reputation of trust and value with its stakeholders. Nation Branding is a topic of great importance and adopting a national branding initiative can greatly benefit our country in its attempt to pull itself out of the pit hole created by politicians. It is high time that we take charge of our image creation through a systematic effort that begins with a clear understanding of who we are in light of the secession of the southern part of the country. People of Sudan should make an effort to transfer their country through their behaviour both home and abroad. One of the vital components of this systematic effort is better synergy between diplomacy and the Sudanese Diaspora. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not the sole custodian of “diplomacy”. Media, Education, Investment, and Tourism can, and should, all contribute in creating the effective image that eventually leads to the much sought after positive reputation which will then act as a gateway into a better economic situation. It is neither an attempt to oversimplify the way out from the current challenging situation, nor is it an elitist claim that holds no solid foundation in today’s reality. It is simply the hard and long way that can lead to a better tomorrow. In this issue we also take a beautiful journey accompanying the amazing Altayeb Salih, a Sudanese icon, who migrated to the heart of every Sudanese, arriving with another writer, a younger Hammour Ziada who upheld the Sudanese supremacy literature flag by winning the prestigious Naguib Mahfouz’s 2015 Literature Award. And while on the migration topic, we peek into how Sudanese Diaspora can contribute to the development of their nation. The issue also looks into one of our valuable assets and unique treasures, agriculture, and delves into water issues by looking into the Great Renaissance Dam next door in Ethiopia. This issue will not be completed without addressing and recognising the Darfur issue. We opted to start here by giving a neutral account of what is happening in that part of our country in terms of statistics and facts. We will dedicate significant space in our future issues for scholars and researchers to elaborate more on this ongoing struggle of our people in that region of our country. Future younger generations will need to understand what went happened in Darfur. ELABORATE aims to become one of the effective and practical tools that will enable a better possibility of constructing and managing a lively and energetic country image based on our beautiful and diversified identity. This will benefit the country’s international trade, public sector, private businesses, investment, tourism, international relations and the entire nation. Going back to Hemingway’s words, I conclude by saying “Sudan is a fine place and it is worth fighting for”.

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STATISTICS Population Total Number 33.419.625 Increase rate 52% Fertility Rate 3.9%

Minerals Petroleum, Iron, Gold, Steel, Zink

Rural internet coverage

66%

Landline Subscribers

544.684

Internet users

11,050,000 person

Mobile Subscribers 17.369.502 Mobile Users (above 15 years old) 68.2% of the population Internet users 11.050.000 person Geographical Internet coverage 65.8% Coverage to population 90% Rural internet coverage 66%

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Geographical Internet coverage

65.8%

Location North-eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Egypt and Eritrea

Percentage of Students in High School

36.4%

Area In comparison to the world River Nile of total area

1.882.00 KmÂ˛ 16 World Wide 2nd African 3rd Arab 67.4%

Percentage of students (6 years old) 80.5% Percentage of Students in High School 36.4% Percentage of Students in Universities 14% Number of Schools (Basic) 18.052 Number of Students (Basic) 4.935.113 Number of Teachers (Basic) 161.390 Number of Schools (Secondary) 3.339 Number of Students (Secondary) 750.432 Number of Teachers (Secondary) 29.452 Number of Schools (Technical) 170 Number of Students (Technical) 27.205 Number of Teachers (Technical) 1.915 Number of Higher Education Institutions 73 Number of Governmental Universities 33 Number of Private Universities 5 Number of Faculties 35 University Professors 20.645 (Ph.D, M.Sc., Assistant Professor, Lecturer)

Women education started in

1907

Share of education in government expenditures

Total Percentage of non-oil exports Population working in agriculture

Agriculture Contribution to the GDP

36%

Agriculture Population working in agriculture

50.23%

Agricultural land Land cultivated annually

50.23% 200 million acres 40 million acres (20%) 11 million acres 29 million acres

Irrigated land Irrigated land by rain Crops Corn, tobacco, wheat, cotton, peanuts, sugarcane, dates, sunflower.

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STATISTICS

12%

DIASPORA

A Soft Power of Change The size of a country’s populace can no longer be calculated within the contours of its borders, rather it must be viewed through the global lens of migration and encompass those who are defined as ‘the Diaspora.’ The international movement of people is an important feature of this integrated global economy. A country’s Diaspora constitutes an immense source of ‘soft power’.

efore going deep in the topic, first Diaspora is defined according to the International Organization for Migration as the idea of transnational populations, living in one place, while still maintaining relations with their homelands, being both ‘here’ and ‘there.’ Why does Diaspora matter? Diasporas can bring ‘the world to the homeland’ and ‘the homeland to the world’. In other words, Diasporas may improve access to capital, knowledge and new technology, and play an important role for social development, growth opportunities, and connection between markets and countries. Elaborate | 8

Some of the ways in which the Diaspora can benefit the home country include, but are certainly not limited to: • Enhancing the brand value of the homeland. • Converting brain drain into brain gain and brain circulation. • Acting as global ‘search networks’ for developing local industry and assist in the creation of global knowledge networks to support the growth of indigenous companies. • Contributing to the expansion of global trade with their knowledge of home country markets, • Contributing to the economic progress of the homeland through financial instruments such as remittances and Diaspora bonds. • Increasing the home country’s

impact on the international stage if members of its Diaspora hold prominent or influential positions in international organizations. How to engage Diaspora? Realign Remittances: Promoting remittance flows is usually one of the first ways to financially engage Diaspora aiming at increasing capital flows back into the home country. The more a country depends on inflows of funds from remittances, the more that it will be dependent on the global economy staying healthy. For that reason there has been a move to realign remittances so as to maximize the development impact of remittance flows as they have the capacity to be a transformational asset for the receiving country.

Promote Diaspora philanthropy: Many people in the Diaspora often first connect with their homeland through philanthropy. They then become more engaged by travelling to the homeland and visiting projects. This â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Philanthrotourismâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; often leads to deeper engagement with the homeland in areas such as trade and investment, education and culture. Moreover, one of the main types of change agents include Diaspora philanthropists whose philanthropic endeavors result in societal change for the homeland. Promote FDI and DDI Diaspora driven FDI can also be referred to as DDI (Diaspora Direct Investment) and its importance and potential for homeland countries is heightened given that world FDI flows declined. DDI is distinct from FDI in that it relies on a transnational social network made up of migrants and migrant mechanisms operating between host and home countries. Some Diaspora members are interested in investing in their homeland because they expect a financial return; others are driven by the possibility of social recognition from within their Diaspora communities and organizations. Attract venture capital Diaspora has an equally significant role to play in facilitating the flow of venture

capital and investment in domestic indigenous companies. Moreover, there is much the Diaspora can do to assist in the growth of indigenous companies, beyond the provision of monetary investment. Export and Import Education: Migration is a source of brain gain and brain circulation that enhances the intellectual capital of nations. But aside from all the positive externalities brought about by scholarly exchange and professional migration, the business of international education, or export education represents a major opportunity for countries, one where they can position themselves as a centre for educational excellence. Furthermore, the Diaspora can be used to communicate the homelandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s high-quality education system which would greatly enhancing the brand and reputation. Organize Visits to homeland A core element of many diaspora strategies is to encourage temporary or permanent returns to the homeland. This could be done through Tourism, Conferences, Volunteering.

Culture, the catalyst to connecting Culture is one of the main catalysts in attracting members into the Diaspora and is the fundamental premise upon which every dimension of our Diaspora develops. Culture is intrinsic to the mobilizing of Diaspora populations and is the common thread that can brings groups together from different countries, or around shared interests, language, hobbies or regions to organize.

A core element of many diaspora strategies is to encourage temporary or permanent returns to the homeland. This could be done through Tourism, Conferences, Volunteering.

Diaspora role in Peace Initiative: Diaspora can encourage dialogue within itself. It is generally accepted that Diasporas are not singular, homogenous groups. As such, there may be multiple and competing views on a homeland conflict. Through dialogue, within and across the Diaspora, this competition is transformed to a position of mutual trust and understanding. A Diaspora can contribute to this by facilitating depoliticized discussions and acting as a mediator of sorts.

DIASPORA

Issue Diaspora Bonds A Diaspora bond is a debt instrument issued by a country to raise financing from its overseas Diaspora. High interest rates and premium exchange rates are given. These schemes are thought to attract remittances into formal banking.

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VIEWS By: Ola Diab

WHAT ONE CAN DO FOR SUDAN

ohn F Kennedy once said, “It’s not what your country can do for you, it’s what you can do for your country.” That’s exactly what we, as Sudanese, should ask ourselves now more than ever. We’re at a point where we cannot expect our country to help us but look at each other and ourselves for help – not to benefit ourselves but our community. We, especially the young and new generations, lack patriotism and nationalism, and look towards creating a life anywhere else except in our own home, Sudan. Having lived abroad almost all my life, I’ve had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world, who like me, come from troubled countries and moved to a better place in search of a better life. However, whether they’re from the Arab world, Asia or the Americas, many have the desire to return to their country and do something to benefit their country and their people. How many Sudanese have you met that have that desire? Not many as far as I am concerned. Yes, Sudan is in crisis – politically and economically – but so are a lot of other countries in the world – some are even going through worse. But that doesn’t mean we should give up and search for a home somewhere else. There are so many talented and educated Sudanese out there who have accomplished great things but not for Sudan. They have their reasons of course. However, we choose to neglect

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Sudan and fail to realize that to change Sudan to the better, we have to do it ourselves. Sudan needs entrepreneurs, who seek not only to make something of themselves but also have the goal to socially benefit Sudan. We need businesses in Sudan that aim to educate and empower the people of Sudan. For

“Sudan is ours and only we can promote it. We have to realize that Sudan is rich in history, heritage, culture and much more. It has so much potential to be great so let’s not waste that greatness”

example, if you’re an educator, open a center where you can help others make the right choices in their education and career. Teach them the basics, like how to write CV (which many of the youth in Sudan are incapable of). If you’re an artist, open an art center together with other artists and use the power of art to portray Sudan to the world. If you’re a filmmaker, run a film-making company with other filmmakers that portray Sudanese culture and traditions. If you’re a musician, make music with others, like art, tell the stories of Sudan in your lyrics. There are so many mediums we can use to empower and educate Sudanese communities worldwide. We need to build a sense of belonging and commitment to Sudan in others and ourselves. You don’t even have to return to Sudan to do this. Do it from wherever you are but do it for Sudan. It could actually be simpler, easier and more successful. You don’t need to do it alone. Seek working with relatives or friends who share similar interests and goals. Sudan is ours and only we can promote it. We have to realize that Sudan is rich in history, heritage, culture and much more. It has so much potential to be great so let’s not waste that greatness. Let’s do for Sudan what it’s not doing for itself or us – it may take decades – but we will see a better Sudan one day. Ola is a Sudanese journalist/writer based in Qatar. You can read more of her writings on her blog

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SUDAN NEWS

American Companies Express Desire to Invest in Sudan A high level official has disclosed Sunday that an agreement was concluded with American officials for bilateral cooperation with Sudan through bringing American companies to Sudan to operate in the country in the field excluded from sanctions including health, education, agriculture and informatics. The Minister of International Cooperation, Kamal Hassan Ali, has

stated following his meeting with an American delegation, including USAID manager, the American Charge d’affairs in Khartoum to pushing companies to operate in Sudan in the different spheres of cooperation, that he has agreed with the American delegation on the focuses of the USAID to work in the fields of relief in the IDPs regions and the other war affected regions.

Google Launches Free Play Store Content in Sudan The American search engine, Google announced that it has expanded access to free apps on Google Play to users in Sudan for the first time, allowing more users to check out what Google Play has to offer. The communication was revealed through a post on Google + on Friday. “ As part of a commitment to helping more people around the globe use technology to communicate, find and create information, we’re announcing the availability of free apps and games on +Google Play in Sudan for the first time”, said the internet giant Saturday. However, last February the United States Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) announced that is amending Sudan’s sanctions regime to allow exports of personal communications hardware and software including smart phones and laptops. Google said that its decision is part of an effort to bring access to more Google services on a global scale, and follows similar rollouts to Cuba, Myanmar, and Iran last year. It’s worth noting that Google specified free apps, meaning there’s no way for those in Sudan to yet purchase apps and games. Khartoum has lobbied Washington intensively to lift sanctions citing

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counter-terrorism cooperation and facilitating South Sudan referendum but little progress has been made on this front. The US announced in 2010 it was easing sanctions on agriculture equipment and services which allowed half a dozen companies to obtain export licenses. Also, it announced in August 2014 that it has introduced some changes to a rule issued in 2013 that allowed Sudanese students and professors to participate in exchange programs and receive scholarships. It said it expanded the definition of US academic institutions to include their third-country branch campuses,

adding that authorizations as defined now include their contractors as well. On Wednesday, the Sudanese government has announced that consultations are under-way to import farming equipments and remote sensing technologies from the United States

South Sudan link road upgrade to boost Turkana oil search The upgrade of a key link road between Kenya and South Sudan is set to kickoff early next year, raising prospects for enhanced cross-border trade and ease exploration of petroleum deposits within the Lake Turkana basin. Kenya and the World Bank on Monday signed a Sh50 billion deal for the rehabilitation of part of the 601 kilometre highway that links Eldoret to Nakodok on the border with South Sudan. The 960km Eldoret-Juba road is presently in a deplorable state, partly due to high traffic by relief agencies’ heavy commercial vehicles taking supplies to South Sudan and lack of regular maintenance. The new highway will be built to bitumen standards and a one-stop border post built at Nadapal besides other transport amenities. “Producers of agricultural, livestock, fishery and mineral products from the region will benefit from regional and global export opportunities. It will also facilitate the extraction of petroleum recently discovered in Turkana and neighbouring counties,” World Bank county director, Diarietou Gaye said. South Sudan is currently trying to open up its economy to trade with partners in eastern Africa in a bid to consolidate its growth after it successfully seceded from Sudan in July 2011. Its poor transportation link to Kenya was among the weaknesses that a team appointed

by the East Africa Community (EAC) Council of Ministers fronted last year to delay Juba’s membership to the regional bloc. Treasury secretary Henry Rotich said the project will involve the rehabilitation of the entire road sections and laying of a 600 km fibre optic cable from Eldoret to Nakodok. “Apart from facilitating connectivity between Kenya and South Sudan, the project will facilitate cross-border trade and reduce transportation costs. It will also aid emergency relief supplies and humanitarian effort in the region,” he said. The project will be implemented over six years to 2021 as part of the East Africa Regional Transport, Trade and Development Facilitation Project (EARTTDFP). “Fibre (optics) spurs

and rings will also be constructed and provision made for connecting refugee camps, schools, hospitals and other strategic locations, including pastoralist road side markets, export processing zones, rest stops and community service centres along the route,” Infrastructure principal secretary John Mosonik said. The planned one-stop border post at Nakodok will supplement the role of the new highway in boosting regional trade. The one-border-post concept helps in harmonising transit clearance procedures by having officers from two bordering countries handle transit documents concurrently, saving on time. Currently, goods are separately inspected by officers on either side of the border, leading to delays

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Ibrahim Ahmed Ghandour, is leading Sudan delegation participating in the activities of the International Exhibition of Milan, Italy. The minister is to open, accompanying by his Italian counterpart, the Sudan National Day within the activities of the exhibition on Monday in ceremonies including raising of Sudanese flag and broadcasting of the national anthem. The State Minister at the Ministry of Trade, Al-Sadiq Mohamed Ali said, in a statement

to SUNA, that the Sudanese delegation included various ministries, institutions and representatives of the private sector and businessmen in different fields as well as cultural and artistic teams, which are to participate in the celebrations of the National Day of Sudan through introduction of arts, culture and heritage of Sudan expressing its diversity. He added that, Sudan which classified in 1974 as one of the three countries eligible to achieve global food security through availability of its tremendous and diversified resources and then called the world’s food basket,

participated in this show with such this high delegation a matter that reflects the keenness of Sudan to play its role in the world in achieving the global food security. The State Minister at the Ministry of Commerce explained that his ministry considered this show as a great opportunity for Sudan, the public and private sectors and businessmen to display the Sudan abundant potentials in various fields, the vast investment opportunities and the capabilities of trade exchange with the countries of the world. 13 | Elaborate

SUDAN NEWS

Prof. Ghandour to lead Sudan delegation participating in the Milan International Fair

Cover Story

The Mimetic Discourse in Tayeb Salih’s Season of Migration to the North Wisam Khalid Abdul Jabbar | University of Alberta

ayeb Salih’s Season of Migration to the North is often regarded to be a novel about the return of the native. After studying in England for seven years, the unnamed narrator returns to his native village in Sudan, where he meets and tells the story of Mustafa. The novel is about the return to England of a selfproclaimed native, Mustafa Sa’eed; who is strangely enough not born in England and is visiting England for the first time. Given his English-oriented educational background, arguing that Mustafa has highly sought to live in England and call it home negates the prevalent perception which positions Mustafa as the vindictive colonized subject who travels to England seeking to avenge his colonized country. Many critics view Mustafa’s escapades with women in England, which result in the murder of Jean Morris, as representations of the spiteful bent of the colonized subject against the colonizer: “Reaction to Season often falls into ... an attempt to re-establish the dominance of the emasculated, colonized male by attacking the women of the colonizers” (Davidson 388). Like other critics, Patricia Geesey observes that it is “difficult not to see in his character a man who exacts vengeance upon British colonizers of the Sudan through his sexual exploits with women in London”.

