Background:

The main issues in Sudan at the time (and some are still relevant today) were the unity of South Sudan, self-determination, peace and war, religious/political persecution against Christians and South Sudanese and the Sharīʿah Law. A Southern Sudanese and former Member of Parliament under Ṣādiq al-Mahdī’s regime; Peter Woko, shares his story of living in a nation torn-up by war, eventually escaping it. Woko was in parliament for three years until ʿUmar al-Bashīr overthrew the former regime in 1989. Sharīʿah Law had already been enforced since 1983, but the last bit of rights the Southern Sudanese were stripped completely after the military coup.

Side A:

Many Southern Sudanese fled to Egypt to escape the atrocities and religious persecution in their home country. Numerous Southern Sudanese children were kidnapped by Northern Sudanese businessmen, the military or Arab tribes. These children were taken and sold to Arabs in Libya and Saudi Arabia who were made to work on farms, do housework and convert to Islam. These children were victims of slave trade.

The trips were not easy, some travelled through al-Kharṭūm, through the desert and into Egypt. Others took a ship to Jeddah and then to the Suez Canal. One Southerner, Margaret (CH: Peter Woko’s wife), had used all her money to buy a boat ticket to the Suez Canal, but upon arrival in Port Sudan where the boat would leave, the woman was told by the travel agents that she did not fulfil all the required formalities and needed to pay an extra 25000 Sudanese pounds for the ticket. Margaret had no money and was forced to return to al-Kharṭūm, where she sold her wedding ring and a golden necklace.

Under the regime of Ṣādiq al-Mahdī in the 1980s, both the Northern and Southern Sudanese were allowed to form political parties. One of the political parties; the Southern Sudan Political Association (SSPA) was a party led by Southern Sudanese who stood for unity of the South and self-determination. The Southern part of Sudan had been divided into three different sections in 1983, and this party desired them to unite as one. The SSPA ran for elections in al-Kharṭūm, and actually believed that they might stand a chance and thought democracy was possible under al-Mahdī’s government. This was not the case as the North continued to impose the Sharīʿah Law in Sudan. There were also questions of the war itself and the question of the unity in the South. According to the-then leader of the SSPA, the north constantly argued the war had to be resolved by means of the military. The Southerners, (the ones who were engaged in dialogue) wanted to solve the issue peacefully. Woko advocates that it is a tradition of the Northerners to suppress the opinions, ideas and lives of the Southerners.

In 1983, Sharīʿah Law had been enforced and in 1989 ʿUmar al-Bashīr overthrew al-Mahdī’s regime through a military coup. Al-Mahdī’s parliament had been dissolved, the constitution was suspended and all political parties were banned, thus including the SSPA. Al-Bashīr’s military government became ruthless on those who sided with al-Mahdī and threatened to arrest many people of parliament or confine them from leaving al-Kharṭūm. Most parliament members escaped and fled to Egypt among Woko (former leader of SSPA).

The biggest problem according to Woko: the Sharīʿah Law. Muslims used the law upon their advantage and inform the authorities that a Christian had stolen or committed adultery when in fact this was not the case. The punishments for such crimes were amputation (or cross-amputation) and being stoned to death.

Side B:

Before the dispute between North and South escalated, Southerners were part of the national army and stayed there even during the war. This was very controversial as it meant that Southerners were now forced to fight alongside Northerners. It was extremely difficult for them to leave; some of them deserted the army, were left with no income and fled to other villages. Many Sudanese fled to Cairo, had no money either and no job. The All Saints Cathedral in Zamālik, Cairo, was a common place where Southerners went to ask for support. The biggest issue the Southerners who fled to Egypt faced was that the Egyptian government did not consider them as refugees, making it impossible for the UNHCR to do anything. The UNHCR may only help out provided that the host government officially recognises the displaced people as refugees.

The Sudanese, who had no funds to leave Sudan, fled to relatives in villages outside al-Kharṭūm. In the case of Margaret, she was evicted from her house in al-Kharṭūm in 1994 because she could no longer afford rent which had increased exponentially over the years. After she left the house, she was unable to pay for essential needs for herself and her children. Eventually, she found a house that was owned unexpectedly by a Northern expatriate who worked in the Gulf States. He wanted his house to be taken care of while he was away, and she needed a place to stay. This did not last for long, however, and finally Margaret decided to go to Camp Māyū.  Many of the refugees in the camp had houses inside or near al-Kharṭūm, but were forcefully taken from their homes and dumped in these camps. They were told they had no rights to the land and their houses were demolished. The camp had no sanitary services, no health care, no education, only little amounts of food and water. There was also no way of sending messages to or from the camp. Political and religious persecution against Christians and Southerners continues to exist even 33 years later.