St. Joseph’s VTC

Behind a large, steel gate off a dusty street in Khartoum 3 lies St. Joseph’s Vocational Training Centre, a school whose students are largely made up of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Southern Sudan. Four trucks pass through these gates every morning, bringing the students from their IDP camps which lie on the outskirts of Northern Sudan’s capital.

I visited the school with a friend who works for VIS (Volontariato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo), an Italian NGO that has written the Y.E.S. project — Youth Empowerment in Sudan. The Y.E.S. project is implemented by the Salesians of Don Bosco, a Roman Catholic religious order working largely with the young and the poor, and posters of Saint John Bosco are dotted around the school. Whilst many of the students are Christian, religious instruction is not part of their work here, and Muslim students are given equal opportunity to pray.

Southern Sudan has been racked by nearly forty years of civil war with the North, the second war running from 1983, ended by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). It is estimated that more than 4 million of the South’s civilians were forced to flee their homes, many of whom now live in or around Khartoum. With the signing of the CPA, several objectives were defined, including the forthcoming referendum for the independence of the South, scheduled for January 2011. Part of the work of VIS, through the Salesians, is to support & aid the graduated students who are interested in returning to the South, through cooperation with international agencies such as the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

Much of the funding for the work here comes from the European Commission through the FOOD budget-line, and part of the work of VIS is to provide a more nourishing meal to the students here. As I saw bread & fuul handed out, it was explained that for many of these students, this is their only meal of the day; this Sudanese staple has been supplemented by other food groups, trying to improve the diet of the students.

Several classrooms-cum-workshops surround the dusty recreational area, inside of which I found students studying subjects varying from car-mechanics to carpentry. Inside the graphic design & printing workshop, the guys were particularly keen to pose whilst leaning over the huge printing presses. To supplement the income of the school, much of the students’ work is sold in varying applications, from designing business cards, building furniture and repairing cars. The progression of this is vital if the school will become self-sufficient once the NGO funding ends in June 2011.

» More photos here: St. Joseph’s VTC.

Blame it on the Elections

During my time in the West Bank, whenever something bad happened, those around me retorted with “blame it on the IDF”. Be it a wait at a check-point, hassle in the street, or even dropping a glass, everything was their fault.

Now in Khartoum, the same rhetoric is being used as Sudan begins its path to democracy. “Blame it on the elections” is said as a catch-all excuse; my delays in leaving, problems in transport, and more pertinently today for the Nuba Wrestling.

Along with the Sufi dancing in Omdurman, the traditional wrestling originating from the Nuba mountains is one of the things to see in Khartoum. The wrestling normally takes place every Friday at Souq Seta in Khartoum’s Bahri district, but arriving the day after the polls officially closed, the market-holders told us that it was closed, due to the elections. General feeling is that the government is keen to avoid large gatherings of people. We took the opportunity to gather mangoes, instead; they’re in season now, and delicious.

Days of Tea

I had time to kill in Khartoum, and so took to the streets. Ostensibly, it was the election prolongation that was keeping me here, but in reality there were a few more factors. An increasing interest in the country, particularly at this time in Sudan’s history; a growing social group of people whose company I valued; perhaps also the need to take a little repose from traveling.

Khartoum is perhaps a strange place to do this. There is very little in terms of things to “do”, particularly as a new arrival; I had already visited the two main museums, the National museum and Ethnographic museum. There are no cafés boasting taawila as in Cairo, nor the Egyptian capital’s bustling cultural scene. Khartoum is a long way from Damascus’ architectural grace and Jerusalem’s historical significance. Furthermore, the climate is incredibly oppressive — daytime temperatures stay above 40°, the streets are dusty and walking them is an arduous affair.

Yet this is what I did. I walked across the city to the soundtrack of shouts of khawaaja (the affectionate, Sudanese equivalent of mzungu or “foreigner”). Life in Sudan is lethargic, with many people seemingly just sitting around or snoozing, taking shelter from the sun.

I stopped frequently to take jebbaneh — coffee spiced with ginger — or a shai bil-nana — tea with a little mint. Whilst there is a lack of cafés, there is certainly a plenitude of tea-ladies plying their trade, and this is the place to meet people. The Sudanese are incredibly friendly and keen to speak to khawaaja about their country, for which they often feel great pride, and find out what the said khawaaja thinks about it. At times frustrating, being asked for the umpteenth time about the difficulty of the heat, but often enlightening, discovering more about this confused country’s culture.