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Cover Story 15 | Elaborate

Cover Story Mike Velez, in his article “On Borderline Between Shores: Space and Place in Season of Migration to the North,” emphasizes the seductive role played by Mustafa in London: “In a form of revenge for the colonial “taking” of his country, Sa’eed devotes himself to seducing English women by posing as the fulfillment of their Orientalist fantasies” . Similarly, Danielle Tran asserts the notion that Mustafa launches a “racially centered sexual crusade against Britain”. Caminero-Santangelo argues that “While in England, Mustafa wages a kind of imperial campaign against British women by seducing and discarding them. He sees his sexual conquests as a form of reverse colonization and as a means of anticolonial resistance”. In sharp contrast to the general critical perception, this paper explores Mustafa’s character not as a neurotic avenger in the west as it is generally conceived, but as a colonizer who seeks to go native, that is in this case, to become completely westernized. This self-sought cultural transformation, to Mustafa, does not happen without a complete identity shift from the colonized to the colonizer. In his description of the “civilising mission,” Homi K. Bhabha discusses how colonial authority seeks to have its colonial subjects duplicate the colonizer’s manners, language, and mentality. Ashcroft explains that “colonial discourse encourages the colonized subject to ‘mimic’ the colonizer, by adopting the colonizer’s cultural habits, assumptions, institutions and values”. Bhabha defines colonial mimicry as “the desire for a reformed, recognizable Other, as a subject of a difference that is almost the same, but not quite. Which is to say that the discourse of mimicry is constructed around an ambivalence; in order to be effective, mimicry must continually produce its slippage, its excess, its difference”. He identifies a degree of ambivalence that constitutes this colonial discourse, which he names “mimicry.” It is the colonial desire to have the colonized subject only partially similar to the colonizer: “the effect of a flawed colonial mimesis, in which to be Anglicized is emphatically not to be English”. Bhabha considers this “flawed mimesis” to be intentional so that the colonized countries continue to be in need of the colonizers’ mission of reforming the Other. In this perspective, Mustafa attempts to violate or transcend this colonial code of becoming similar and yet not quite the same by taking over the complete identity of the western colonizer itself. His objective is not, as often assumed, to violate the west in Elaborate | 16

The binary opposition, throughout the novel, is not necessarily asserted but rather complicated by the introduction of Mustafa’s character who is neither like the other nor like the English. Mimetically, although the character of the unnamed narrator can be considered as remarkably similar to Mustafa’s, he is set to be the foil. The opening of the novel sets the tone of the return of a true native who loves his homeland: “The important thing is that I returned with a great yearning for my people in that small village at the bend of the Nile. For seven years I had longed for them, had dreamed of them, and it was an extraordinary moment when I at last found myself standing among them”. In effect, from the very beginning, the narrator is introduced to be like them: “I feel a sense of stability ... that I am continuous and integral. No, I am not a stone thrown into the water but seed sown in a field”. In contrast, Mustafa Sa’eed is “a man who kept himself to himself and about whom not much was known”. This is a man who, stricken by the colonial discourse of mimicry as it translates itself in the emulative learning and practices, has strenuously striven to assimilate himself with the villagers and yet he remains an outsider: “My grandfather ... was very knowledgeable about genealogy ... shook his head and said that he knew nothing about him ... however, he added ... that Mustafa during his whole stay in the village had never done anything which could cause offence,

that he regularly attended the mosque for Friday prayers, and that he was ‘always ready to give of his labour and his means in glad times and sad’. Nevertheless, the narrator recognizes that Mustafa fails to be completely like the villagers: “His excessive politeness was not lost on me, for the people of our village do not trouble themselves with expressions of courtesy”. He even refers to him as a man “of strange combination”, and, on another incident, as a man “of a different clay”. The Sudanese narrator cannot see Mustafa as one of them, despite Mustafa’s sincere attempts to assimilate, which indicates an initial failure on the mimetic level. Mustafa fails precisely because he has Anglicized himself to the point of no return. Mustafa is the living proof of the success of the colonial discourse, which “attempts to domesticate colonized subjects and abolish their radical ‘otherness’, bringing them inside Western understanding” (McLeod 53). Other evidence in the novel shows that the English seek people who have this disposition to culturally transform: “Mark these words of mine, my son.... Be sure, though, that they [the English] will direct our affairs from afar ... because they have left behind them people who think as they do. They showed favour to nonentities ... it was the nobodies who had the best jobs in the days of the English”. The implication here is that educating Mustafa is not a random act but a colonial strategy to breed their 17 | Elaborate

Cover Story

some form of retaliation but rather it is an assertive accentuation, a desire to become one of them. To Mustafa, the act of migration is inadequate; it is synonymous to “flawed mimesis” because it implies at best a form of incomplete acceptance for someone who aspires to seamless assimilation. Migration is for foreigners and Mustafa believed he was going home to the country whose language, culture, and education he has already mastered. The notion of mimicry, in terms of similarities and differences between west and east, colonizer and colonized, pervades the novel. At the novel’s opening, the unnamed narrator tries to answer so many questions asked by his inquisitive village people about the ways of the western world: “They were surprised when I told them that Europeans were, with minor differences, exactly like them, marrying and bringing up their children in accordance with principles and traditions, that they had good morals and were in general good people ... just like us”. The novel sets to negate the narrator’s assumption of people sharing the same human experience and condition, an affirmation that the Occident and the Other are almost the same. The narrator himself refers to these early days as those of sheer innocence: “I was happy during those days, like a child that sees its face in the mirror for the first time”. The implication is that there is more than the eye can see when it comes to east versus west.

Cover Story

likes. His issuing travels, therefore, are just a means to an end. To Mustafa, the destination is more important than the journey itself. Travel is a defining factor in Mustafa’s life. His initial travels are not a movement away from home but rather a step closer to it. Drawing on James Clifford’s conceptualization of travel, Mustafa’s journey to England is not a supplement, a portion of a collective life, but rather the story of homecoming and eventually that of dwelling. Clifford conceptualizes travel as “an increasingly complex range of experiences: practices of crossing and interaction that troubled the localism of many common assumption about culture.... Dwelling was understood to be the local ground of collective life, travel a supplement; roots always precede routes”. Mustafa’s story juxtaposes the common assumption about travel as Mustafa’s journey to England can be viewed as how routes precede roots. His journey to England is a route that leads to his unvisited roots. His departure from his hometown was emotionless and significantly detached: “I packed my belongings in a small suitcase and took the train. No one waived to me and I spilled no tears at parting from anyone”. Similarly, when he left Cairo travelling Elaborate | 18

to England, Mustafa’s attitude of rootlessness continues: “However, I was not sad. My sole concern was to reach London”. Later, a feeling of familiarity and identification surfaces as he approaches England: “I immediately felt

the possibility of making a fetish of travel as he associates it with “wanderlust.” The narrator says that Mustafa advised him to help his children by sparing them “the pangs of wanderlust. I would do nothing of the sort; when they grew up, if they wanted to travel, they should be allowed to”. In Mustafa’s case, this wanderlust becomes unassailable as his early life seems nothing more than a preparation to travel to England. The refrain that permeates the novel is significant in this context: “And the train carried me to Victoria Station and the world of Jean Morris”. It signifies that Mustafa’s attempt to find his roots is contingent on his route to the north. The author of the novel employs that principle of repetition by using this refrain in order to assert the notion that Mustafa is one of those figures of fixing who, as Bhabha puts it, “are caught in that margin of nonmovement within an economy of movement” (Clifford 43). In this sense of being trapped in this train that carried him to the north, Mustafa becomes another Conrad who desired Englishness although it entails a sense of entrapment: “the fixation on certain symbols of Englishness because he needed to stay put, there was nowhere else for him. And paradoxically ... Conrad’s extraordinary experience of travel ... finds expression only when it is limited, tied down to a language, a place, an audience— however, arbitrary and violent the process”. Similarly, Mustafa is tied down to a language that

However, I was not sad. My sole concern was to reach London an overwhelming intimacy with the sea ... calling me, calling me”. In this sense, his unvisited and colonially constructed roots had initiated his travel routes. In his discussion with James Clifford about travels, Bhabha speaks of problems of “this economy of displacement and travel.” He identifies a problem with travellers who “hold on to certain symbols of the elsewhere, of travel and elaborate around it a text which has to do not with movement and displacement but with a kind of fetishization of other cultures, of the elsewhere, or of the image or figure of travel” (Clifford 42-43). This sort of fetishization is quite pertinent to Mustafa’s situation since he recognizes

determines his future dwelling since the notion of dwelling itself “implies real communicative competence” (Clifford 22). Likewise Iain Chambers observes that language is not merely a means of communication but “a means of cultural construction in which our very selves and sense are constituted”. In the repeated refrain, therefore, the “train” becomes a metonymy of his homecoming travel to the “world of Jean Morris,” which allegorizes Englishness in terms of language and culture. Wail S. Hassan asserts that, to Mustafa, the figure of the English woman evoked a generalizing effect “because the British Empire expanded under the rule of a mighty woman”.

the act of mimicry aiming for a perfect assimilation. Unlike Joseph Conrad’s hero’s journey into the unknown in The Heart of Darkness, Mustafa’s travel to England is that of homecoming. However, like Conrad, Salih’s novel is an unequivocal denunciation of the colonial legacy in postcolonial countries: “Both Conrad and Salih expose the perils of colonialism, but while Conrad reserves his strongest condemnation for the greed and theft that attended imperial expansion, Salih questions the entire enterprise. Colonialism is repeatedly described in language that evokes violent infection” (Lalami xiii). Unlike Mustafa whose name pops up every time there is a conversation about the English, the narrator professes how detachment from the English ways has helped him to preserve his native character and, therefore, assumingly becomes immune to the western infection. The unnamed narrator defines himself in negation to Mustafa’s too Anglicized image: “I too had lived with them. But I had lived with them superficially, neither loving nor hating them. I used to treasure within me the image of this little village, seeing it wherever I went with the eye of my imagination” . In sharp contrast, Mustafa had become more English than the English by being exposed to the politicized part of their Englishness, which is often concealed. One is reminded of S.S. Sisodia’s famous stuttered squib, one Rushdie’s characters in The Satanic Verses, saying “the trouble with the Engenglish is that their hiss hiss history happened overseas, so they dodo don’t know what it means” . Mustafa knows what it means; Salih inscribes it as an imperialistic predisposition which tends to be infectious and inherently part of the constitutional nature of western identity that Mustafa absorbs in order to become one of those that Macaulay describes to be “a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect” (Bhabha 124).

Mustafa makes every effort to sacrifice everything in favour of possessing this intellect: “Mrs. Robinson used to say to me ... ‘Can’t you ever forget your intellect?’. He has striven to become like them; accomplishing that end entails being infected with the germ of violence as an inherent attribute that constitutes the colonizer’s identity. Dislocated from his country of birth, Mustafa’s western education has fed his newly acquired identity, which he enacted in England. In effect, he travels to England to celebrate what he perceives to be his right to Englishness and not to take vengeance on what he himself spent a lifetime trying to flawlessly emulate.

I too had lived with them. But I had lived with them superficially, neither loving nor hating them. I used to treasure within me the image of this little village, seeing it wherever I went with the eye of my imagination

19 | Elaborate

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Accordingly, Mustafa’s story yields itself as that of a well-sought crossing to a country that, by merit of its imported language, culture, and education, dramatically constituted his identity and significantly marked his journey to be a form of homecoming travel and not migrancy, which entails “a dwelling in language, in histories, in identities that are constantly subject to mutation” (Chambers 5): the notion that travel in Mustafa’s life is tied up to fetishization, language, and eventually homecoming troubles, as Clifford asserts, the general assumption about culture and localism. In this perspective, Mustafa’s early life in Sudan becomes a supplement whereas his travel becomes a fixation and a dwelling. Mustafa’s constructed character is set from the beginning to be associated with the colonizer rather than with his native soil. His mechanic, uncompassionate relation to his mother implies a similar relation to his motherland. In their Freudian perspective of Mustafa’s childhood, Tarawneh and John describe a departure from the child as native to that associated with a colonizer by constructing the oedipal complex in relation to Mrs. Robinson: Mustafa was born in 1898, the year in which Kitchener reconquered the Sudan and subjugated it to British rule. Consequently, the surrogate mother is closely associated with the surrogate culture of the invaders, a culture that he seeks to revenge himself upon through sexual conquests. It is this substitute culture that, like a mother, adopts him from his early childhood.... It is this surrogate culture that not only seeks to teach him to say “yes” in its own language but breeds people who appoint themselves as substitute “gods” of the conquered land and its people. More importantly, it is this culture that transmits to him the germ of violence and destructiveness. However, Mustafa’s acceptance of Mrs. Robinson as “a surrogate mother,” with its entire assumed heritage, does not necessarily trigger retaliation against the adopted new culture as critics often assume: “Shaped by this heritage, his destiny evolves in the form of a sexual ‘counter-invasion’” (Tarawneh and John 332). Mustafa perceives a germ of violence to be part of the colonial education and identity, which he practises because he wants total assimilation with the newly adopted culture: “I am South that yearns for the North and the ice”. Being too Sudanese for the English and too English for the Sudanese, Salih’s Mustafa is a man who is caught between two worlds and yet he pursues

