Khartoum of Evenings and Colors

The Face of Truth 

 

Ibrahim Shglawi

 

 

The return of state institutions to the heart of the capital, Khartoum, following its liberation from the militia, marks a pivotal political and societal event. It opens a wide door to both opportunities and challenges. In a scene where reconstruction plans overlap with the wounds of war, the features of the upcoming phase emerge as a new battle—one fought not with weapons, but with willpower, organization, and readiness to rebuild and reclaim life from the rubble.

 

 

 

The recent meeting of the High Emergency and Crisis Management Committee of Khartoum State, chaired by the Governor, embodied this challenge. With efforts underway to restart electricity stations after the complete destruction of seven of them and the looting of distribution networks, the water crisis has surfaced as another face of the broader emergency. However, the shift towards turning temporary solutions into permanent mechanisms indicates a real awareness of the need to build infrastructure resilient enough to withstand future crises.

The experience of evacuating schools from displaced persons also revealed a remarkable level of coordination among executive bodies, which resulted in returning students to their classrooms—an important symbol of the return to civil life.

 

 

 

The meeting did not overlook the security and social dimensions. Issues such as banning the sale of tea and smoking shisha on the streets were raised, as part of efforts to restore public order in a city that previously struggled with negative phenomena even before the war. Hence, it’s essential to enforce state authority and reshape the city’s image to reflect a stage of recovery.

 

 

 

Furthermore, the official spokesperson for the state government, Al-Tayyib Saad Al-Din, announced the decision to end the leave of government employees, giving them until mid-June to settle their situations—particularly those who left the country. He emphasized that consideration of employees’ circumstances is left to the heads of government units.

 

 

 

In this context, the Khartoum State Police announced the recovery of more than 90% of its stations and their redeployment across all localities. A well-structured plan was put in place to secure the capital. The police confirmed that the security situation has stabilized, with declining crime rates, recovery of a large portion of looted items, and the resumption of civil registry and traffic services in coordination with the prosecution. Additionally, the Director of the General Administration for Facility Security, Police Major General Qasim Amin Ahmed, confirmed the securing of 250 government institutions and 147 diplomatic missions and embassies in the state.

 

 

 

The visit of Saudi Ambassador Ali bin Hassan Jafar, during which he raised his country’s flag over its embassy building to announce the resumption of diplomatic activity, carried a strong political message. It reflected his country’s solidarity with the Sudanese people and its commitment to restoring Sudan’s natural role. It also signaled that Khartoum is no longer a devastated capital but an open arena for peace and reconstruction investment.

 

 

 

The announcement of the rehabilitation of five hospitals, distribution of thousands of food baskets, and performing thousands of surgeries reflects the transformation of Saudi support from humanitarian relief to a more strategic level aimed at enhancing the stability of the Sudanese state. Saudi Arabia appears as a strategic partner in shaping the post-war phase—anticipated by Sudanese people to be the leading partner in water harvesting projects, food security, energy security, and rebuilding what the war destroyed.

 

 

 

On another front, Khartoum only returns on the ruins of a wounded memory. The scenes documented by our mentor, Professor Al-Sharif Hussein Khogali, under the hashtag “Standing at the Ruins,” relayed to him by the engineer assigned to Omdurman Channel, Alwan newspaper, and Al-Masaa radio station, convey more than just descriptions of material destruction. They serve as a testimony to the symbolic targeting of Sudanese culture and media—an indication that the militia understood the vital role these institutions play in shaping national consciousness and documenting life.

 

 

 

What was stolen was not just equipment, cameras, and archives—it was firmly rooted stations in the memory of an alert nation, capable of reflection and dreaming. Amid the ashes, a new form of will is born—unknown to the pessimists—a will for Khartoum to once again be a vibrant city of institutions and rich memory, not of mass graves and aimless wandering.

 

 

Reclaiming Khartoum is not just about winning a military battle, but about initiating a political and human test—its title is the capacity to resurrect the state anew. In a time where hope is mingled with pain, Khartoum, despite everything, remains like cities that aspire to the future; for cities that burn can rise again, as long as they are armed with will, cling to life, and overcome their wounds, while recalling their entire history and the greatness of humankind.

 

 

 

Thus, the recovery of Khartoum should not be reduced to its military dimension alone, but rather be read as a turning point in the process of Sudan regaining its vitality and building a new national contract, where governance institutions are renewed on legitimate and moral foundations. As the political philosopher John Locke said, “True authority is not built on force, but on the consent of the governed and their mutual pursuit of the common good.”

 

 

 

Victory is not complete until it is translated into a unified national project—one where wills align, and the state advances responsibly toward peace, disarming war and planting in its place seasons of celebration and hope.

 

Wishing you health and well-being.