Reflections from North Sudan
The Standard
January 6, 2009
By Shem Suchia
A first timer arriving in the Sudanese capital Khartoum should be prepared for a rather lukewarm reception at the international airport.
With the Darfur crisis’ ghost lurking high on the country’s image abroad, the openly suspicious airport officials appear detached and uncaring for non-residents who cannot communicate in the official Arabic language widely spoken in the North but shunned in the South where English is the official language.
Coming from a non-Arabic speaking country, I was prepared to face the language barrier during my one-month stay here. What I was not ready for was the hurdle at the airport.
My KQ 320 flight touched down shortly before 9pm local time when it seemed a lot of the airport officials had retired. The handful of officers present appeared overwhelmed in checking the travel documents of disembarking passengers. Need I say that the residents were given priority?
Sleeping uncovered
After a slow checkout process, I finally get to the arrival gate and wait for my minder. The furnace-like temperatures do me no justice as I perspire uncontrollably. It is so easy to dehydrate here what with the high desert temperatures.
Later, I learn that the high temperatures ensure the locals don’t use blankets. At most, a sheet is sufficient but there are times when even this seems too heavy and the only choice is to sleep uncovered.
Walking round densely populated estates, it is not strange to see people sleeping out in the open uncovered, akin to the familiar sight of long-distance truck drivers. If the reception at the airport is wanting, the hospitality of the Sudanese is impressive.
A country constantly in the news for all the wrong reasons, Sudan strikes a contrast when one gets to interact with its inhabitants who have a well grounded tradition of genuine warmth after initial suspicions have withered.
At every house I set foot I was welcomed with a warm smiley greeting, a cold soda served together with a bottle of water.
Generous service
I learn that no matter how many houses you visit, you have to take a drink otherwise one is deemed rude if s/he declines. However, be warned. There is no place for alcoholic drinks in the Islamic North.
Food is generously served to visitors, mainly greens that are fruity with a pudding of chicken and meat coupled with the eggs, bread, fish and balilaah, a mixture of beans and maize — this is just about the everyday meal served twice.
The main meal, called dinner, is served after 2.30pm while breakfast (our equivalent of lunch) comes around noon. In the morning, the locals drink a cup of plain tea, water or a bottle of soda. At night, only a cold drink suffices.
While in Sudan, you have to adjust to their time. Official working hours start at 7am and end after 2.30pm to accommodate the high afternoon temperatures that overwhelm even the most effective of air conditioners and fans installed in most public places.
Khartoum at night is a pleasant and shining, bright affair, as one drives from the airport through the gigantic bridge in which the Blue and While Niles converge. The well-lit city has well-paved, broad streets that make ours pale in shame.
Poverty-stricken south
Traffic appears heavy at all times but it is not congested, thanks to the numerous flyovers and by-passes believed to be constructed using Chinese funds in exchange for Sudanese oil drilled in the less developed South.
The capital itself is a huge affair divided into three boroughs — North Khartoum (the industrial base), Khartoum Proper (where the capital lies) and Omudhurman (the business centre).
White and cream are the dominant colours on vehicles. There are numerous brick buildings, many of which spot satellite television dishes beaming mainly Arabic programmes.
Sounds of radio mostly tuned to Arabic news stations can be heard all over the town. These are complemented by soothing beats of Arabic-fused tunes that define much of the country’s entertainment scope.
A pocket of hotels are within the capital centre. Most have adopted the strict Islamic Sharia culture and do not admit unaccompanied females or couples who cannot prove they are married.
"So long as one plays his cards right and does his things discretely then he can get away with it," Assam, my guide, responds to my worry while pointing out prostitutes in the capital. It is just like anywhere else.
The difference, he hints, is that prostitutes in Sudan do not dress scantly or go parking in the open as this will invite undue attention from the moral-righteous Sharia police who frequently patrol the streets.
Talking of matters morality, it is disheartening that among some Arabic clans here, marriages are pre-arranged at childhood and the girls have no say on their future spouses.
Marriage is an expensive affair as it comes with a huge bride price tag, which most men cannot afford. As such, at around 35 in the Sudan, a man can still be considered a boy. Also, there is nothing peculiar about a 30-something woman staying at her parents’ home because she has not found a suitable suitor who can afford her bride price. Single women are not allowed to live alone as this is considered immoral.
Mosques
To fully appreciate the city, we boarded an Amjaad, our equivalent of matatu. Some of the operators adhere strictly to their religious code and only carry same-sex passengers. As for those that carry both men and women, female passengers have to sit on one row separate from the male passengers.
A common sight in the town is mosques with their high-rise minarets. Most government offices have mosques within their vicinity to allow easier worship by workers. Friday is the official rest day in the North to allow for Muslim prayers.
On Sunday, Christians have until 10am to worship after which they report to work.
In Southern Sudan, Fridays are working days till noon while Sundays are rest days for all.
In spite of the publicised Darfur crisis, walking round the capital hardly gives one any hint of insecurity. The locals tell me the capital has no place for insecurity.
The police are on regular patrol and are armed with batons as opposed to guns, in contrast to Southern Sudan, which is just re-emerging from a long civil war where guns on the back of army officers and locals are a common sight.
My guide tells me there has not been a murder or mugging in the capital in recent years. I doubt that considering a well-known newspaper columnist was murdered in cold blood. "That was political. But if it were an ordinary murder within a neighbourhood, the whole vicinity would be placed under police watch until the murder is resolved," he asserts.
No suicide
Life is considered sacred and suicide is not permitted. To demonstrate his point, the guide points to a dilapidated 12-storey building in downtown Khartoum that was once a five-star hotel.
"The hotel shut down operations more than a decade ago after a man who had been booked in as a visitor committed suicide by falling down from the top floors. Nobody wants to associate with the building again," he claims.
After a tour of the North, I was eager to get started on my journey down South.