Profile

Altayeb Saleh

ayeb Saleh was born in 1929 in the Northern Province of the Sudan and has spent most of his life outside the land of his birth .He attended Quranic school as a child, and Gordon College in Khartoum for his secondary school education. He went first to the University of Khartoum and coming from a background of small farmers and religious teachers, his original intention was to work in agriculture. However, after a brief period working as a teacher, he moved to London. He went to university in England before working at the BBC as Head of Drama in the Arabic Service. He later worked as Director-General of Information in Qatar in the Arabian Gulf; with UNESCO on Paris and as UNESCO’s representative in Qatar. Culturally, as well as geographically, Tayeb Saleh lives astride the East and West. In addition to being well-read in the literature of the West, his reading embraces the wide range to be found in the classical Arabic tradition as well as the rich literature of Islam and Sufism. Saleh’s writing, drawn from his experience of communal village life, centres on people and their complex relationships. At various levels and with varying degrees of psychoanalytic emphasis, he deals with themes of reality and illusion, the cultural dissonance between the West and the exotic orient, the harmony and conflict of brotherhood, and the individual’s responsibility to find a fusion between his or her contradictions. These motifs and their contexts derive from both his Islamic cultural background and the experience of modern Africa, both pre- and post-colonial. In his novels, Al-Rajul al Qubrosi (The Cypriot Man, 1978), Urs al Zayn (The Wedding of Zein, 1969), Mawsim al-Hijra ila al-Shamal (Season of Migration to the North, 1969), and Daumat Wad Hamid (The Doum Tree of Wad Hamid, 1985), he constructs an impervious unity of the

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social, religious, and political essence of the African or African Arab. He firmly holds that a harmony of existence is possible for individuals in a society of values and ethics. His books have been translated into several languages. His novella The Wedding of Zein was made into an Arabic Film and won an award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1976. He has also written many short stories which are considered among the best in modern Arabic literature. In his Season of Migration to the North, Saleh confronts us, as his character does, with the clash that takes shape in one’s mind when torn between two cultures. He transfers this turbulent journey to us, hence we are forced to wonder the actions we would have taken when faced with them. Writing is indeed a “tedious business” as Saleh puts it. Creating his “fictional worlds” is not easy. There is little consolation for those who enjoy the “role of being a writer” believes Saleh. Ernest Hemingway was a “mediocre writer”; while Charles Dickens is one of the “great writers” simply because, says Saleh, he managed to enjoy writing and doing other things in life as well. Becoming involved in the details of daily living would make a literary talent come to life, believes Saleh. The “mood has to take over” so that a writer is able to create. But Saleh has always strongly denied that any of his fictional characters resemble him in reality. Some critics have drawn this conclusion based on the fact that Saleh’s main character in Seasons of Migration to the North, Mustafa Saeed, lives the contradictions when one is exposed to dissimilar cultures. Saleh, a native of Sudan, lived for a long time in England as a student. Saeed also comes from a developing world and migrates to the developed. But Saleh wards off the drawing of such similarities. Writing requires creating a distance between artistic expression and reality, believes Saleh. In Seasons of Migration, “the

writing is its own justification” and the “novel is a world with its own rationale”, says Saleh. He sternly believes that since a novel is fictional, reality therefore should not become part of it. Ironically, the novel, Seasons of Migration to the North, was banned in Saleh’s native Sudan for a few years despite the fact that it won him prominence and fame worldwide. The novel is also listed as required reading and taught as part of courses at many universities. The novel’s importance is drawn from the dilemma its main character lives through. Eventually, we as readers live through the same experience as we come to question the options that we may have taken if we were in Saeed’s place. As he leaves his hometown for a ‘foreign’ country, we feel alienated, as he does and embark with him on a soul-searching journey. Like Saeed, we are alienated and torn between two worlds, yet being neither ‘here’ nor ‘there’. Saeed no longer belongs to his society of origin, one which he differed with in thought and practice. Yet he does not also belong to the one he had migrated to for it has not fully approved him as part of it hence allowing him to transform and grow. In both places, he is a stranger. What novelist Saleh has tried to describe is the delicate transition that societies in the developing world went through as they passed through an era of colonisation to freedom. This was an attempt to come into being, which Saleh has magnificently been able to describe in Seasons of Migrations to the North. Here, the migration is the yearning to ascend into a world that is free, not only from the colonisers but from restrictions and limitations posed by society, and most importantly, by an individual’s state of mind. And it is this that had attracted readers to Saleh’s writings. What bonded them with this novel is perhaps the fact that many saw the reflection of their own soul as it yearned for freedom.

INFOGRAPHICS

7,500,000 Darfur Population

TRIBES IN DARFUR

4,000

Fur, Masalit, Zaghawa, Bideyat, Tama, Mima, Berti, Bargo, Kanein, Birgid, Dajo, Tunjur, Berti, Kuraan, Erenga, Kanein, Barno, Mararit, Fellata, Jebel, Sambat, Hadahid, Gimir, Rizzeyqat, Beni Halba, Ta’aisha, Habbaniya, Ziyaddiya, Fulbe, Ja’aliyin, Misseriya, Djawama, Beni Helba, Meidob Habania, Beni Hussein, Ateefat, Humur, Khuzam, Khawabeer, Beni Jarrar, Batahin, Mahameed, Ma’aliyah

AU Troops

THE DARFUR STORY

300 UN Peacekeepers

2003 Rebels took up arms against government Elaborate | 22

2005 Chad declares “state of war” with Sudan

Abuja Agreement

UNAMID established

2006

2007

2,000,000 Displaced People

Estimated no. of people killed

GoS

300,000

10,000

Violence broke between Rizeigat and Maalia over a land dispute

2009

2011

Arrest warrant issued against Sudanese President

Doha Document for Peace in Darfur

2013

United Nations Security Council unanimously votes to keep peacekeeping troops in Sudanâ&#x20AC;şs Darfur region for at least one more year

2015

23 | Elaborate

INFOGRAPHICS

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EDUCATION International Excellence at Home Elaborate Professor Eltayeb Ali Ahmed Abusin, Elaborate’s Education Consultant, talks about the importance of international standards at local educational institutes. Professor Abusin strives not just to maintain the highest standards of education by global standards but also works hard at localizing the educational experience at the Academy

Having graduated from the Khartoum University Faculty of Arts with a BA in Arabic Language he went on to secure his MA and then his PhD – has held positions in many respected academic instates. From 1965 till 1981, he was the executive director-University of Khartoum, leading the secretariat of the University Academic Institutions (Council, Deans, committee, Administrative committee, Academic staff, Promotion committee & executive & finance committee). During this time, he was also part time Lecturer of Arabic language at the Faculty Of Arts, University of Khartoum. After this, he was appointed as Minister of Administration and Culture – Sudan Government, a position he held from 1981 till 1985. In 1986, he took over as Head of Arabic Department & Acting Head of School (King Fahad Academy- London). The School had successfully taken on board two curricula (national curriculum (NC) & the Arabic curriculum (Arabic & Islamic studies). From 1989 till 1999, he also played an effective role in establishing the Oxford Academy for higher studies and chaired the Department of Arabic & Islamic Studies. His main achievement here was the assessment and supervision of research on the masters & PhD Dean of the School of Research Science, Dubai, UAE and stayed there will 2005. From 2005 till 2006, he was cultural adviser for the Establishment of Bin

Ali Bin Rashid for Publications and then Dean of Sudan Oxford Academy – Khartoum Sudan (NC & Arabic & Islamic Studies Curriculum from 2006 till 2008. Apart from his above full-time positions, Professor Abusin also engaged in other academic pursuits. He took part in setting the GCSE Islamic Studies Program for London Board in the early 1990s, author the Islamic studies curriculum in Arabic for the School of Research & Science and for the Sudan Oxford Academy. He also designed the Arabic Grammar Program for IGCSE – EDEXCEL and was Chairman of Arabic IGCSE (First Language EDEXCEL). Professor Abusin strives not just to maintain the highest standards of education by global standards but also works hard at localizing the educational experience at the Academy. One of his biggest concerns – and ultimately achievements – is the mixing of a British curriculum with Arabic and Islamic studies. When questioned about whether he feels that local teachers should be employed for British curriculum schools rather than foreigners, he responded “Trained staff with experience in delivering the national curriculums is welcomed regardless of their nationalities,” says the Professor. Professor Abusin builds upon his vast experience of and excellent relations with international educational organizations such as EDEXCEL. “ We started with very strong relations with the British and international educational organizations,” he reveals. As an EDEXCEL chairman for Arabic IGCSE, he used his relations to strengthen ties with all institutions that help in promoting the Academic standards steps are taken now for

Proffesor. Eltayeb Ali Ahmed Abusin the establishment of an EDEXCEL examination centre in the Academy. He points out that it is due to this attention to international standards and a wellrounded approach that students at the 11 classes in the Academy enjoy a unique position. “Our students are different from other British schools,” he says , “because our links with the(Q.C.A) qualifications and curriculum authority are up to the standards of the Academic levels that nominate our institution for joining the (E.C.I.S) European Council for international schools as an affifiliate.” Professor Abusin helped in establishing the department of Arabic & Islamic studies in a number of educational institutions, “this plays a very important role in the student’s life in terms of transforming the lessons to behavior and ethics reflecting Quranic way of life”, he adds. “Parents also have a very important role (in the education process),” adds Professor Abusin.

25 | Elaborate

EDUCATION

Currently lending his academic expertise as an Education Consultant to a number of International Academic Institutions, Professor Eltayeb Ali Ahmed Abusin has had an enviable and prolific career as an educationist.

WOMEN

ZWD: 47 years of women support Zeinab for Women Development (ZWD) is and NGO founded in 2000 focusing on direct work with grass roots communities in Sudan with respect to women’s rights. ZWD aims at promoting and empowering the socio economic and political status of women in Sudan with special focus on the vulnerable ones. To achieve its aim AWD undertakes several activities namely: multidimensions program which is planned to back women, lobbying and advocate for their rights , provide logistic and legal aid for them; conduct women awareness raising programs , training of women leaders, establish direct links with women associations. ZWD conducts intensive community activity which targets: • Combating HIV/AIDS as well as Female Genital mutilation (FGM), • Stopping violence against women, • Advocating women basic human rights, gender equality. • Empowering working women with special focus on farmers • Training women and helping them to acquire more skills and raise their awareness with regards to gender equality, democracy and their basic rights. ZWD plays a pivotal role in the following sectors: 1. Education: through upgrading primary education in order to improve education for girls and boys especially in rural remote villages where the need for such intervention is highly required. As a positive impact, hundreds of girls and boys are now having an improved education environment with convenient classrooms, toilets drinking water utilities, communities in order to maintain newly constructed and rehabilitated schools, whereas the Ministry of Education pledged to provide teachers and textbooks to new schools. 2. Agriculture and Poverty Alleviation: ZWD provides women farmers with agricultural inputs, improved seeds and hand tools to increase their productivity and improve their living conditions and Elaborate | 26

fight food security challenges in the regions of East Sudan. 3. Health: through holding multiple awareness raising campaign on reproductive health, motherhood and childhood to reduce maternity death rate, HIV and FGM.

In 2012, ZWD won the prize of the Islamic Development Bank for Women Development in addition Mrs. Fatima Ahmed has been awarded the UNDP Equator Prize for outstanding local initiatives that are working to advance sustainable development solutions for people, nature and resilient communities.

About Mrs, Zeinab Nour and Dr. Fatima Ahmed Back in 1941 a woman named Zenab Nour who has lived in Gadarif City at the Eastern part of Sudan, recognized the problems associated with gender inequality in Sudan. As an educator she chose to address this issues by promoting and facilitating girls education process and to provide opportunities for girls education in Sudan. To achieve this, Zeinab opened many basic schools for girls in Eastern Sudan with a sustained effort for almost 47 years to pave the way for girls education as a basic pillar to empower women to gain their rights.For her continuous efforts and achievements in this field, Zenab had been selected and listed among”1000 Peace Women across the Globe”, in 2005 she was nominated for the Nobel Prize.

To honor her name and keep the legacy, the Organization was named after her. Mrs. Zenab has passed away but her legacy still lives on, her eldest daughter Fatima has taken the lead and continues her mother efforts. Fatima has received a master degree in Agricultural science and works full time for ZWD without as a volunteer. As a president for ZWD, Fatima petitioned for and received ECOSOC status with the UN. Fatima in a restless efforts is seeking to make heard the voice of the vulnerable and disadvantageous social groups specially women in remote rural areas of Sudan at all internal & international forums she attended, she managed a good networking and participatory approach with concern parties and stakeholders, she has been awarded the title of “Ambassador of peace”.

Sudanese Professionals Abroad

Dotting the I’s and Crossing the T’s Sudan’s New Generation Aims to Make Sense of IT Through Active Engagement at Home HishamKhalafalla, Sudanese native is one such person leading the way for the next generation of technology entrepreneurs. Armed with an MBA and Computer Science degrees from leading American Universities, and with an insight into the region’s culture, language being a native entrepreneurs such as Hisham are representing the best of both worlds.

is 6-year old company GNHSoft specializes in Embedded Systems, system software and Manageability Solutions. With presence in the US, India, UAE and now expansion plans into NorthAfrica, and worked with customers such as AMD, Sun Microsystems (now part of Oracle), Supermicro, Cray Computers, and Raritan, he’s clearly a success story. Seeing the success of his company,Hisham now has a similar successful Dubai companyAlmedTechFZE , to provide value-added IT services. ‘Sudan, Africa and the region in general has tremendous potential. With the rebuilding efforts underway and growth, there’s a clear need for world-class technology infrastructure. There’s a need for thousands of qualified engineers andpeople with the right skills. Technical skills are one thing they can be acquired through a diploma or on the job, but more important are communication, leadership, management skills,’ he says. He believes in empowering entrepreneurs with ‘soft-skills’, countries such as Sudan which has a large population, vast pool of young people will have a bigger edge. Almedtech has a well-received Creative Leadership course for precisely this reason. Built on his own experience of more than 17-years, and a content drawn from industry leaders, the course brings the best of class rooms and corporate world in an intensive 5-days distinguished program. The course is prepared with the belief that good leaders have always been expected to be able to solve new problems, capitalize on new opportunities and navigate through the ever changing landscape. ‘The leadership attributes – belief, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills – are all traits which can be learned. The course provides the basis for understanding what leadership is and what leaders do to be successful the governments must focus on this,’ he adds. ‘Empower the people, and they will empower the economy’. Please indicate your early beginnings in the USA? Right after finishing high school, I was offered full scholarship to play football and study in USA. I joined Alabama A&M University as student and football player as a result. I was accompanied with a good friend Hassan Mustafa. We played for Alabasia club at that time. We went to A&M for two years and then

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Raised up in the US, How did it contribute to shaping your character in the future? The move to USA has changed my life and career tremendously. Taking the opportunity itself was a challenge in itself. At that time many advised me to continue my football career in Sudan and study at a local college. The move helped me in focusing more on academics. I had to overcome the challenge of making it in America as a person, footballer and young student with limited financial resources. Tell us about the first steps in your professional life? After I graduated from the University of Alabama with BSc in Computer Science, I worked for American Megatrends AMI in Atlanta Georgia for 11 years. Joining AMI wasn’t an easy choice. At that time, we had an opportunity to play for Major League Soccer MLS. But I continue my career away from football. My tenure in corporate America was an enlightening experience. I had a chance to visit in almost every continent to do business. I have lived in Korea, Taiwan for extended periods deploying new products. Interesting enough most of this time was during the boom time and the real “Globalization”. In 2005 I received my MBA from Mercer University in International business. I have taught international business courses 20082010 at Shorter University in Atlanta Georgia. What about your private business? In May 2006 I started GNHSoft , IT consulting firm, in Norcross GA USA. GNHSoft success came early on where we provided solutions for many tier one MN companies such as Sun Microsystems, Oracle, Advance Micro Devices AMD to name a few. My 21 years in USA were challenging and rewarding enough. Overcoming challenges away from home, taking advantage of good education and work experience led me to continue to believe that everything is possible. We just need to work hard and aim high. And what was your motive/ cause/vision when establishing Almedtech? In July 2010, I established AlmedTech FZE, Dubai based company. One of the motives for establishing AlmedTech was personal. I wanted my 2 kids Ahmed and Aleen to live closer to home. I wanted them to have a chance to learn

Companies like AlmedTech can contribute greatly to the IT movement in Sudan when an opportunity arises. This contribution can be done by sharing experience and expertise, enabling engineers and help with development process, Quality Assurance and release procedures. more about our culture and be with family (with their grandmothers for example) more. My wife Mysoon shared the same vision for our Children and was very supportive. On the business side, I do see great potential in MENA region as a whole. Having presence in Dubai will give us an opportunity to penetrate into many untapped markets. Our vision for AlmedTech is to make sound contribution. This can be achieved by not just bring in sound technology and expertise. This can be done be enabling people as well. By giving them the knowledge and tools they need to be empowered. We support this model even though it might come at the expense of our business in cases. But we need to contribute soundly to be different. We have a unique model of engaging our clients in all that we do “working as one team”. AlmedTech has delivered on its promises since its start. We helped companies to deliver their first HW and SW designs. We helped in creating a true IT developers movement. This resulted in empowering many young engineers. AlmedTech offerings are unique and different. They include Embedded Systems (SW/HW), mobile application or our Sahil enterprise solutions product line.

