The Lubna Case

This case is making my blood boil. Here it is on BBC, Al-Arabiyya (Arabic) and Facebook (Arabic). Fellow blogger Zoulcolm X writes about it here.

Okay, read all about it?

Ready to discuss?

Tell me what your initial thoughts were.

Mine were... instant jaw drop. And a slight head spin. Some nausea as well.

Are these people serious?!




Okay, I personally don't think anything is wrong with the way this lady is dressed. But just for the sake of argument, let's assume her outfit is non-Islamic and "annoying to the public taste". If that's the case then she shouldn't be the only one facing such charges. The whole of Khartoum should be awaiting trials for "indecent public presentation" as well.

I am not just saying this, but I live in Khartoum and I see how women are dressed in this city. I am also one of these women, this is how I dress. This is how my sisters dress, my cousins, my aunts, my friends, my neighbors and almost everyone I know.

How come we aren't facing these charges too?

Because the system is a corrupt one and Mrs. Lubna was obviously targeted for the material she writes. They didn't like what she had to say so they found another way to bring her "down".

I admire you Lubna for your courage and for standing up for the thousands of oppressed Sudanese women, who are abused in the name of "pseudo-morality".

My advice for our lovely government, please tackle the more important issues our country is facing first. I have a list you can get started on:

The war in darfur.
Poverty and starvation.
Unavailability of drinking water.
Diseases.
Drugs and prostitution.
The high unemployment rate.
The insufficient wages.
Where the money of retired citizens at?
The high taxes.
The constant power cuts.

And when you're done with those we can maybe address issues of how females wearing pants in a private venue "annoys the public taste".

Disasters following the ICC decision

The indicted president had his share of dancing today as the cheering crowd marched by the Republican Palace, demonstrating to the whole world his indifference about the ICC's decision.

As a form of retaliation for the ICC's decision, 11 aid agencies were ordered to leave Darfur and cease operations and move out of the country as of today. This is a disaster for the 2 million and something people in Darfur dependent on such aid agencies for food, shelter and medical supplies. They are now mostly worried about possible disease outbreaks in the absence of health workers.

All this happened in the twenty four hours following the court's decision... but let's wait and see the repercussions after a longer time frame, say a month. The ICC made a huge mistake and needs to figure out a way to fix what it broke.

Arrest warrant issued for El-Bashir

So you heard. The ICC has officially issued a warrant of arrest for El-Bashir, but only on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity you see, the genocide charges were dropped!

I am not a big fan of El-Bashir, in fact I despise the man (would be an understatement) for what he has been putting our country and our people through for the past god knows how long. But the ICC just could not delay this decision, which we all knew was coming, and felt the need to make it today and ignore the fact that the first democratic elections in more than twenty years are expected this year.

The effects of this decision are not going to be trivial, considering this is the very first arrest warrant to be issued for an actual head of state. The actual president of the largest country in Africa. By now I’m guessing a lot of Arabic and African leaders are probably worried to say the least.

So what is next? We must all thank the ICC for the coup that is going to take place once again and cause the country to witness more turbulence. We must all also kiss the presidential elections goodbye if this coup ensues and kiss with it all our hopes and dreams of a better president and a better, more stable and more peaceful Sudan.

The Sudanese people think this is all a western conspiracy, and I for one can’t help but feel extremely furious that the international community stood and watched while Luis Moreno-Ocampo and the ICC judges single-handedly jeopardized the Comprehensive Peace Agreement by now causing more conflict between the Sudanese government and JEM.

There is not a chance that El-Bashir will turn himself in which means that Sudan will remain a politically isolated country which is vindicated since the only way to defend Sudan will be by completely ceasing to cooperate with the international community.

For us Sudanese citizens all we can do at this point is worry about the future of our country. Today marks one of the most critical days of Sudanese history.

The job hunt

I decided to start looking for a job last month. Ofcourse that was only because I went through alot of hassle getting my certificate and transcripts from the university an notarizing them; you don't even want to know and I won't even know where to begin explaining. In the end the important thing is I finally got what I worked very hard for for the past five years.

Had I known the hassle of looking for a job in this country was going to be even greater I wouldn't have bothered getting my papers in the first place. Basically, no one cares if you're carrying a First or Third Class degree, you will get hired on the spot depending on the level of your wasta.

For those of you who don't know, a wasta is the Arabic name for "mediator" i.e. someone you are acquainted with or related to who works as a minister, ambassador, general manager or could be anything. This person will make life so easy for you that all you have to do is give him a copy of your papers and tell him where you would like to work and what position you desire. You will subsequently get a magical phone call from the manager of that very place asking you to come in for an interview where you get asked questions as silly as "what color is this stapler?" Sometimes you don't even need to go in for an interview, you are just simply hired. It all comes down to the professional position of your wasta.

When I think of how eager I was to apply for jobs and go in for interviews and find a job where I could be of use, I just laugh because it seems so ridiculous now. Ofcourse you can't just apply to any job, well you can but your wasta has to make a phone call first before you send in your papers. This is the protocol of the hiring process in this country.

