A group of women wave Sudanese flags and chant “Thawra” – revolution. Next to it are stones on the ground, a burning car tire, and the road to the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum is blocked. The chanting is accompanied by the loud cracking of the stun grenades, in the background you can see clouds of tear gas.
Legend:
The demonstrators protect themselves against tear gas with diving goggles and masks.
srf
There in the tear gas stands Momen Wd Zaineb, equipped with diving goggles over his goggles and a mask to protect against the acrid smoke. “I’m here because I want my rights. We need justice and freedom. We want to be able to talk about anything without getting arrested or killed. We want a government that is elected and not one that has taken power by force of arms,” says the 27-year-old.
Legend:
Momen Wd Zaineb will not leave the streets until the military government resigns.
srf
Mumen wd Zanaib goes to every protest. At least twice a week. Since five months. “There is absolute lawlessness in this country. And the economy is down. The people here have nothing.” Since the renewed military coup in October, Sudan’s already desolate economic situation has deteriorated further. Sudan has one of the highest inflation rates in the world, at 260 percent in January. Again and again there are bottlenecks in the supply of oil, petrol and flour.
There is absolute lawlessness in this country.
Because Sudan almost exclusively imports wheat from Russia and Ukraine, bread prices rose again by 40 percent last week. This fuels the protests, even if the demonstrators emphasize that democracy is the primary concern. Most are convinced that the economy can only flourish in a democracy.
Legend:
The people of Sudan do not stop protesting against the military government.
srf
Mumen wd Zanaib pays a heavy price for resisting military rule. “I was shot in the leg. And in the right arm. I can’t move it properly now. But I still have the left one,” he says, raising his left fist in the air. ¨
The brutality of the Sudanese security forces is shocking. Women were raped during the protests, and security forces looted and stole from passers-by.
Protesters are literally executed
At least 89 people have been killed and more than 2,800 injured in the demonstrations since the military coup in October. Protesters are literally executed, shot in the head, shot in the chest. 21-year-old Hassan also had to experience this up close.
He doesn’t want to give his full name, and he doesn’t want to be photographed either. He doesn’t want to be the next “martyr”. That’s what people are called in Sudan who were killed during the democracy protests. Five of Hassan’s good friends have been martyrs since the beginning of the year. The student wears a t-shirt with their photos on it at each demonstration.
Legend:
Hassan, 21, has already lost five close friends this year.
srf
The fact that the military has been using such violence against the protesters since the coup only makes Hassan even more resolute. He wants those responsible for the deaths of his friends to be brought to justice. It is now all about standing up for the original demands of the 2019 revolution: “Freedom, peace and justice.”
Legend:
With their never-ending protests, the Sudanese women brought down dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
srf
With their never-ending protests, the Sudanese women brought down dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019, who had ruled the country for around thirty years. Even when the long-term ruler was already in prison, the people remained on the streets, spoke of revolution and demanded that not only the dictator step down, but also that the military hand over power.
“We don’t want to continue being slaves to the military”
The Sudanese practically lived on the streets for two months until the military was at least willing to share power with the civilians. The transitional government began. With the military coup of October 25, 2021, this process towards democracy was abruptly stopped again. “We mustn’t give up now,” says Amira Osman, who is standing in the protest crowd a little further away from the tear gas.
The well-known women’s rights activist was only recently released from prison. Sudanese security forces arrested her at her home in the middle of the night and held her for two weeks. Nobody knew where she was. She does not know why she was arrested.
Legend:
The well-known women’s rights activist Amira Osman was arrested without a clear reason.
srf
“We don’t want to continue being slaves to the military. The military oppress and exploit the Sudanese people. We fight against that.” She hasn’t been afraid for a long time, says the 42-year-old.
Legend:
Resistance committees wave their flags at a protest in Khartoum.
srf
Amira Osman, Mumen wd Zanaib and student Hassan, like many of the demonstrators here, are part of a resistance committee. These locally organized neighborhood groups exist across the country and connect thousands of Sudanese. The resistance committees not only organize the protests, but also get involved in the democratic process.
democracy from below
A month ago, the committees of the capital Khartoum presented a political charter with proposals on how to proceed in the deadlocked political situation in Sudan. Democracy from below, a concept that makes it difficult for the military to find alliances. Because the democracy movement is uncompromising. Working together with the military government is out of the question for the resistance committees.
Legend:
“Burhan, go!” – the demonstrators do not want a military government.
srf
During the afternoon of the protest, injured people are regularly driven out of the crowd on motorcycles. Two Sudanese women in their twenties have set up a small emergency station. Disinfectants, gauzes, painkillers. “This is our contribution to the revolution,” say the two women from the health sector while they give minimal care to the injured.
Legend:
Women from the health sector treat the injured.
srf
“Since the coup, we’re so far away from the country we want. That’s why we won’t go off the road until we have the Sudan we dream of.” After the fall of Omar al-Bashir, Sudan felt what freedom could mean. Freedom, peace and justice was the slogan of the 2019 protests. And the Sudanese want to keep fighting for these values.