• Treat IT as an industry. Once it is treated as an industry, then a new economy emerges. And thousands of new jobs would be created. What is needed here is promote IT as an industry with full support of R&D • I do like the idea of promoting Open Source usages as it is the case today. But officials shouldn’t associate open source with free. Open Source doesn’t mean free IT solutions. How could Almedtech bring about change to IT sector in Sudan? Companies like AlmedTech can contribute greatly to the IT movement in Sudan when an opportunity arises. This contribution can be done by sharing experience and expertise, enabling engineers and help with development process, Quality Assurance and release procedures Football Career Played for Elrabeta Omdurman (third division at that time); Then Alabasia Club (first division) for two years. Played for the youth national team and represented Sudan in Tunisia 1987. After that we played for university or Alabma. I was selected most valuable player 2 times and select for all start team twice. I was the assistant football coach for one year.

Sudanese Professionals Abroad

transferred to University of Alabama Huntsville where we graduated.

How do you perceive the current situation of IT in Sudan? I think Sudan IT has sound potential and great promise. There are many opportunities for growth. Officials in Sudan need to do the following for the IT industry to flourish and realize its potential • Level the playing field by creating a system that encourages fair competition and gives private companies a way in 29 | Elaborate

NATION BRANDING

Beyond Government Nation Branding: Helping to mend what Politics has dented

he straightforward definition of the tem “brand” is a name, term, sign, symbol, design, or any combination of them, in order to help in identifying the goods and services of a seller and differentiate them from those of the competition. Tactics and techniques used in branding companies and countries are becoming increasing similar. Nations like Canada, Spain, Australia and Finland have all

used corporation techniques in marketing themselves and their exports in order to create certain projections of themselves in the view of others. The application of branding theories to nations and countries is gaining popularity within economies that lack the usual competitive advantage of good economic performance in the global market. This means that countries like United States of America, China, and Brazil need

not spend a dime, yuan (check for China’s currency smallest unit), or a (Brazil currency smallest unit) respectively, in branding themselves. But the fact of the matter is that those countries are amongst the tope spenders when it comes to nation branding and image creation. The topic of nation branding has far exceeded the basic marketing mix concepts to include identity construction, image creation, and reputation management.

2. What we want others to think about us? Intended Image

tion a s i an Org

1. Who are we? 3. What do we believe others think about us? 4. What do others actually think about us?

Stakeholders

Identity Construed Image Reputation

Identity is ‘self Definition’ generated by countries and it is basically who the country believe they are, while the image involves external stakeholders and how they perceive the country and what the country believe they perceive it as. Reputation is what those external stakeholders actually think about the country. Managing these three components effectively will result in a n equally effective management of the brand. Elaborate | 30

In the present times, there is an increasing need for governments to take charge of the nation branding efforts in order to attract investors, tourists, promote its exports and compliment its diplomacy efforts. This requires countries to adopt conscious branding if they are to compete effectively on the global stage. Within a few years, identity management will be seen as a perfectly normal manifestation of ful brand will be seen as a key national asset. The unbranded state has a difficult

Hello Everyone. Sudan is a beautiful country.

time attracting economic and political attention, and that image and reputation are becoming essential parts of the state’s strategic equity. A country that is aiming to build a brand in order to attract either FDIs or tourism has to realise that it takes more than a marketing campaign to do this. “The nation brand cannot assert itself, as the tangible sources from which its value is accrued are not in place. It is not sufficient for the country to promote its

We believe people think Sudan is beautiful

image enthusiastically to other nations if the economic basis for the nation brand is not there” The majority, if not all, country branding campaigns are led by government. Some examples of the most famous campaigns slogans and logos are South Africa’s “Alive with possibility”, Spain’s “San Siro”, India’s “Incredible India”, Thailand’s “Amazing Thailand”, Malaysia’s “Truly Asia”, Costa Rica’s “Peaceful Destination”, Iceland’s “Iceland naturally”, and Egypt’s “Destination Egypt”

War…Political Struggle… Famine...Poverty... Genocide

THEM 31 | Elaborate

NATION BRANDING

Who Should Build the Country Brand?

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NATION BRANDING

Nation Branding vis-á-vis FDI: Despite its vast natural resources and enormous capacity for investment, Sudan is not considered as one of the most favourable destination for foreign investment. The political and economic circumstances combined to create an environment that projects a very negative image about the country.

Considering the case of Sudan it is imperative that the government should embark on an extensive branding campaign in order to be able to capitalise on the opportunities available. in place aiming at attracting FDI. This strategy has to be practical, sustainable and affordable. It is evident that “The Sudanese Government’s general policy maintains and constantly declares that foreign direct investment (FDI) has a constructive effect on a country’s economy in terms of added technological, managerial and financial wealth.”

When the country fails to provide investors with enough assurances for

Active openness to technology, marketing channels, organizational and managerial expertise adds to domestic savings, investment and eventually secures an effective utilisation of economic resources. Higher levels of investment and productivity are key elements to stirring growth in the Sudan as a developing country and raise living standards.”

their money, investors tend to steer clear of having any interaction with the specific country. When foreign investment decides to place its money in other places, the effect on the economy can be very damaging. To promote Sudan in light of the present perception of people about the country is a challenging task that can only be achieved through a consistent effort that aims to induce positive images and at the same time overturn the negative ones. Convincing investors that Sudan has become a good location for their investment cannot happen overnight. It was also found that it was not necessary to completely “cleanse” the reputation of the country in order to attract foreign direct investment. A good example is Lebanon where the political instability did not discourage foreign investors. Media needs to be responsible for carrying out the promotion campaign but they should revise the current strategies which lack the component of addressing negative images and is only concentrating on reiterating that Sudan has all the good of the world. This approach was agreed to be ineffective and is even damaging when it comes to credibility.

37 | Elaborate

NATION BRANDING

Capturing foreign investment, attracting tourists, and promoting your exports are becoming top priorities for the majority of countries. Governments need to adopt a strategic framework for promoting itself in international arena in order to increase their competitiveness to attract those scarce resources.

NATION BRANDING

Recommendation: where to begin?! Collaboration is vital for the success of the Sudan Branding initiative and a strategic framework is required to coordinate this effort Collaboration amongst government entities in order to launch and maintain a strong branding campaign is crucial, preferably with the involvement of the private sector as it can finance the various activities that have to be completed. It was also interested to see some media professionals, both from Sudan and overseas, mentioning that

education and arts institutes which can have a vital role in supporting the Branding Sudan initiative. Sudanese government and local media should acknowledge more the importance of the effectiveness of country branding in attracting foreign investment It is undeniable that there is little awareness about the definition of nation branding and the impact it can have on attracting investment to Sudan. Consequently, minimal efforts are exerted

in promoting the country’s opportunities. Hence, the government should adopt a project to promote a better image through its various media outlets. Some Practical Tools: Branding Sudan Framework The proposed framework for collaboration is designed to have stakeholders groups categories along with the stages of the nation branding initiative development and assigning each group a specific set of tasks based on their roles and responsibilities.

The proposed ACTion* (Assess, Construct, Transpose, induce, overturn and neutralize) framework is constructed based on the following: • The Branding Sudan initiative should involve government, business, community, media and education entities. All should be assigned clear roles and responsibilities which they carry out during the three stages of the initiative. • Government sector entities with the most impact on branding activities should be identified and assigned roles based on relevance of task. They are expected to lead the initial effort while ensuring that the private sector has a say in forming the roadmap for the branding project. • Branding activities should be conducted in phases that are not necessarily linear. Transposing the country in crisis is a vital component of the framework and it requires careful thinking about activities related to inducing new positive images, challenging and correcting bad ones, and engaging stakeholders to achieve a balanced

view on the country’s image • Branding a country that is experiencing crisis needs to include work on the three components making the brand: identity, image and reputation. Each of the three component must be tackled in a separate phase and ongoing interaction should be followed between the phases afterwards. • There are three different levels where the branding activities should be conducted. Each level will have a unique approach and involve specific groups of stakeholders. These levels are: a. Local Community b. Country level c. International • It is not necessary to win people over in order to attract investments. All we need to do is to make them neutral and ensure that they do not hold any negative views on the country. The proposed framework is based on the classical RACI matrix, a tool used

to assign roles and responsibilities in project management. Entities and stakeholders are assigned the role of “Responsible” if they are to take the leading role in executing the work, “Consulted” if their input is required for completing the task, “Informed” if the outcomes and results should be communicated to them and “Accountable if they are the decision makers and hold sole authority in guiding the task. The framework is proposing that there should be three stages for creating and implementing the branding initiative. Here is a brief description of each stage:

ssess: Identify the current situation of how the country is serving the investor’s needs and who is responsible for delivering what

onstruct: Put in place the basic components that will enable the effective delivery of services to investors

ranspose: Manage the process of shifting the perception of stakeholders from the current unfavorable to a less hostile one until reaching a stage where investors, for example, are comfortable with the idea of investing in the country. This phase is made up of three sub phases where the media would play a vital role in executing it:

I O N

nduce: Push positive images and success stories to the minds of stakeholders verturn: Challenge negative stories and remove doubts from stakeholders minds

eutralise: Address stakeholders concerns and engage them in ongoing discussion

Elaborate | 38

Identity

Image

Reputation Management

Assessment

Construction

Transposition

How are we carrying out our duties at the moment in relation to our stakeholders' wants and needs?

What basic elements should be put in place in order to serve our stakeholders' needs?

How do we manage the process of shifting stakeholders' perception to a more positive one?

Foreign Affairs

Responsible

Investment

Responsible

Tourism

Responsible

Culture

Responsible

Int. Cooperation

Responsible

Foreign Trade

Responsible

Information & Media

Responsible

Interior

Responsible

ENTITIES (Stakeholders)

Government

Induce

Overturn

Neutralise

Collaborative effort to coordinate various activities here.

Office of Brand Sudan

MAIN DRIVER (Accountable)

Private Sector

Consulted

Responsible

Consulted

Media

Informed

Consulted

Responsible

Arts

Consulted

Education Institutes

Consulted

International Organisations *

Consulted

Informed

* UN, EU, OAU, Arab League

39 | Elaborate

Travel

ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES IN SUDAN Sudan is considered one of the few countries which enjoy a variety of tourism resources disbursed all across the country

hese resources are represented in the Red Sea Coast which extends for more than 700 kilometers and is characterized by many tourist attractions, including diving and under-water photography, besides boat rowing and water skiing. The Red Sea Coast enjoys many gulfs and coral reefs as the area is free from contamination which plagues many seas and tourist areas in the world. Sudan also enjoys an ancient heritage in the field of civilizations and antiquities representing a great attraction for tourists both from within and outside the country. This heritage is centred in the Northern areas including Al-Naga’, Al-Musawarat, Karima, Al-Berkal, Merwie, Dongola and others. These areas and others saw ancient civilizations proved by the remains of the pyramids and temples, with a great part Elaborate | 40

of them still lying unearthed. These areas attract many experts and researchers in this field. In addition, they are considered archaeological sites not experiencing any toursit leap before, despite the availability of huge resources in them. Central areas in Sudan, including Sennar and Sinja, contain antiquities of Al-Funj Kingdom (The Black Sultanate). The antiquities of this area bear testimony to the long and authentic history of the kingdom. There are many antiquities of the Mahdi State in east and west of Sudan and in the National Capital. These antiquities which reflect the glory and history of the Sudanese people, beside the existence of many other antiquities in other areas deserve concern to attract tourists from abroad to get acquainted with the history of the country at that time. In East Sudan, at Sawakin area on the Red Sea, there are great antiquities indicating the existence of a historically

great period of Sudan’s history. Sawakin island, for example, is considered one of the areas which witnessed urban development and unique styles of architecture. It is now regarded as one of the world’s few areas in this field. There are many tourists interested in this aspect of history and who can be attracted to these sites. The state also set up Al-Dinder National Tourist Park for wildlife in the central state in 1935. This park is considered one of the greatest game reserves in Africa. It occupies a unique position north of the equator on an area of 2,470 square miles. In 1990, the Government announced the establishment of Sanganieb national marine reserve on an area of about 12 square kilometers as a first Sudanese sea reserve at the Red Sea area. The government also set up Arous Tourist Village at the Red Sea area and villages of Jemieza in the Equatorial State.

Sai Sai island lies to the south of the second cataract. It contains many antiquities including temples, monuments and cemeteries which almost represent all the cultural periods of the first stone age. They also represent the Pharaohnic period till the advent of the Ottoman Rule. Sadinga It contained some temples which represent the Pharaohnic period, besides some other cemeteries concerning Nabta and Merwie. Soleb It contained a temple that dates back to the Pharaohnic period and other antiquities of Egyptian and Merwatic origins. Tumbus Egyptian writings have been found in this

area inscribed on rocks lying near the third cataract and a statue which dates back to the Merwatic period. Karma It is one of the most important archaeological sites in Sudan. It enjoys huge buildings made of unbaked bricks and is known as â&#x20AC;&#x153;Al-Duafoofahâ&#x20AC;?, which dates back to the 203rd century B.C. Tabo This site is found on Argo Island, south of the Third Cataract and contains a Koshite temple and antiquities that date back to the Merwatic and Christian periods. Kawa This site has a number of temples of Egyptian origin as it also represents the Kush era. Old Dongola This is the capital of the lower Christian 41 | Elaborate

Travel

Areas of games are represented in the Red Sea Hills and birds hunting at Kindy Lake in Darfur state after it had been protected against poaching. There are also game areas in South Sudan, AlDari Mountain, Al-Fuweir area, Al-Rugia Al-Zargha area, Talha Al-Misairi and Foanghar Mountain in Kordofan State. Sudan also enjoys many other tourist attractions such as the archaeological sites in the northern and eastern states. Sudan stepped a vague, hostoric period as a political, local power emerged at the end of the 9th century B.C. which was named Kosh Kingdom. This historic period was divided into two eras: Nabta Kingdom - Merwie Kingdom. The history of most archaeological sites found in Sudan dates back to different periods including the Pharaohnic period - Karma - Kosh - Christianity - Islam. The most important archaeological sites lying between the North and the South of the country, are:

INTERVIEW

Jens Petter Kjemprud Norwayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ambassador to Sudan

Elaborate | 42

How do you assess the readiness of Sudan to receive Foreign Direct Investment? In the build-up to the referendum which took place on the 9th of January 2011, I think there was a growing realization that there will be enormous economic challenges facing Sudan post secession. To some extent the fact that CPA said that both Governments, as partners to the Agreement, should work for unity during the transitional period made it quite difficult for the government to focus on the alternative scenario which was not unity but the separation of the South. So, in that sense, the Government started, I believe, preparing for secession of the South rather late. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why Norway took the initiative in October 2010 to call for the Economic Conference to be discussed with the Government of Sudan.

