As I watch the scenes in Sudan, of foreigners trying to leave Khartoum any which way they can, I think of the millions of Sudanese left behind. Not lucky enough to have a foreign passport that would allow them to escape this hell, they are stuck in the crossfires of the war of “brothers,” who are using the missiles, fighter jets, and weapons that they had purchased with the Sudanese peoples’ money to kill them.
Worse still, reports indicate that the conflict between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces will resume and intensify after the end of the truce reached to allow for the evacuation of foreign nationals. The world would have turned its attention elsewhere by then. This state of affairs gives us the impression that both warring factions are more willing to show other nationals mercy and respond to the wishes of their governments than to show mercy to their own people.
In fact, there is every indication that the war of the two generals will not end before one of them defeats the other, meaning that the Sudanese can expect a lot more blood to flow before this senseless war ends.
Governments are doing the impossible to evacuate their citizens as swiftly as possible. These states feel responsible for their people’s safety, even if they reside or work in a distant country whose airports and facilities are not easy to access, which is certainly the case for countries embroiled in civil strife, like Sudan. In Britain, many have criticized the government of Rishi Sunak for prioritizing the evacuation of the staff of the British embassy in Khartoum and for being late to evacuate British citizens.
This is how the governments of the world fulfill their responsibilities to their citizens. Meanwhile, we find the governments of our region disregarding the interests of their people, igniting wars, and destroying their countries to further their selfish interests. Of course, these interests do not intersect with those of the country or its people at any point.
We have a bizarre state of affairs on our hands. The calls for ending the war in Sudan are being made abroad, instead of domestic leaders pushing for a resolution themselves.
We thus saw the UN Secretary General and Western officials call on Burhan and Hamedti to have mercy on their people and end this war. Indeed, no one can see any justification for what seems to be a struggle waged purely over power and control over the country’s wealth. Moreover, this war is waged even as the country suffers from a crushing economic crisis, which should be the concern of Sudanese officials.
Even more bizarrely, South Sudan has become a mediator in the conflict and is among the countries working to end the conflict. In fact, it is preparing to host negotiations for a framework to end the war between the two sides in its capital Juba. This comes after the war between the North and South, which was not fought a long time ago, cost the country dearly in terms of human and material losses and split what used to be the largest country in Africa in 2011. Oh the irony… oh how times change!
Sudan is, of course, only the latest calamity brought about by the selfishness of our region’s rulers and their mismanagement of their people’s affairs. As had been the case elsewhere, the reckless and irresponsible actions of Sudanese domestic elites come amid calls for restraint from abroad.
How many times have we heard foreign officials call on the rulers of Lebanon, for example, to have mercy on their people? Pleas like “help us help you” have fallen on deaf ears despite the economic collapse that has left Lebanon with the highest inflation rate in the world and over two-thirds of its people living in poverty.
My drive to make comparisons impels me to borrow the phrase “War of Elimination.” This is the name that was given to the battles fought in the early nineties between the Lebanese army led by General Michel Aoun and the Lebanese Forces, which was led by its current chief, Samir Geagea. “Elimination,” the slogan of that war, is apparently also the objective of the war in Sudan, where both warring generals are trying to subjugate or eliminate the other!
All of their battles are being fought in areas populated by tens of millions of civilians. Be it in Khartoum or other regions of Sudan that have witnessed skirmishes, the population has been taken "hostage.” Like the citizens of other countries in the region that have become "hostages" of their governments, the Sudanese have no means to escape. Their only hope for a way out is a visa or a job opportunity anywhere they can lead a decent life. There, they would not dream of returning to the country in which they had grown up.
For millions of refugees, a foreign passport has become a dream, in pursuit of which they traverse borders and hop onto “death boats” taking them to safer countries. They are ready to put their lives on the line to escape their home countries, where life can only be wretched.
How many would venture to remain in their devastated countries under the rule of such elites if airports elsewhere were open to those who want to leave?
