Young Sudanese Women Lead D.C.’s First Sudanese Protest of 2024, Offer Hope for ‘New Sudan’

The unified cheers for “sawra,” the Arabic word for revolution, flooded the entrance of the Embassy of the United Emirates on the afternoon of Sunday, Feb. 18. More than 200 people from the Sudanese diaspora and their supporters gathered to call for the end of the war, genocide, and mass displacement ravaging Sudan for nearly a year.

“The last 10 months have just been continuous grief. This was an effort to reset and say ‘I want to try in my capacity and create space for the community,’ because that’s where collective suffering creates avenues for community, growth and healing,” said Wafa May Elamin, one of the lead organizers. 

The protest’s organizers were a group of four Sudanese American young women who were called to speak up for their motherland. Elamin, 31, Roaya Higazi, 24, Ola Mohamed, 22, and Dania Abdalla, 30, began organizing two weeks before Sunday’s protest.

“It does feel very hopeless sometimes to be yelling into the void, and the rest of the world ignoring that. But I don’t want to feel hopeless, and I don’t want to give up,” said Higazi. “Making yourself heard and speaking your truth is better than letting Sudan and our families die in the dark.”

Since April 2023, people across Sudan have been caught in the crossfire of the violent power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the de-facto government of Sudan, and the paramilitary militia Rapid Support Forces (RSF), also known as the Janjaweed. 

According to UNHCR,  half of Sudan’s population – some 25 million people – needs immediate humanitarian assistance and protection. Nearly 6 million people are internally displaced in Sudan, with another 1.4 million forced to flee their homes to neighboring countries. The United Nations estimates that over 10,000 people have been killed since the start of the war; the recent communications and internet blackout leads officials and the diaspora to suspect that the number has since grown significantly. 

Standing against the devastating loss are Sudanese women who have historically led revolutionary change in their country. The organizers of Sunday’s demonstration join a long lineage of female revolutionaries. 

 For Mohamed, who grew up in Sudan until she was 9 years old, her return to organizing since college was fueled by anger and a relentless yearning to rebuild her country. She said instead of being taken over by despair, she worked to cultivate hope. 

“Hope is in and of itself an act of resistance. You’re saying ‘I will remain hopeful in the face of despair, in the face of murder, in the face of ethnic cleansing,’” said Mohamed. 

One of the first speakers was Safa Eltaib, from the Nuba tribe in South Kordofan. She said many of the violent tactics ravishing the entire country today began in her ancestral lands of the Nuba mountains. Despite the decades of targeted genocide and displacement, The Nuba mountains and other parts of Sudan’s periphery have often been left out of  Sudan’s liberation movements. 

“Thousands of people from the Nuba Mountains lost their lives. Our lands were pillaged and generations of people were permanently affected, including my own immediate family. We weren’t able to return to Sudan for another 20 years,” said Eltaib. 

 Eltaib informed the crowd that the SAF and RSF are being funded by countries like the UAE, United States, and Russia. 

“These power-hungry countries are responsible for using our people, our land, and our resources to bolster their economies. Their agenda is clear: bleed Sudan dry and discard its people. The atrocities cannot continue on,” said Eltaib. 

The organizers agreed that the protest must be a Pan-African effort and also raise awareness on other African countries, including the ongoing genocide of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. As one of the lead organizers, Abdalla, put it, “Africa is not poor, Africa is exploited.” 

Paul Pumphery, treasurer of Friends of the Congo, said it is important to hold American government officials accountable in working toward peace throughout Africa. 

“If we want real justice in Congo, Sudan, and this world, we need to stand up,” said Pumphery. 

Youth Serve as Beacon of Hope and Peace

The communal dream of a new Sudan loomed in the crisp, cool D.C. air during the protest. Elders from the Sudanese community were in attendance, and they all shared a pride for the “shabab,” or youth, who led the protest and brought international awareness to the atrocities in Sudan. 

Yasir Balla and his family came from Richmond, Virginia to show their support. Originally from Kosti, Balla worked as a lawyer in Khartoum and the war hit close to home, literally. His family property in Omdurman, Sudan’s second most populated city, has been looted and robbed by the RSF.  Further, several hundreds of gender-based violence and rapes against women and girls, lootings, and civilian killings have been reported. 

“The youth are our voice. I hope these protests don’t stop and I hope we can return to Sudan and begin to rebuild. We want a Sudan without racism, without discrimination and includes all of its unique people. I pray we see Sudan before we die,” said Balla. 

His daughter, Salwa Balla, was born in the U.S. but inherited her father’s love for Sudanese culture and community. Balla said she hopes a new Sudan will be characterized by kids freely running in the streets, and people gathering over cups of “shay,” or tea, along the Nile River.

Amal Eltayeb, Elamin’s mother, said she is immensely proud of her daughter and the young women who organized the protest alongside her. Elamin is also co-director of Moving Forward Sudan, a professional network created to serve the Sudanese diaspora. 

 As a former advocate for women’s rights in Sudan, Eltayeb said she and other elders look forward to witnessing the youth of Sudan lead them to freedom. 

‘Sudan is Not for Sale,’ Next Steps Toward a New Sudan

Continuous chants characterized the protest, including “Sudan is not for sale” and “RSF kills, UAE pays.”

Many of the cries for justice refer to the UAE sending weapon reinforcements and medical aid to the RSF under the guise of humanitarian aid to Sudanese refugees in Chad. The RSF’s leader, Hemedti, seized the gold mines in North Darfur and has since created a financial network that exploits Sudan’s gold economy to the benefit of UAE’s tourism. 

Drumming from a traditional Sudanese drum, the dalooka, played alongside the unified voices. 

Abdalla, a visual artist, noted the historic and poetic nature of the revolutionary chants that have long been vital in Sudan. Since its independence in 1956, Sudan has witnessed over 15 military coups and most of its post-independence history has been under military rule. The demonstrations that called for democratic rule often incorporated music, poetry, and drumming to deliver their message for freedom. 

“Singing and dance is very much the fabric of who we are as a people. We are a joyful people. We are a celebratory people. So the war, the revolution, and the struggles become the vessels through which we express the essence of who we are,” explained Abdalla. 

Mohamed, who comes from a family of poets, said that the protest’s attendees were “witnessing a snippet of family histories” that have been passed down rhythmically through generations.

The protest ended with Seyid Khalifa’s “Ya Watani,” or “my motherland,” one of Sudan’s most popular patriotic songs. It illustrates the love and belonging from the largest tribe of Sudan, which Elamin sees as the Sudanese diaspora. 

“It should never be a privilege to return to the lands of your ancestors. It’s hard to see an image of what a new Sudan looks, but it feels like love and return and reconciliation,” the organizers told The Informer.