Q: What elements need to be in place in order to attract FDIs? There are so many things, what has to be focused on. But Sudan has some problems with perceptions of the country. Outside Sudan, in particular in the Western world, but also in Asian and Arab world Sudan has challenges changing perceptions. So, the idea of the whole conference is for the Government to present itself in a way which could help change perceptions of Sudan. So, that’s one; changing perceptions: using public diplomacy, using public relations is very important for the Government here. Because, yes there are problems in Sudan but Sudan is such a large country, there’s so much that’s not obvious to the eye when you sit in a foreign country considering investments. There are a lot of opportunities. I don’t say that you should forget about the problems which are there in Southern Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur, but still at the same time the Government should focus on improving the public relations, the public diplomacy, and seek opportunities in Sudan. So, we considered the Conference to name it Land of Possibilities and opportunities and so on. Now, it’s called Sudan International Economic Conference, I think this is an opportunity for the Government at one level. The other level is changing all impediments to investments to have one-stop-shop for investments, to have a new investment law which encourages investments and makes it easier for investments and the whole culture of the business environment. So, there are other things which need to be done and I think the investment law is in a draft form and we believe that the Economic

Conference could help in enhancing this process internally. And as I said the Government needs to do a number of things, of course, related to the overall macro-economic issues which includes sanctions against the country which makes investments more difficult, it includes the huge debt burden which is now on a good track, the Government has done a brilliant job in debt reconciliation, the interim poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) is about to be finalized and adopted very soon which means that the process towards debt relief arrangements is on track. It’s really close, hopefully the interim PRSP would be adopted very soon before the Economic Conference which means that this process can proceed.

into account its impressive record in this field? Of course it’s up to the Government to request assistance from Norway but as I said we’ve signed an Agreement last week with the Ministry of Petroleum for a three year Program which could be extended further for building the capacity of the Ministry of Petroleum. That is one area where we believe we have comparative advantage being an oil nation for quite a while including good governance of the sector. We also had a delegation a couple of weeks ago from the fisheries sector where our Maritime Research Institute of Bergen will conduct a survey and mapping of the fishery resources in Sudan in cooperation with the Sudanese

The potential here is to double to 46-47% what is taken out of the ground. So, on the business side few Norwegian companies are active apart from paint producers Jotun, verification and quality control firm Det norske Veritas, shipping lines in Port Sudan and Norwegian consultancy firms. Q: How can a country like Norway assist in the process of attracting investments to Sudan? Well as you know, Norway is a small country; but we still have some companies which are active here now. But if you look at the totality of investments in Sudan it is relatively small. We try to engage companies in certain sectors like for example fertilizers which is important for the long term agricultural development of the country. We just signed last week a three year Cooperation Agreement with the Ministry of Petroleum on strengthening the capacity of the Sudanese government in the oil sector including an increased oil recovery programme. Today Sudan extracts 23% off the ground, in Norway we extract more than 50% off the ground. The potential here is to double to 46-47% what is taken out of the ground. So, on the business side few Norwegian companies are active apart from paint producers Jotun, verification and quality control firm Det norske Veritas, shipping lines in Port Sudan and Norwegian consultancy firms. However, what we believe is rather supporting and working with Sudanese Government to enhance its performance and on the Economic Conference to help attracting business from around the world. Q: Your Excellency what’s the role Norway can play in developing the Human Resources in Sudan taking

Government and the UNIDO, which has the potential of increasing production from the fisheries sector ten-fold. This has the potential for increased food security, reduced import bill and increased exports. We have a very long coast in Norway and a big fisheries sector which comes in 2nd place in exports from Norway, after oil and gas. So, we also believe we have comparative advantage in that sector. So, those two sectors are the most important and we believe both do support economic development; because without economic development you can’t support the vital social sectors in Sudan. Q: What do you think Sudan could do to attract investors during the Istanbul Conference? The program now being planned for Turkey includes a full day for a business conference which will be in parallel with the senior official and the Ministerial Conference. In this conference, Sudan has a great opportunity to be active and attract investment to the country. The level of participation and the number of participants is one success criteria, and it’s up to the Government to follow up on the success made at the Conference. Good presentations are being made by the Higher Council for Investments and Ministry of Finance and different line ministries for investments in different sectors. So, now the government is fighting against time to get as many investors and businessmen to attend. 43 | Elaborate

INTERVIEW

I believe that the Government has been very serious in trying to face the challenges. There are obvious difficulties for the Government to do that, but I think they now are focusing on the issues. I’ve just been to the meeting of the technical committee preparing for the Economic Conference and the government proves to be very serious. They are moving on a number of areas to improve the situation for business, improve the business environment and improve the investment climate and engaging broad part of the Sudanese community for investments. Such preparations take a while to be fruitful, but I think there is a strong realization for the Government at this time. Everyone could say that more needs to be done but I think now there is a strong realisation that something needs to be done as soon as possible.

MEDIA

or To print to not ! print

r o g n i y d , m s i l a n r u o n? a Print J d u S n i evolving Elaborate | 44

question since the main factor I’m basing this essay on is “Technology”. Little did I know that in order to make sense of the current situation one has to understand the foundation of local Journalism and how it evolved. Reflecting on the history of media propelled me to compare it with the existing press trend in Sudanese market, and the social impact it has. To get a grasp on print press, I am presenting the views of well-known media gurus in Sudan mirroring the ins and outs of press industry and their thoughts on way forward. The parameters that shape print media in Sudan are unique, in this essay I will be reflecting on each parameter. The distinctiveness of press industry in Sudan; it’s exposure to unpredictable circumstances that can flip the industry behavior remarkably. This alone, confirms that print media in Sudan is a unique story that stands apart from other worldly examples that are mostly controlled by technology alone. History: Journalism roots in Sudan In order to get an accurate glimpse of the history of Journalism in Sudan I visited the Ministry of Information to provide me with historical background. The ministry official quoted “Sudan the land of opportunities” which is publication produced by the Ministry. According to publication, the first newspaper issued in Sudan was called “Sudan Government Gazette” in March 1899. The newspaper was produced by the British Administration hence it was issued in Arabic and English (source Durham University website). The purpose of this publication was the provision of government’s political announcements, movements, regulations, and later on

highlighted commercial activities. But since this newspaper didn’t showcase true Sudanese and voiced them, in 1924 a Sudanese secret newspaper was being produced by a group of young educated rebels. The newspaper was called “Whit Flag League” by Ali Abd al-Latif which was also the name of the political party formed. This newspaper was a secret one because it called for a united Egypt and Sudan and forced the British to leave. The publication was issued amongst Sudanese officers and Civil servants. This was the stepping stone to the formation of Journalism in Sudan. By 1935 the first daily newspaper was issued (The Nile Newspaper). At the time, a number of educated Sudanese who received their education in Egypt decided to return to Sudan and take part in expressing the nation’s voice. Naturally any newspaper was subject to censorship. As time passed more Sudanese newspaper started to appear. Each newspaper represented a political party, therefore advocated for their beliefs. The first newspaper that came with modern economic views and was nontraditional was the one run by the communist party in 1946. In 1930 the first press law was enacted (under colonial era), which was revised to National press law, post-independence in 1956. In the early stages of press revolution, there was only one printing house that was responsible for all printed media. Printing in Sudan was introduced by the Turks (Stone printing), then by the British, then the Greeks entered (Victoria Press house). In 1969, Sudan News Agency was formed and was considered one of the oldest news agencies in Africa and the Arab World. This qualified it to become a member of the Federation of Arab News Agencies.

MEDIA

Overview At a time where technology seems to spearhead the direction or the future of various industries, print journalism, comes with no immunity to such inevitable change. When considering the survival of print media since its inception in the 16th century, one looks at the available alternatives in this era. With no doubt, online media aggressively proved to be everywhere, around the clock, and most importantly it comes in an interactive form. “In the Internet age, however, no one has figured out how to rescue the newspaper in the United States or abroad.” Aric Alterman- http://www. newyorker.com/. The American print press have suffered drastically as a result of the existing news resources in the Internet. In due course, the circulation of print press has decreased and some news outlets have directed their entire press operation online as in “The Huffington Post”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ The_Huffington_Post Migrating to online press seems to be a trend in developed, technology driven, eager to fresh news, countries. However, is this the case in 3rd world countries? Is technology considered a vital change agent that influences society and how it works? Being a full-fledged citizen of one the developing countries, I beg to disagree. In this essay, I have chosen to address the question, “Pr int Journalism, dying or evolving in Sudan?” In Sudan, Journalism is one hundred years old. I seized this opportunity to thoroughly research and investigate the status quo of print media, and the power it holds. Initially, I thought it will be easy to answer this

45 | Elaborate

MEDIA adds to it. He believes that diverse media tools are partners in success. He adds, “I look at the future of print journalism with confidence and optimism.” To sum the current status of print and digital media, Journalist Mr. Ali Abdu at Almjhar newspaper, came with a poetic description. He says, “At a first glance, digital media is perceived as a dragon that fires with modernity and development. This dragon is so dominant it can swallow print press. But in reality, printed media impresses you with how solid and how it’s an accumulation of many experiences. If digital media is convenient and versatile, printed press is the repository of all information and events that are scattered in the World Wide Web!

This is something you can’t take from them because there is an ease-ofaccess-alternative

Status quo: Opinions from the press, Online Vs Print press There is a famous saying that goes “Cairo writes, Beirut prints, and Khartoum reads.” Despite the fact that Sudan kicked off Journalism and printing industry relatively late compared with Egypt and Lebanon, it quickly caughtup! Revamping Education in Sudan by the 30s and also encouraging women education created a major change in the Fabric of society. Today there are 52 newspapers (political/social/sports), 394 specialized publications, and 405 printing houses. (source - Sudan Vision an independent daily -2012). In 2010, an article published in the Los Angeles Times made the headlines, “Sudan: Print more please, by Alsanosi Ahmed.” “Sudan is taking a different approach: The government has ordered the nation’s dailies to print more pages. The strategy seems odd in a country where about half the population can’t read, but the government of President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir says it wants to promote the print media.” Elaborate | 46

wrote Alsanosi. This decision came to no surprise since it coincided with the 1st elections in many years and later on the referendum of South Sudan secession. The ruling government party wanted to gain popularity and to become more visible. As Ahmed said, there is no logic in printing more newspapers regardless of the illiterate who won’t be able to read it. It didn’t matter if they read it or not, as long as the newspaper is printed this confirms that an image is worth a thousand words. Accordingly large images of the president and his party were featured on daily basis. In the battle between relying on print press or the digital one, it’s difficult to determine which medium is the best. At the end of the day what really matters is how relevant is the news you receive. In an interview conducted with Sudanese, president of Journalist union in East Africa and Chief of the Federation of Arab Journalists Union, Mr. Titawi by Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper, he was asked about his vision of the future print press as oppose to digital press. He explained that the new media platform isn’t a threat to print press as much as it

Interview: A dialogue on print press, technology isn’t everything! To get a close-up of media practice in Sudan, I was fortunate to meet with two leading figures in Sudanese Journalism; Dr. Bakhita Amin and Mr. Dagash. Dr. Bakhita, will print newspaper die in Sudan? “It will never die! First of all digital illiteracy is very high in Sudan, and this alone says that we aren’t armed enough to rely completely on digital media. If we do, we will only serve a small segment of society, those who have access to computers and internet. Secondly, when looking at demographics, people age 30 and above are inherently attached to printed newspaper. This is something you can’t take from them because there is an ease-of-access-alternative.” In 2010, you have inaugurated the first college for press and printing technology in Omdurman, what made you take this step at a time where everything is digital? “I am a firm believer that it’s hightime in Sudan to think of Journalism as multiple areas of specialties. A journalist should focus in one reporting area, for example a reporter who writes about economy should not write about sports. If you focus in one area you enable yourself to develop your critical thinking skills and expand your knowledge towards a specific field.

Table 1: Total Number of Readers Yomiuri Shimbun Asahi Shimbun Nihon Keizai Shimbun

Circulation (morning) 10,018,701 8,018,572 3,050,277

Number of Readers per Issue 2.6 2.5 1.9

Total Number of Readers 26,048,623 20,046,430 5,795,526

(Source: J-READ 2009)

generational shift.” – Hana Baba (Radio Journalist) Parameters: Unique categories of control Politics “Security officials in Sudan have seized copies of 11 newspapers in less than a week, as authorities continue to impose tough measures on media outlets, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) said in a statement on Monday.” Sudan Tribune -2014. Since Southern Sudan secession and most recently the big demonstrations that took place in September 2013, these events put the government under a lot of press pressure. Consequently, it has been a habit that government officials seize copies from kiosks, shut down a newspaper headquarter and printing house, and impose unrealistic censorship laws. Now this is where digital press comes in handy. But not any digital press, only the ones operated outside Sudan. Even that sometimes becomes difficult to reach, when government locks internet facilities, all the country becomes isolated and disconnected in minutes.

from .750 pence to 2.00 pounds. Printing houses are faced with unpredictable increases in ink and paper prices, as a result consumers are less and less buying newspaper. “Hussein Mohamed Ali rents a kiosk next to the locality building in Omdurman. Officially he sells newspapers, but to make ends meet, he also sells phone credit, stationery and other items. He explained that “people stand in front of my kiosk and skim the newspapers, less people are buying newspapers now. The people who used to buy three newspapers now buy one newspaper, that’s why I return 60% of the newspapers at the end of the day because I am not able to sell them,” he added.” Doha Center for freedom press 2014.