Admittedly, language often limited conversation; my Arabic is far from capable of holding a meaningful conversation and in many of the places I took refreshment, English was not in abundance. A half-built building opposite the University of Sudan changed this situation. In its concrete shell seemed to exist an impromptu Students’ Union, full of people sat around on small, rope-twined stools surrounding tea-ladies.

The students here were keen to discuss Sudan. Some were waiting for the first opportunity to emigrate and make their life in Europe, others had aspirations to develop the country and make change here in Sudan. Some felt exasperated at the limited opportunities they have, explaining that without being a member of the ruling National Congress Party, jobs are hard to find; Western countries are less than forthcoming with visas for Sudanese nationals. Ahove all, this trip has made me realise—and cherish—the value of my passport, and the luck I had in the nationality lottery…

Elections Prolonged

The voting period for the elections was due to end today, the 13th April, but due to various problems, has been extended by two days.

Problems delivering ballots in the south meant that the National Electoral Commission (NEC) decided to “compensate the lost time” by prolonging the voting period, although in some areas, they will freeze the elections because of “logistical issues”. There have been also problems of voter registration, and the lengthy process of locating voters’ names on the electoral lists (photo, above) has also caused large queues at polling stations.

The Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), the ruling party in the South, has called for an extension of four days, although some believe, particularly in the North, that those who intend to vote have done so already. Omer Mahmoud, a BBC correspondent in Khartoum, describes the voting mood in the capital as “lacklustre”, and quotes the head of one polling centre in Bahri saying that 85% people had cast their vote, most on the first two days.

In Darfur, James Copnall, the BBC correspondent for Sudan, finishes his piece on voting in Darfur by saying:

But the people most opposed to President Omar al-Bashir are the least likely to have voted.

— James Copnall, BBC Sudan correspondent

An extension to the voting period means a longer delay in the announcement of the results. Counting will commence on Friday, with final results scheduled for next Tuesday, the 20th April. This seems rather optimistic.

It looks like my stay in Khartoum, and Sudan, will be somewhat longer than expected…

» More photos: Sudanese Elections.

Sudanese Elections 2010

Many in Khartoum were waiting with baited breath as polls opened on the 11th April. The rhetoric here has been simply that “nobody knows what will happen”. My Eritrean housemates, already timid walking the street in Sudan, fear leaving the house. Would there be demonstrations, civil unrest, police crackdowns? The answer seems to be in the negative.

On the streets of downtown, it seems like any other day. There is a slight increase in police presence; local newspapers report that in some regions elsewhere in Sudan they are more prevalent. “We’re not expecting widespread violence, only things that might blow up in pockets”, Reuters quoted an aid-official.

The major problems that are reported in local newspapers are those concerning voter registration. Months ago, eligible voters had to register with their local voting centre, sometimes causing complications for those living in other parts of the country than their home-town. For over two million Darfuris living in IDP camps, they will have no voice in the process. Now the polls have opened, there have been widespread reports of people arriving at their nominated polling station to find their names missing from the list of voters. Many people do not have the means to travel to neighbouring stations to search for their names. Even at the right station, finding one’s name can be a long process, causing queues, and further complicated by spelling errors.

In the South, particularly, voting was widely delayed by several hours due to problems in the logistics of delivering materials and ballot papers. Once arrived, further complaints were lodged due to mis-printing or omissions of candidates’ names. Changes of party logos on the ballot papers also posed another problem. In a country where illiteracy rates are estimated at 30% - 40% (a recent statement by the Ministry of Education put the figure at 14 million, from a population of around 42 million), identifying a logo—rather than a candidate or party name—is crucial to a significant portion of the populace.

A whole generation has never voted and the process is complex: people in the north will vote eight times, in the south the figure rises to twelve. Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan and voting for the first time in his life, spoiled his first ballot by depositing it in the wrong box.

I have met mixed reactions in Khartoum. When asked why certain of my friends don’t have a green, ink-stained finger (signifying having voted) some reply that they don’t care, some that they are not registered. Others, though, are incredibly happy — and proud — to have participated in elections that are heralded to bring democracy to the country. As I visited a voting station in Khartoum, a woman proudly showed her ink-stained finger and a man was keen to show that there were no problems with the process, evidently expecting this western observer to expect the worst.

“These elections will not suddenly transform Sudan into a democratic society. That will take time and experience.”

— Abdallah Ahmed Abdallah, a top official at Sudan’s electoral commission

» More photos: Sudanese Elections.