How are people with no wasta's supposed to get jobs? They often don't and work as cab or amjad drivers, keeping their law degrees at home for decoration. It's too damn frustrating. To think that I went to school for five years for nothing is just too unbearable... Please tell me it doesn't have to be this way!

Well I did my part and applied here and there, even went to a recruitment agency. Despite the barriers of not having a wasta, or rather not wanting to use one, finding a suitable job is hard work. At this point I am feeling so desperate to find any job at all.

How frustrating.

Sudan Awaits

The ICC is scheduled to rule on El-Bashir's case this Wednesday. Will there or will there not be an issuance of a warrant of arrest against our president? The whole country is waiting for that ruling.

Museveni thinks the ICC should delay the indictment, and I agree that that would be the wisest decision to make, putting the stability of Sudan in consideration. Drima states his thoughts on this matter and a few other Sudanese youths.

I guest we just wait for Wednesday and see what happens. Either the country is turned upside down, or all our problems are dissolved (hiiiiighly unlikely) or, the most likely scenario in my opinion, nothing happens!

So please, Sudanese citizens, those of you living in Sudan... stop panicking! And stop packing your bags! I know so many people who are actually gone by now because they are afraid of what might happen if the warrant is issued. I'm telling you, Egypt doesn't need any more people crowding it!

Nothing is going to happen, and no I am not in denial, I am just thinking of the most reasonable sequence of events. You will not be attacked in your own home, you will not lose all your valuable posessions and you will not find a loved one dead outside your house. Don't be so overdramatic!

Just chill, and if you still wanna panic at least wait for Wednesday.

PS- if I am not attacked by the rebels in my home I will post something after the trial so my non-death is confirmed.

Dang! Cont'd

2008 was a rather interesting year for me. I finally reached the end of the tunnel! After graduating I was flying with joy at the thought of not having to wake up at 6 every morning, or stay up at night writing lengthy assignments, or worry about the graduation dissertation, or have to study for an exam. Yes, it was a great feeling! The first month passed, and I spent a nice vacation in the UAE. The second month I went to South Africa and had loads of fun with old friends of mine. The third month I came back to Sudan and celebrated Eid with family. The fourth month I was busy arranging a trip to Cairo to present a paper at a conference. On the fifth month was the death of my grandfather, just one day shy of the New Year. It was very unfortunate, and I spent an entire month with my grandmother to keep her company.

Today marks the seventh month after graduation… and I gotta say, I am not digging it anymore. I’ve been job hunting for what seems like an eternity, and I’m starting to dread waking up in the morning knowing I have absolutely nothing to look forward to. I decided now would be the best time to catch up on my writing. I’ve been suffering from writer’s block the past year; and I am just starting to recover from it.

I finally got the chance to revisit Egypt. This time I wasn’t able to travel to any other city, I stayed in Cairo for the entire duration of my stay-which was one week. The weather was beautiful. I also got the chance to see Cape Town for the first time, and I have to tell you, if you haven’t been yet you should hop on the first plane there!

Dang!

“Dang!” doesn’t even begin to describe it. It’s been almost a year and a half since I was last here. And a lot of things went down during that time. Here are just a few highlights:

1. I joined facebook.
2. There’s a global economic crisis going on and it’s on the rise.
3. Obama was elected president of the United States.
4. Israeli troops attacked Ghaza killing and injuring hundreds.
5. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Omer El-Bashir on charges of war crimes.
6. I graduated.
7. Sami El-Haj was released from Guantanamo Bay. (I obviously have a lot of editing to do).
8. Gillian Gibbons was arrested for a “teddy bear blasphemy case” in Khartoum.
9. The rebels reached Khartoum and attacked everyone.
10. I quit facebook.

Did I mention that I finally graduated? I also joined facebook for a considerably long time, but just last night I made the decision to deactivate my account. Apparently, you can’t delete your own account. You can deactivate it, but you can reactivate it easily by logging back in. So I sent them a request to delete my account, though they haven’t done anything about it yet.

I recently discovered that there has been an economic crisis in Sudan since forever, which explains why no one can get a job without knowing someone way up the social chain. I have a lot of friends in the US and even Dubai who are extremely worried about losing their jobs. Fortunately I don’t have one to worry about in the first place.

Obama! I read in the paper last month that a Sudanese woman gave birth to a little boy and his parents named him “Barack Obama”. Sudanese people are way too fascinated by this guy. They are seriously expecting him to do something for them. I will not reveal my thoughts about him yet, maybe after he does at least 10% of the superb things that he promised he would. Guantanamo is a hell of start.

Sigh, the Ghaza conflict… 1.5 million punished for the actions of a few. Inhumane, to say the least.

El-Bashir’s arrest warrant. What a great disctraction from everything else going on in the world. And such double standards. I don’t see Bush behind any bars for sending American troops to Iraq which highly qualifies him as a war criminal. That said, I needn’t say that El-Bashir must own up to what he has been doing to innocent people in South Sudan for years and years.

I’ll be back later.