Economy With the high inflation rate and devaluation of currency, it’s only normal that this will impact the price of print newspapers. The price of one newspaper went

MEDIA

In my college the curriculum is designed to cater for new media in its different platforms, maximize the use of internet, learn the most up-to-date printing technology and last but not least develop linguistic skills, especially English. Sudan news, have to surface to international media, the best way is by enabling our students to break the language barrier.” When I asked Mr. Ibrahim Dagash the first question, he laughed and said; “Japan is the number one country in the world when it comes to technology! It single handedly has the ability to relay entirely on digital media, but it doesn’t, why? He then gave the example of the Japanese number one newspaper “Yomiuri Shimbun”. According to inaglobal.com, this newspaper prints more than 10,000,000 copies a day! That doesn’t make it the biggest in Japan, but the number one in the world. Mr. Dagash also added, “In Sudan, the relationship between a man and his newspaper is very romantic and nostalgic. You learn how to hold the newspaper from you father and grandfather, you then learn that it’s the best thing in the morning with your cup of coffee, or the most entertaining read after lunch. How can you take that away and replace it with digital?” As interesting as the discussion was with Dr. Bakhita and Mr. Dagash. I couldn’t help but feel that I need to balance this argument with a younger perspective. My lucky star has landed me with two very talented young Sudanese journalists. This is what they had to say; “I think print journalism is alive and well in Sudan, the majority of Sudanese don’t have access to other formats of media, but satellite TV news and online news are gaining ground. Newspaper reading is still part of the elites’ culture. I do appreciate it when my articles are translated into Arabic for local readers, especially when the topic covered has not been addressed by local media” – Ismail Kushkush (Freelance online Journalist) “Electronic media in the form of mobile is gaining ground in Sudan. With cheaper more accessible internet plans on phones, (like a pound a day) more young people are getting their news and entertainment on mobile. It is unlikely that these newspapers will be able to attract mobile audiences. It’s a

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Some rely on getting news from the internet, radio and TV. And some are simply reviving oral culture depending on “word of mouth” Education According to the Ministry of Information 2011 publication, the School literacy percentage is 69% (age 15 and older). Some people argue that the actual figure is less, given the poor quality of education beyond the state of Khartoum. Under any condition the percentage is still low. So if this number reflects the schooled only, how about those who are computer illiterate? It’s obvious that in order to fill the computer literacy gap, the government has to provide schools across Sudan with useful resources and encourage digital education. Realistically speaking this will not happen anytime soon.

will ever be perfect, I don’t see why not consider and deal with print and digital media as an integrated system that compliments each other. On one hand print newspapers distribution has its challenges in a country like Sudan. Look at the map below and obviously there are safety concerns in distribution outside Khartoum if transported by a vehicle. On the other hand, Sudanese are emotional people. The romantic bond they have with the newspaper isn’t just the physical copy, but a lot more. It’s 2014, and still in Sudan, social ties come first. If a Sudanese is a fan of a certain newspaper, rest assured that he’s so loyal to the publication that he personally knows a columnist, editor, designer or even the

Technology Telecommunication is considered the newest sector in Sudan. Ironically, though Sudan is listed as a poor state, its telecom services is the 1st in Africa and the 2nd in the Middle East. As a matter of fact telecom regional companies such as Zain and MTN, managed to survive financially despite the huge inflation. By 2010, all telecom companies started providing 3G services. On the same note, smart phones, tablets and IPads showed a massive rise in the market. In every corporate corner, private universities and amongst the privileged groups, carrying one of the mentioned deceives became a prestigious matter. As effective as the services are, we have to admit, only a limited number of people can afford it. Accordingly, with all the care and support given to technology, not everyone has access to it, either due to illiteracy, financial constraints, or simply out-ofreach for those living in rural areas. Conclusion: A tip of the iceberg “The future of news is not just about print versus digital as delivery mechanism, but what is the best user experience,” said Jay Lauf, publisher at Quartz. Indeed, when looking at the Sudan model, ultimately for each individual it will boil down to user friendly experience, credibility of press, accessibility& affordability. To some, whilst digital media is synonymous with fast food culture, print media is considered authentic and comprehensive but slow. “The grass is always greener on the other side”, this is a fact of life! Since nothing Elaborate | 48

editor-in-chief. Such a loyal reader will think twice before shifting to digital media, because the shift means “a large number of press professionals will be laid-off”. I don’t think there is harm in integration, after all, isn’t a business success when you meet the demands of all types of your audience! By now, it’s clear that a country like Sudan is full of surprises. If one day the currency goes up in value, the second day newspapers prices will drop. If the north and the south make an agreement on oil shares, as a result this will translate into positive press news (less censorship), safe and countrywide distribution. The prices of smartphones and internet will drop too. Sudan, is a country on “Pending” status, every day is unique.

Map courtesy of British Embassy – Khartoum Table below - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudan Capital Official languages Government Population - 2008 census

Khartoum Arabic, English Federal presidential republic 30,894,000(disputed) 37,000.000+

GDP (PPP) - Total - Per capita

( 2012 census) 2014 estimate $93.760 billion $2,657.925

• Durham University – Sudan Library https://www.dur.ac.uk/library/asc/sudan/sudan_gazettes/ • Sudan the land of opportunities – A publication issued by the ministry of information in 2011 http://grcsudan.org/en/ sudan-facts/1886-sudan-the-land-of-opportunities-facts-and-figures• Sudan Vision an Independent Daily – Article (Sudan press industry, dire need to address challenges(2012) http://news. sudanvisiondaily.com/details.html?rsnpid=204410 • The Los Angeles Times: Alsanosi Ahmed – 2010 http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/05/whilenewspapers-in-the-us-and-other-countries-are-facing-dwindling-pages-and-pressurefrom-the-internet-sudan-istaking-a.html • Sudan Tribune: Sudan security seizes copies of 11 newspapers in a week: RWB. March 2014 http://www.sudantribune. com/spip.php?article50284 • Doha Center for freedom press - Sudanese press suffers under economic woes by Reem Abbas -2014 http://www.dc4mf. org/en/content/sudanese-press-suffers-under-economic-woes • Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (Arabic Newspaper digital and print); Interview with Mr. Mohay-Eldin Titawi. 2012 http://www.aawsat.com/details.asp?section=37&article=683855&issueno=12266 • Women Journalists in The Sudan-Dr. Bakhita Amin- 2011 • Doctor Bakhita Amin (Interview)- Prominent journalist in Sudan and the Arab region • Mr. Ibrahim Dagash (Interview) - Popular media figure in Sudan and is the special advisor for Pan African News Agency • Ina global; Yomiuri Shimbun: The giant of the Japanese press-2010. http://www.inaglobal.fr/en/presse/article/yomiurishimbun-giant-japanese-press • Ismail Kushkush (Testimonial) freelance journalist for The New York Times, CNN and Voice of America • Hana Baba (Testimonial) Sudanese public radio journalist KALW Public Radio, San Francisco, CA • Central Bureau of Statistics: http://www.cbs.gov.sd/en/files.php?id=7#&panel1-4 • Sudan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudan

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References:

Sudan Art

History of

Contemporary Art

in Sudan

By Elsbeth Court

n contrast with the modern art of Senegal, South Africa and Uganda, Sudanese contemporary art comes from the wonderful work of the country’s expatriate artists since the late sixties. Their extensive international networking - across Africa, the Middle East, Europe and America - suggests the flexibility of their cultural backgrounds and the impact of their professional training in Khartoum, primarily at the School of Fine and Applied Art, and overseas. The exodus of these artists from their professional base at home is poignant. Efforts to come to grips with the context for contemporary art in the Sudan are confronted immediately by two hurdles: the country’s extraordinary complexity of time, place and peoples (the population of 25 million contains 500 ethnic groups; 40 per cent of Elaborate | 50

Sudanese are non- Muslim), and the present inadequacy of African art studies to address these phenomena (from Ulli Beier to Jean Kennedy). Even an accessible movement like the Khartoum School tends to be reduced to cliché descriptions such as traditional Islamic calligraphy transposed to western, fine art canvas”, or „the synthesis of sophisticated Arabic calligraphy and instinctive geometry of African decoration”. Both miss the cultural ideals and range of artistic expression that distinguish this vital project. Sudan is the largest area of land in Africa. Straddling the Nile between the desert of Egypt and the forest of Uganda, the area gave rise to distinctive kinds of Nilotic societies, associated with cattle pastoralism and divine kingship, whose people shared personal adornment as a key form of aesthetic expression. It both

preceded and influenced the kingdom of Egypt: the pharaohs of the 8th and 7th centuries BC were kings from Nubia. Significant other layers of historical influence include Kerma, Meroë, Christian, Islamic, Ottoman colonialism (Turkish-Egyptian, from 1821), the Mahdiya (Khartoum local rule), Anglo-Egyptian colonialism (British administration from 1898), postcolonialism (from 1956) and arabisation. For most of this time, regardless of who was ruling from the north, southern Sudan, ethnically akin to Uganda, was underdeveloped, exploited and excluded. Political independence has resulted in little national unity or economic improvement; rather, nationhood has been dominated by civil wars, further aggravated since 1989 by a fundamentalist Islamic military regime. However, the Faculty of Fine and Applied Art of Sudan University of Technology

“Sudan is the largest area of land in Africa. Straddling the Nile between the desert of Egypt and the forest of Uganda, the area gave rise to distinctive kinds of Nilotic societies, associated with cattle pastoralism and divine kingship, whose people shared personal adornment as a key form of aesthetic expression.” and was the critical scaffolding for modern art in the Sudan. Throughout the fifties, the brightest students went overseas to the best art schools in London; nearly all returned to teach at the Khartoum School, which also became the label used for this group of artists. They are: Mohammed Abdalla (Central), Taj Ahmad (RCA), Kamala Ishaq (Slade), El Nigoumi (Central), Amir Nour (Slade, also Yale), Magdoub Rabbah (Slade), Ibrahim El Salahi (Slade), Ahmad Shibrain (Central). A combination of different kinds of excellent training, inspiration and camaraderie guided their efforts towards the creation of a modern artistic identity, which could express their dual African and Islamic identity. This is characterised by graphic inventiveness with calligraphy, usually without colour, „bending basic marks“ into imagery expressive of Africa.

Other kinds of syntheses were also created between materials and imagery, as seen in the ceramics of Abdalla and El Nigoumi and the sculpture of Amir Nour. There is some internal debate concerning the patrimony for „calligraphy on canvas“ (Waqialla, El Salahi, Taj Ahmad) and also concerning the group’s membership, which has tended to omit those artists who did not conform to the Khartoum canon. The School became a fully fledged university in 1964, with a four-year programme leading to a BA degree. Until the early eighties, it maintained a rigorous and exciting programme that resulted in a broad range of production and critical activity such as the issuing of manifestoes and research into folklore. An MA in Fine Arts and Art History began in 1995. While the second generation continued to explore calligraphy, it was in more varied media, such as printing and even performance (Hassan Musa). Most artists were engaged in celebrations of colour (Bushara, Diab, Musa) and the development of personal or internal imagery (Ishaq). There was another round of overseas scholarships in the seventies, this time following a frist degree in Khartoum and often involving research as well as practice. This group includes Beshir „Bola“ (Sorbonne), Musa (1974, Montpellier), Diab (1972, Madrid), Bushara (1972, Slade). Their work is stimulating and a strong force in contemporary African art. Elsbeth Court from: Clementine Deliss, Seven Stories about Modern Art in Africa; Paris, New York: Flammarion, 1995 51 | Elaborate

Sudan Art

(formerly Khartoum Technical Institute and Khartoum Polytechnic, not to be confused with the University of Khartoum) has sustained an impressive scale of operation. Organised in eight departments, the staff number about 40 and the students about 400; over 80 per cent are male. The core subjects are drawing and art history; subject specialities range from fine art and calligraphy to more obviously vocational courses like ceramics, industrial design and art education. This institution, 50 years old in 1997, has had four phases: the colonial influence, rising in the thirties; the establishment of a separate school and quest for a modern Sudanese identity, 1947-64; upgrading the school and further quests, 1964 to the early 1980s, and modification during the current “state of decline”. Western-style art education did not begin as a grand personal initiative, like Senghor’s for Senegal. Rather, it developed slowly from within the colonial system, as a credible and popular subject, in ways similar to Ghana. In both countries, art lessons commenced at the primier boy’s secondary school, in Sudan the Gordon Memorial College (founded in 1902; precursor of the University of Khartoum). In 1934, to complement standard Britishstyle art lessons, the College introduced a design department for the applied arts, with specific efforts to draw on local practices such as calligraphy, leather and woodwork. The instigator was Jean-Pierre Greenlaw, a UK-educated teacher, researcher, illustrator and author, who was passionate about the heritage and cultures of Sudan. Meanwhile, from its establishment in 1937, the Institute of Education at Bakht al Ruda had offered art as a component of teacher education, also running short courses on visual aides and producing textbooks. These two initiatives provided a wide range of experience for Sudanese with a secular education, engendering an awareness of the potential for art. After the Second World War, the Gordon College department opted to separate and become a specialised School of Design, which emphasised the vocational aspects of training. The first supervisor was J.-P. Greenlaw; other staff came from the UK and Sudan, including Shafiq Shawif (in 1947) and mastercalligrapher Osman Waqialla (in 1949). Affiliation with the Khartoum Technical Institute in 1951 stimulated the transition into further education. The following year, the renamed School of Fine and Applied Art offered a three-year diploma programme. It proved remarkable in revealing and shaping artistic potential,

HALL OF FAME

A Beautiful Mix of Quranic and Biblical Verses

“The Longing of the Dervish” wins Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature

The American University in Cairo Press announced today the award of the 2014 Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature to the Sudanese writer Hammour Ziada for his novel Shawq al-darwish (The Longing of the Dervish). ‘It is a great honor for me to win the Mahfouz Medal because I am the first Sudanese to get it,’ said Ziada upon receiving the award. Elaborate | 52

Ziada’s historical narrative in which he explores sobering themes such as revenge, slavery, and imprisonment, but also betrayal, religious hypocrisy, and racism. ‘In its illustration of the devastation caused by the Mahdi uprising, a historical religious movement, Shawq al-darwish is a powerful statement on the current scene in the region where religious extremism is causing havoc,’ added the committee in their citation.

on the level of the complexity of the character of the tragic hero, but also on the level of the multiplicity of the modes of discourse: marvelously and richly alternating between narrative, poetry, songs, folklore, historical documents, Sufi and church hymns, Quranic and Biblical verses, and even writing about writing.’ Ziada’s novel tells the tale of a Sudanese slave, Bekhit Mandil, and his partner, Theodora, a Greek Alexandrian, set against the background of brutal power struggles from the time of the Mahdi revolution to the fall of Khartoum. The love story is the driving force of

Ziada, who moved to Cairo in 2009, studied information technology and computer science. He worked as a civil society and human rights researcher, then as a journalist, writing for Ajras al-hurriya, al-Mustaqilla, al-Jarida, and al-Yawm al-tali. He was also responsible for the publication of the Cultural Section of al-Akhbar al-Sudaniya. His other published works are Sira Umm Durmaniya (short stories, 2008), alKung (novel, 2010), and Al-nawm ‘ind Gadamay Al-jabal (short stories, 2014). 53 | Elaborate

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n their citation, the judges of the Award Committee described The Longing of the Dervish as ‘an intricate love story of a Sudanese slave in the world of the Mahdist movement in nineteenth-century Sudan.’ This year’s committee members comprised Tahia Abdel Nasser, Shereen Abouelnaga, Mona Tolba, Humphrey Davies, and Rasheed El-Enany. They praised not only the author’s ‘wide-ranging palette of characters and events’ but also the range and dexterity of Ziada’s writing: ‘Shawq al-darwish is characterized by an epic richness that courses through the narrative, not only

The ceremony, which took place in AUC’s Oriental Hall on the Tahrir Square Campus, began with an address by Dr. Tahia Abdel Nasser, and was followed by Ziada’s acceptance speech, where he paid tribute to the rich heritage of his native Sudan: ‘What the novel Shawq al-darwish attempted to present is part of the stories of the country of ‘the men with burnt faces.’ Stories of their sufferings, dreams, ambitions, defeats, history, and legends.’

