Who would have thought that the day would come when a country that once prided itself on being Africa’s largest nation, and one of its most diverse regions, would split in half?

Many in the north remain concerned about the fact that Sudan lost 75 percent of its resources when it lost South Sudan. But the loss is about more than this. For countless others, the emotional repercussions of losing half of their culture also remain. It causes an overwhelming melancholy.

On April 9, 2012, a day that some consider a dark one in Sudanese… ( Read on! )

As I write this, I am fighting back tears as it’s been exactly one month since Usamah Mohamed Ali’s arrest. Usamah, or @simsimt on Twitter is a friend of mine. The last time I saw him, he was featured in a video comment which he recorded for AJStream stating why he plans to take part in the June 30th protests. The last person to see him was his brother, who watched as NISS took him away on June 22, 2012 from the scene of a protest in Burri, Khartoum. 

The last time I spoke to him was on June 21, 2012. It was the same day of my first detention. He called to check up on me. I answered his… ( Read on! )

In my dream, I was inside a tunnel. The tunnel was jammed with cars, and I was in one of them. I was alone in the taxi, and the driver was frustrated with the heavy traffic. The tunnel seemed endless, and I asked the driver to roll down the windows because I could slowly feel myself running out of breath. My claustrophobia started to kick in, and the long queue of cars both ahead and behind me gave me a strong sense of uneasiness. The windows were now open, but I couldn't feel any air gushing in. I poked my head out of the window in an attempt to find where the tunnel ended… to figure out… ( Read on! )

Sudan is a failed state. Its social, political, and economic shortcomings render it third on Foreign Policy’s index. Basic freedoms are minimal; women are oppressed and activists, journalists and politicians arrested under a complicit rule of law. Poverty, estimated at 46.5% overall and 57.6% in rural areas, grows more acute. Sudan’s Human Development Index is lowest of all MENA countries - 169 of 187 overall. With conflicts in every corner of the country,… ( Read on! )