Sudan: civil society ignored in a forgotten war
Sudan is home to one of the Arab world’s most vibrant civil societies. Without it, the 2019 revolution would never have toppled the dictator Omar Al-Bashir. However, for almost two years, civilians have been the primary victims of the war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces militia: looted, raped, starved and murdered, they have been left to fend for themselves. Over 150,000 people are thought to have lost their lives in two years of civil war. Eleven million have been displaced, and three million have fled abroad. Half the population is facing famine. What remains of civil society? Can the diaspora take the lead? Should civilians—especially women—have a role in resolving the conflict and shaping the post-war future?
Micaela Serafini
President of Médecins Sans Frontières Switzerland
Anne de Riedmatten
Director of the International Solidarity Department, Republic and Canton of Geneva
Suliman Ali Baldo
Human rights expert, Director, Sudan Transparency and Policy Tracker.
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Asma Ahmed
Sudan Peacebuilding Expert
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Khadmallah Abo Abass Ali
Protagonist of Khartoum
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Rawia Alhag
Co-director of Khartoum
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The discussion is interpreted in English, French and Arabic
Khartoum
Khartoum, 2022. Four Sudanese filmmakers, joined by a British director-writer, film the city and its inhabitants using mobile phones. Amid extreme political tension, they encounter five people yearning for freedom: a civil servant, a tea vendor, a Sufi resistance fighter, and two street children. The team depicts the stark reality of one of Africa’s largest cities during a civil war that forces over ten million people, including the film’s protagonists and the filmmakers themselves, to flee to East Africa. And yet, even far from Khartoum, the story continues, incorporating animation, reconstructions, and documentary footage.
Rawia Alhag
Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad
Timeea Mohamed Ahmed
Phil Cox
Sudan Film Factory
Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad
Waleed Alaa
Yousef Jubeh
Phil Cox
Ibrahim Snoopy Ahmad
Waleed Alaa
Yousef Jubeh
Phil Cox