HALL OF FAME

The AUC Press, which established the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature in 1996, has been the primary publisher of Naguib Mahfouz’s English-language editions for more than twenty-five years, and has also been responsible for the publication of some 600 foreignlanguage editions of the Nobel laureate’s works in more than 40 languages around the world since the author won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988. “Herodotus wrote: ‘When you cross that part of the river in forty days, you transfer to another ship that takes you on the water for twelve days, at the end of which you arrive at a great city called Meroe. And it is said to be the capital of the Ethiopians.’ Many centuries ago, the Greeks named this country Ethiopia. It means ‘the men with burnt faces,’ from the darkness of their skin. Then the Arabs came and called it ‘the country of the blacks.’ Maqrizi, an Arab historian who died in 1442, described this country thus: ‘I heard that in its far corners there is a people that lives with its livestock in houses below the ground like cave dwellings by day, on account of the extreme heat of the sun, and wander by night. There are naked people. And there are fine buildings and great houses, and churches full of gold and gardens.’ This country, ladies and gentlemen, is my country. In the tomes of travelers, there are stories about its gold and its cultivation, and the marvelous habits of its naked, one-eyed people who inhabit the mountains and adorn themselves with Elaborate | 54

silver, and their horses that are a hybrid breed, a cross between a horse that came out of the Nile and a pure filly.

This country, ladies and gentlemen, is my country In this country, storytelling is sacred. For our country lies between a forest and a desert. It is weighed down by mountains and moistened by the Nile. Nothing happens in it, and everything happens in it. Its face changes, but it itself does not change. Greeks and Persians come to it, Arabs and Turks, and foreign travelers and armies behind them. Desert storms suffocate it, and the Nile flood bears down on it. It builds pyramids and temples, churches and mosques. Then its people gather to tell stories and narrate tales. If not for tales, we would have been more solitary and more desolate. The Egyptian writer Yusuf Idris once told my master Tayeb Saleh: ‘When I read your work, Tayeb, I feel companionship.’ Companionship is what breaks our solitude. A heritage accumulated from storytelling, tales, legends, and heavy history. We recount

it for companionship. To overcome the sense of loneliness. So I stand before you today, ladies and gentlemen, and declare that this heritage is what caught the attention of the judges of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature. Because what the novel Shawq Al-Darwish (The Longings of a Dervish) attempted to present is part of the stories of the country of the men with burnt faces. Stories of their sufferings, dreams, ambitions, defeats, history, and legends. Our master Naguib Mahfouz, whose eponymous medal I am honoured to be awarded today, in an old article he wrote in 1936, says: ‘The purpose of art is to bring together the sentiments of the individual with the sentiments of the human community in one feeling.’ Shawq Al-Darwish attempts to break the borders of loneliness. To present some companionship to its reader. To bring together our Sudanese sentiments coloured with legends with the sentiments of the human community. Ladies and gentlemen: I stand before you full of thanks to the American University in Cairo, the organising committee of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature, and the distinguished committee of judges, for their selection of my novel to join the list of prominent names in Arabic literature that received this award: Yusuf Idris, Khairy Shalaby, Edwar Al-Kharrat, Ibrahim Abdel Meguid, and others in whose company I am honored to be included as the first Sudanese writer. And thank you all for attending.”

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HALL OF FAME

Dr. Humphrey Davies, and Dr. Rasheed El-Enany. The award-winning book is subsequently translated and published in an English-language edition by the AUC Press in Cairo, New York, and London. Welcoming the award, Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz said: “The announcement of this award honoring writers and literature is the most pleasurable event on my birthday. I hope that this prize will also help to discover new talents in Arabic literature and introduce them to readers around the world.” The First and Only Sudanese to win the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature Hammour Ziada is a Sudanese writer and journalist, born in Khartoum in 1977. He has worked for charitable and civil society organisations, and as a journalist for a number of Sudanese newspapers, including Al-Mustaqilla, Ajras al-Horriya, and Al-Jarida. He was Chief Editor of the cultural section of the Sudanese Al-Akhbarpaper. He is the author of several works of fiction: A Life Story from Omdurman (short stories, 2008), Al-Kunj (a novel, 2010), Sleeping at the Foot of the Mountain (short stories, 2014). His second novel, The Longing of the Dervish (2014), won the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature in 2014 and is longlisted for the 2015 International Prize for Arabic Fiction. Set in 19th century Sudan during the collapse of the theocratic state, The Longing of the Dervish follows the story of Bekhit Mindeel, a former slave newly released from prison and seeking revenge for his imprisonment. His release coincides with the end of the Mahdist war – a British colonial war fought between Egypt and a section of Sudanese society seeking independence under their religious leader, Mohammed Elaborate | 56

Ahmed Al Mahdi. The Longing of the Dervish examines the social conflict between white Christian and Islamic Sufi cultures in Sudan, exploring the concepts of love, religion, betrayal and political struggle. The Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature Since 1996 the AUC Press has presented the annual Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature, a major award in support of contemporary Arabic literature in translation. The award, consisting of a silver medal and a cash prize, as well as translation and publication throughout the Englishspeaking world, is presented annually on 11 December, the birthday of Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz, by the President of the American University in Cairo in the presence of the Minister of Culture and many other prominent leaders of Egypt’s cultural life. The Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature is awarded for the best contemporary novel published in Arabic (but not yet in English) in the last two years and is selected every fall by the Mahfouz Award Committee, which includes Dr. Tahia Abdel Nasser, Dr. Shereen Abouelnaga, Dr. Mona Tolba,

The American University in Cairo Press is the primary English-language publisher of Naguib Mahfouz and has published or licensed some 600 foreignlanguage editions of the Nobel laureate’s works in 40 languages. The 21 winners of the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature since its inauguration include 8 women, 12 men; 11 Egyptians (2 posthumously), 2 Palestinians, 1 Algerian, 1 Lebanese, 1 Moroccan, 2 Syrians, 1 Iraqi, and 1 Sudanese: 2014: Hammour Ziada, The Longing of the Dervish 2013: Khaled Khalifa, No Knives in the Kitchens of This City 2012: Ezzat El Kamhawi, House of the Wolf 2011: The Revolutionary Literary Creativity of the Egyptian People 2010: Miral al-Tahawy, Brooklyn Heights 2009: Khalil Sweileh, Writing Love 2008: Hamdi Abu Golayyel, A Dog with No Tail 2007: Amina Zaydan, Red Wine 2006: Sahar Khalifeh, The Image, the Icon, and the Covenant 2005: Yusuf Abu Rayya, Wedding Night 2004: Alia Mamdouh, The Loved Ones 2003: Khairy Shalaby, The Lodging House

Judges’ Citations Shawq al-darwish is an intricate love story of a Sudanese slave in the world of the Mahdist movement in nineteenthcentury Sudan. Hammour Ziada’s elegant prose lyrically interweaves sources from Sudanese, Sufi, biblical, and Arab heritage into a rich and elaborate tapestry. This is a novel that further entangles the relationship between East and West with the cultures of the south that have each played a role in the history of Sudan. It gestures to a new Sudanese literature with its intricately woven history, exploration of race, and its richly layered intertexts. Not only is it a love story woven through the story of war, violence, fanaticism, and slavery, but it is also a timeless evocation of oppression everywhere. Tahia Abdel Nasser In its illustration of the devastation caused by the Mahdi uprising, a fanatical, extremist, and violent religious movement, Shawq al-darwish is a powerful statement on the current scene in the region where religious extremism is causing havoc. Nor is the novel lacking in illustrating the corruption and brutality of the government of the day as well as the hypocrisy of the colonialist west and its missionary work in creating the conditions for the Mahdi movement to flourish. That too is relevant to the present reality in the region. Against this historical backdrop many themes are explored, some profoundly, such as love and revenge, slavery and freedom, the east–west encounter/confrontation, betrayal, lust, religious hypocrisy, fanaticism, and racism. But amidst the high dramas of violence, cruelty, and the clashing armies is woven a lyrical love story between unlikely opposites: a black slave and a European woman, herself turned slave in the aftermath of the initial Mahdi victory. Belief in love is offered as a redeeming, if not necessarily triumphant, alternative force for the hate and cruelty of fanatical religious

faith. The novel is well conceived, well structured, with a wide variety of subtly portrayed characters, and is rendered in beautiful, nuanced prose, often rising to lyricism and a wistful contemplativeness. Rasheed El-Enany

Not only is it a love story woven through the story of war, violence, fanaticism, and slavery, but it is also a timeless evocation of oppression everywhere

Shawq al-darwish is characterized by an epic richness that courses through the narrative, not only on the level of the complexity of the character of the tragic hero, but also on the level of the multiplicity of the modes of discourse: marvelously and richly alternating between narrative, poetry, songs, folklore, historical documents, Sufi and church hymns, Quranic and Biblical verses, and even writing about writing. This rich polyphony runs parallel to a historical construction of a period and its complexity and nuances that no Arab novel has explored. In parallel to Tayeb Saleh’s masterwork Season of Migration to the North, Hammour Ziada writes the love story in history, for the beloved here likewise is of another color, another religion, and another class, in what seems to be a continuous refusal on the part of the black hero of his reality and his powerlessness, so broken and brutal at once, to equal the other, this impossible freedom, whether the hero be a prominent professor in western universities or an oppressed and oppressing slave, invaded and an

invader on his land. Mona Tolba Shawq al-darwish is an historical novel of epic scope that uses a dramatically colored and wide-ranging palette of characters and events to paint a convincingly atmospheric portrait of a period and a place little-known to most readers. An English audience may find interesting parallels between the evocation of a multifaceted culture besieged, destroyed, and recreated, and current events.” Humphrey Davies The importance of Shawq al-darwish stems from its being a novel that illuminates the intertwining of relationships of power on the regional and local levels from the outbreak of the Mahdi revolution (1881) to the fall of Khartoum (1885). Though the narrative focuses on the historical, it succeeds in imagining a novelistic world full of characters that are almost models of love, corruption, collusion, and greed. Shawq al-darwish is not just a novel about the Mahdi revolution, it is a marginalized and dark novel about the path and the fate of that revolution. It deconstructs the narrative of the Mahdi revolution by presenting events from the perspective of the slave Bekhit Mandil, who falls in love with the Greek Theodora. The love story between the slave and the Greek, who was about to become a nun, restores the psychological balance to an atmosphere characterized by religious fundamentalism and the hateful merging of religion and politics, this merging that dominates our current struggle in the Arab world. The love story is the driving force of the historical narrative, and responds after fortyeight years to Mustafa Said in Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Saleh, the godfather of Sudanese literature. Love does not kill, and does not separate: love enriches identity while the greed for power fragments it. Shereen Abouelnaga 57 | Elaborate

HALL OF FAME

2002: Bensalem Himmich, The Polymath 2001: Somaya Ramadan, Leaves of Narcissus 2000: Hoda Barakat, The Tiller of Waters 1999: Edwar al-Kharrat, Rama and the Dragon 1998: Ahlam Mosteghanemi, Memory in the Flesh 1997: Mourid Barghouti, I Saw Ramallah; and Yusuf Idris, City of Love and Ashes 1996: Ibrahim Abdel Meguid, The Other Place; and Latifa al-Zayyat, The Open Door

THE NILE

Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan Sign Nile Dam Declaration

gypt, Sudan and Ethiopia took a step Monday to defuse tensions around Ethiopia’s construction of a massive dam on the Blue Nile, which has threatened to upset the geopolitical balance in the region over how to share water from the River Nile. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Ethiopian Prime Minister Halemariam Desalegnsigned a declaration in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, pledging to better share the Nile’s waters, an Egyptian presidency Elaborate | 58

official familiar with the matter said. Ethiopia has said the project is necessary to produce much-needed electricity, but the building of the dam has been controversial, with some scientists predicting it could disrupt the flow of the river into Egypt, where it provides much of the country’s water and also supplies electricity from the hydroelectric project at Aswan. Monday’s move marks a change in Egypt’s attitude toward the multibillion-dollar project. In June 2013, the now-deposed Egyptian leader Mohammed Morsicame close to threatening war with Ethiopia over

the project. “The lives of the Egyptians are connected around [the Nile]… If it diminishes by one drop then our blood is the alternative,” he said in a broadcast speech at the time. But Mr. Sisi has struck a more conciliatory note with the Ethiopians, while Sudan, normally in line with Cairo’s policy over the Nile, has been acting as an intermediary. Still, Mr. Sisi was careful not to sound too enthusiastic about Ethiopia’s plans, signaling that progress toward a final deal on how to share the Nile’s waters and the energy Ethiopia plans to produce hasn’t yet been struck.

“For the millions of Ethiopian citizens, Nahda [the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance] dam represents a source for development through producing clean and renewable energy, while for their brothers on the banks of the same Nile, in Egypt, who are almost as many in numbers, it represents a worrying premonition, for the Nile is their only source for water, for life,” the Egyptian president said in a speech delivered in Khartoum, according to a print version distributed to the press in Arabic. He said Egypt was working with

first in line to fund such ambitious African infrastructure projects, shied away from the Renaissance dam for fear of irking Egypt. “The Egyptians are coming to the realization of the fact that the [colonial] agreement may not be sustainable,” Mr. Kimenyi said. Ethiopian authorities have said the dam will be ready to produce electricity in 2017, and will be the largest hydroelectric project in Africa. Some 8,500 laborers are working around the clock to build it, they have said. Since 1999, a number of African

The Egyptians are coming to the realization of the fact that the [colonial] agreement may not be sustainable countries—including Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda that are affected by the Nile but under the 1929 agreement have no stakes in it—have been lobbying for a revision of the way the Nile’s waters are shared.

Under a 1929 agreement signed by the U.K.—the former colonial power of Sudan and Egypt—the two countries get to use about 90% of the Nile’s waters. But the river’s tributaries, the White Nile that flows through Uganda and the Blue Nile that emanates in the Ethiopian highlands, are key to the survival of more than 100 million people in 11 countries on the African continent. Ethiopia has boasted publicly for having raised the funding for the megaproject itself; however, Mwangi S. Kimenyi, a senior researcher at the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution who has conducted research on the dam and the River Nile, said Western development organizations, normally

Egypt has vehemently rejected any renegotiation of the colonial-era agreement, labeling the Nile river and its waters a matter of national security. The Egyptian economy, agriculture in particular, depends heavily on the Nile, especially as its population is set to expand over the next decade. A 2013 report by an international panel of experts, comprising two each from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia and four independent scientists, found there were indications the dam could negatively affect the water volumes of the Nile in Egypt, especially if there were consecutive dry years. But it said more research was needed to predict the long-term impact on Egypt and Sudan.

THE NILE

Ethiopia to achieve “mutual gains for everyone and avoid damage to any party.” Ethiopia launched the works for the $4.2-billion project on the Blue Nile near its northern border with Sudan, four years ago this month.

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Agriculture

SUDAN - A FOODBASKET OF THE ARAB WORLD With massive areas of arable land and over 130 million heads of livestock, Sudan is receiving huge investments in its agriculture sector from gulf states looking to address the food security problem

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udan is constantly aiming to use and develop advanced agricultural technologies to help boost agricultural and livestock sectors so as to contribute to food security. Since Sudan is one of the most arable areas in Africa and the Arab region, it has always been a potential food basket for Africa and the Arab world. Today, Sudan is making great efforts to achieve this goal in coordination and cooperation with its Arab neighbors and friends in various countries of the world. Despite Sudan’s large interest in its enormous oil and mineral resources, agriculture still forms a real relative advantage of the Sudanese economy. With Sudan no longer depending on oil for its export earnings, there has been a renewed Government focus on agriculture and the development of agribusiness, helping to create extra employment opportunities and alleviate poverty. Sudan is actively increasing public expenditure on agriculture and is likewise encouraging foreign direct investment (FDI) through a number of initiatives and investment incentives. What’s more, of the 57 per cent of total land suitable for agriculture in Sudan,

only 20 per cent is currently being cultivated, leaving huge opportunities for investors. “Sudan is ready for partnerships. We are looking for those who have capital, good management capabilities, and sound technologies,” states the Ministry of Agriculture. “Our dream is to convert Sudanese natural resources into commodities that would help address international food security issues. Sudan is ready to share its potential and resources.” Arab World Investment Recent investments and pledges of support from surrounding countries have set Sudan up to become a major agriculture producer. Khartoum is also now beginning to actively re-prioritize the exploitation of its agricultural endowments – a move that is being encouraged by nearby African and Arab states. Sudan is also well supported by the Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment Development (AAAID). Established in the 1970s with headquarters in Sudan, the AAAID is the regional investment authority owned by 21 Arab states with a mandate to invest in agricultural development and address the region’s food security.

Agriculture

Of the 57 per cent of total land suitable for agriculture in Sudan, only 20 per cent is currently being cultivated, leaving huge opportunities for investors. 61 | Elaborate

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Agriculture

The Arab Authority for Agriculture Investment Development was established in 1976. The agreement of establishment and statue came into force on March 1977. The idea for establishing AAAID came after October War 1973, where the leader in the Arab countries agreed upon the importance of achieving food security for the Arab Nations .The studies carried out by Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development proved that Sudan with its potential agricultural resources could provide huge quantity of food, so that Sudan was chosen to be the beginning for Joint Arab Action to provide the largest amount of food products for the Arab countries. Meanwhile, in other significant recent deals, Sudan’s Ministry of Investment announced last year that it had granted Bahrain 100,000 acres for cultivation towards food security projects. Qatar also unveiled huge investments in Sudan’s agriculture sector in 2014, while successful agriculture projects executed by Saudi, Kuwaiti and Emirati companies are also under way in the country. This wave of new business suggests a profoundly encouraging investment climate for investors. Strategically positioned to trade with surrounding nations, Sudan is being increasingly noted as an investment destination and breadbasket for the region. According to a paper published by the Food and

This is style for really cool looking quote from someone who is really awesome Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, present circumstances and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy trends reflect a promising, emergent climate for sustained investment in Sudanese agriculture. Amidst such developments, it seems that investment opportunities in Sudan are now as rich and diverse as the land itself.

As with crops, the majority of Sudan’s livestock exports are also destined for the Gulf States. In September last year, the Bank of Khartoum, Sudan’s biggest private bank (owned by investors from the Emirates) announced that it planned to launch financing for livestock exports to the Gulf. “Livestock is very important for food security in the region, in terms of meat, milk, fish, and poultry,” says the Minister of Livestock and Fisheries. “In Sudan we have a free-range system in most of the areas. Our food is organic. We don’t use chemicals, so we have natural food.” With its vast tracts of land and the availability of huge numbers of livestock, Sudan will hope to continue attracting huge investments in its agriculture, not only further diversifying the Sudanese economy, but also addressing the problem of global food security.

Blessed with plentiful sunshine and rainfall, and access to the fertile plains surrounding the life-giving River Nile and its tributaries, Sudan’s rich soils yield a vast array of crops, such as sorghum, millet and cereal grains, vegetables and fruits, including lemons, mangoes, grapefruits and oranges. The Nile – as well as the Red Sea – is also an abundant source of fish.

Agriculture

AAID has established a number of agricultural companies operating in agricultural production, agricultural services, animal production and agricultural processing.

In the drier northern region livestock farming is the most prominent activity. With an estimated 130 million heads of different animal species – namely sheep, cows, goats and camels – the country is a major contributor to the global livestock market.

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AAAID Profile

AAAID

Arab Authority for Agricultural Investment and Development Agricultural investment is the AAAID main activity. To achieve its objectives AAAID depends on studying and establishing companies and owns shares in companies with a view to mobilize Arab agricultural and financial resources and on the direction of such resources to achieve food security through maximization of production and productivity and encourage agricultural exchange between member states. AAAID has established a number of agricultural companies operating in agricultural production, agricultural services, animal production and agricultural processing in order to enhance food security in the Arab world.

Geographical distribution of Agricultural Investment: The following map reveals the geographical distribution of AAAID direct investments in member countries. AAAID direct investment coverage extends throughout the Arab world in 12 Arab countries.

Studies: Feasibility studies are the most important initial steps in establishing projects after evaluation of technically, financially and economically feasible agricultural investment opportunities. The AAAID’s department of studies and development conducts feasibility studies for new projects or restructuring/expansion studies for existing companies as follows: • Detection/evaluation of investment opportunities. • Preparation of initial/comprehensive feasibility studies for AAAID projects. • Preparation of initial/comprehensive feasibility studies for external agencies. • Preparation of feasibility studies (qualification/expansion/structuring) for companies. • Promotion to attract investors. • Overseeing implementation of projects. Elaborate | 64

Sectoral Distribution of Agricultural Investment: AAAID investments in existing and under implementation companies are divided into three main sectors, Agricultural processing sector which includes production of sugar,oils and Agricultural industries (46%), Agricultural production sector which includes production of cereals and agricultural services (31%), Animal production sector which includes dairy, poultry and meat products (23%) as shown in figure 1 below:

Size of Investment Cost: • $ 5 million as a minimum limit. • $ 350 million as a maximum limit. • Share of AAAID should not exceed 50% of investment cost. • It is preferable that the share of the promoting agency should not be less than 25% of investment cost. Research activity : AAAID research activity, during its long journey, has achieved many different tasks based on linking scientific research, technical advances with the application of field research to serve agricultural investment and, the application of pilot farms before entry into commercial production. It also initiated research stations in different projects to meet the technical needs of these projects with regards to how address technical challenges and for developmental purposes. Activity Goals: • Conduct applied agricultural research in various production

• • •

•

• • • •

•

environments to determine the best practices suitable to each area. Transfer of modern agricultural technologies to serve applied research purposes. Initiation of new research programs to help the introduction of new crops/varieties. Field analysis of agricultural problems facing AAAID companies to address them in a practical scientific fashion. Standardization of agricultural plans in new investment projects before execution to guarantee successful application. Keep pace with modern scientific and technological advances around the world. Encouragement of promulgation of applied scientific research. Organization of scientific forums to serve AAAID programs and orientations. Organization of activities that contribute to the transfer of technologies and research results to beneficiaries. Reinforcement of cooperation with similar research centers and Arab and international universities.

Development activity: In its strong belief in the importance of Arab food security, AAAID has adopted a distinguished methodology to achieve that through planning and

execution of programs and activities aiming to maximizing production and productivity in the agricultural sector. This is achieved through supporting income-generating activities by financing small producers through revolving small loans and the provision of production services in targeted communities. AAAID has adopted execution of a number of development programs aiming to initiate agricultural, social and environmental development for the segment of small farmers in member states. Objectives: • Planning and implementation of projects within the agricultural development programs to initiate agricultural, social and environmental development targeting small farmers in certain geographical areas. • Provision of funding for the poor (especially women, small producers and pensioners) as revolving finance to be used as a means to maximize production and productivity. • Adaptation of agricultural technologies used to serve development programs purposes implemented by AAAID. • Transfer of imported or internally developed technologies to small farmers and private sector. 65 | Elaborate

AAAID Profile

Criteria of AAAID Contribution in Agricultural Projects: • Adequate investment climate. • Project must be commensurable with AAAID goals and programs. • Project must be technically and financially feasible. • Presence of other agencies ready to participate in the project.

SUDAN NEWS

Obama opens Talks in Ethiopia, set to make South Sudan Peace Push Barack Obama opened talks in Ethiopia on Monday during the first-ever trip by a US president to Africa’s second-most populous nation and the seat of the African Union. Obama, who flew into a rainy Addis Ababa late on Sunday after a landmark trip to Kenya, his father’s birthplace, went into bilateral talks with Ethiopian Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and President Mulatu Teshome, whose position is largely ceremonial. Ethiopia is a key strategic ally of the United States but is much criticised for its record on democracy and human rights. The visit comes two months after Hailemariam’s ruling coalition won every parliamentary seat in elections that the opposition said were marked by political repression. Talks were held in Ethiopia’s presidential palace, a sprawling compound in the heart of Addis Ababa, which still houses the country’s unique black-maned Abyssinian lions in the grounds, once the symbol of the “Lion of Judah”, former Emperor Haile Selassie. A 21-gun salute welcomed Obama as he arrived Obama will also hold talks with regional leaders on the civil war in South Sudan in an attempt to build African support for decisive action against the wartorn country’s leaders if they reject an ultimatum to end the carnage by midAugust. Obama will also become the first US president to address the African Union, the 54-member continental bloc, at its gleaming, Chinese-built headquarters. AU Commission chief Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has hailed what she said will be a “historic visit” and a “concrete step to broaden and deepen the relationship between the AU and the US”. While Kenya launched one of the biggest security operations ever seen in the capital Nairobi to host Obama from Friday evening to Sunday, the habitual reach of Ethiopia’s powerful security forces meant there was little obvious extra fanfare ahead of his arrival in Addis Ababa. Ethiopia, like Kenya, has been on the frontline of the fight against the SomaliElaborate | 66

led, Al-Qaeda-affiliated Shebab. Both nations have troops in Somalia as part of an AU and US-backed force and are key security partners to Washington. The US State Department, however, has noted Ethiopia’s “restrictions on freedom of expression,” as well as “politically motivated trials” and the “harassment and intimidation of opposition members and journalists”. Tough on South Sudan Ahead of the visit, the White House stressed it frequently addresses issues of democracy and political rights in the region. Having spoken frankly in Kenya on human rights and corruption, Obama is now expected to address Ethiopia’s -and Africa’s -- democracy deficit. But Ethiopia has come far from the global headlines generated by the 1984 famine, experiencing near-double-digit economic growth and huge infrastructure investment that have made it one of Africa’s top-performing economies and a magnet for foreign investment. Through the tinted windows of his bomb-proof presidential limousine, nicknamed “The Beast,” Obama will see Addis Ababa’s construction boom of tower blocks, as well as sub-Saharan Africa’s first modern tramway. High on the agenda Monday are talks with leaders from Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda as well

as Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour to try and build a collective front to end the 19-month civil war in South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation. Signalling a deeper commitment to ending violence that has killed tens of thousands of people and forced more than two million from their homes, Obama is expected to make the case for tougher sanctions and a possible arms embargo. South Sudan’s warring leaders -- President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar, who will not be at the meeting -- effectively face an ultimatum, a “final best offer,” according to one senior administration official.”The parties have shown themselves to be utterly indifferent to their country and their people, and that is a hard thing to rectify,” the official said. South Sudan, midwifed into existence by US cash and support in 2011, has faltered badly in its infancy and the Obama administration has been accused of abandoning the fragile nation. “America bears a unique responsibility to end the war in South Sudan given its role in the creation of the country,” said Casie Copeland, an analyst for the non-profit International Crisis Group. “The failure to more seriously try and bring about peace is an abdication of its moral responsibility.”

The Nile’s home. Land of agricultural opportunities and food securities being employed in this sector which accounts for 40 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Among its many products are cereals (including sorghum, millet and wheat,), oil seeds (including sesame and sunflower), beans, pulses (including chickpeas and lentils) tubers (including potatoes), vegetables (including onion, tomato, water melon and egg plant) and fruits. It also grows cotton sisal hemp and fodder crops.

Sudan sees Expo Milano 2015 as a good opportunity for countries worldwide to reaffirm their need for human unity through mutual exchange of knowledge and information in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Sudan has a strong agricultural sector with over 70 percent of its workforce

Sudan’s participation in the Universal Exposition uses every conceivable opportunity to express its own interpretation of the theme to illustrate its position as an agricultural country with an important tradition in nutrition from when it was the ancient kingdom of old Sudan. Visitors will find engaging ideas, and learn about

its irrigation project and the efficient use of water resources. The idea is to create awareness and to pass on valuable knowledge to others. The pavilion takes its inspiration from the Nubian” house”, which is the typical Sudanese dwelling. It only extends over one level, to keep the connection between the external and internal environments, and has a central courtyard – the hub of Sudanese home life and the place where all meals are eaten – with different themed rooms opening off from it. The pavilion will have a restaurant that offers a rich and varied Sudanese cuisine to satisfy visitors’ tastes from all over the world. Visitors can view and purchase assorted Sudanese handicrafts and leather products.

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SUDAN NEWS

The Concept Sudan seeks an active collaboration in addressing the main challenges with agricultural production and livestock farming as well as a dialogue on biodiversity and the themes of the Expo Milan 2015. The country wants to re-chart its path towards the use of new technological applications to ensure a healthy diet for all and to use resources in anenvironmentally sustainable way.

OBITUARY

Meles Zenawi (8 May 1955-20 August 2012) Zenawi was the Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 1995 until his death in 2012. Before his assignment as the Prime Minister, Zenawi was President of Ethiopia from 1991 to 1995. From 1985, he led the Tigrayan Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF), and the head of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Zenawi acquired an MBA from the Open University of the United Kingdom in 1995 and an Masters Degree in Economics from the Erasmus University of the Netherlands in 2004. In July 2002 Zenawi received an honorary doctoral degree in political science from the Hannam University in South Korea.

and father of three children. Azeb Mesfin is now the chair of the Social Affairs Standing Committee of Parliament, and in January 2007, she was given the “Legacy of a Dream” award for her leadership against HIV/AIDS during a ceremony held in memory of America’s civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King.

Prime Minister Zenawi received various international awards for setting up a good foundation for the development of Ethiopia among which are: World Peace Prize, Good Governance Award of the Global Coalition and the Norway-based 2005 Prize for Green Revolution.

A day after Zenawi’s death, the Minister of Information Bereket Simon announced on state television: “It’s a sad day for Ethiopia, the man who led our country for the past 21 years and brought economic and democratic changes, has died. We have lost our respected leader.

Zenawi’s government was credited with several political reforms such as: a multi-party political system and the introduction of private press.

Meles has been receiving treatment abroad. He was getting better and we were expecting him to return to Addis Ababa.

According to the World Bank, the Ethiopian government ranked number one in Africa in spending as a share of GDP going to pro-poor sectors as a result of the structural reforms Zeinawi’s government among which were: diversifying the Ethiopian economy and redistribution of agricultural lands at local levels.

But he developed a sudden infection and died around 11:40pm last night. His body will be returned to Ethiopia soon.

With regards to Foreign Policy, Zenawi was known of adopting a policy which supports stabilization of Africa and worked closely with the African Union to achieve this, he was also known as one of Africa’s strongmen and was an ally of the United States’ “War on Terror”. Zenawi was married to Azeb Mesfin who is currently a member of parliament Elaborate | 68

We have set up a committee to organise his funeral. More information will be released about that soon. As per Ethiopian law, Hailemariam Desalegn has now taken over the leadership. He will also be in charge of the Ethiopian military and all other government institutions. I would like to stress, nothing in Ethiopia will change. The government will continue. Our policies and institutions will continue despite western governments fearing the country will slip into a fragile state. Desalegn will be confirmed by parliament.”

Milestones: Several social, economic, religious and political developments and systems were established for the first time in Ethiopia under Zenawi’s rule. • First regional referendum for peaceful Secession (Eritrea, 1991–) • First Multi-party National election for opposition (2000, 2005, 2010) • First institutionalized linguistic freedom at local level (1994–) • First ethnic based federalism (since 1994) • First private media outlets in Ethiopian history (since 1994) • First consecutive double-digit GDP growth – International Monetary Fund (since 2006) • First multi-party parliament with opposition MPs (since 2000) • First unrestricted freedom of religion for evangelicals/ Pentecostals (since 1994; a Pentecostal succeeded him in 2012)

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