The Feast of the Sacrifice will be a ‘feast of sadness’: Sudanese citizens

On behalf of the Darfuri displaced and refugees, their leaders congratulate the Sudanese people in general and the ones from Darfur in particular on Tuesday’s upcoming occasion of Eid el Adha (Feast of Sacrifice), asking the “Almighty God for peace and stability throughout Sudan.” Speaking to Radio Dabanga the leaders say they are hoping that the Sudanese refugees and the displaced in Darfur and other war-torn regions in Sudan will soon be able to return home safely. They also express their sadness for the citizens’ inability to buy sweets and clothes for their children and families, according to tradition, “not to mention to afford buying a sheep for the Feast of the Sacrifice.” The Spokesman for the Association of Displaced Persons and Refugees of Darfur, Hussein Abu Sharati, described this year’s Eid el Adha as a “feast of sadness”, as the Sudanese remember their beloved ones who died, were injured, raped or went missing during ten years of war. He asked all the displaced persons and refugees to forgive their attackers and forgive each other, and to unite in order to regain their legitimate rights and demands. The Coordinator of the North Darfur camps Omda Ahmed Ateem called “the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth”, wishing that this year will be the last year for “the Khartoum regime”, and that from the coming year onwards “justice, equality, dignity and well-being of the children of the same country will prevail”. The Omda added that he hopes that thousands of displaced, refugees and oppressed people of Sudan will be able to safely return to their homeland.”Grief” The Education Supervisor of the Chadian refugee camp Farchana, Mohamed Khamis Musharraf, expressed his sadness of Darfuris having to celebrate Eid el Adha outside their homeland and without having anything to celebrate with. He hopes that a comprehensive peace will prevail in Sudan and he appealed to the refugees to unite and to stay committed to their children’s education. Abdelrahman Ibrahim, a refugee at the Bredjing refugee camp in eastern Chad said that they will celebrate Eid el Adha with a “deep feeling of grief as the Sudanese refugees are living inside a big prison.They have lost all their possessions, their freedom, pride and dignity.”Ibrahim added that their joy would be “immense” when they are able to return to their homeland. He appealed to the humanitarian organisations to provide the necessary humanitarian aid for the refugees. The Head of the Bambari camp for Sudanese refugees in the Central Africa Republic, Abdelrahman Ismail, said that all he wishes for the Eid el Adha is “to get rid of this regime as soon as possible”. He hopes that a just and comprehensive peace will soon be reached all over Sudan, so that the people can return to their homes and “live their lives without feeling that they are aliens.” In the same regard, citizens of the national capital of Khartoum, who spoke to the Agence France Presse, expressed their grief for “the victims of the violent oppression of the demonstrations” Sudan witnessed recently. They also denounced the economic difficulties that make this year’s Eid el Adha a bleak occasion. Veterinarian Abbas Mohamed Ahmed will not celebrate the Eid because he is in a state of mourning for his brother who was killed in Omdurman during the protests. Hanan Jadein who sells tea on the roadside in the southern part of Khartoum, said that “we’ve lost many young people in the recent demonstrations whom we are mourning. However our sadness increases because we cannot meet the wishes of our children by buying them new clothes or candies, let alone a sheep to slaughter.” File photo: Darfuri tea lady (theniles.org) Related: Demonstrations against price hikes in seven Central Darfur camps (8 October 2013) Fuel exploitation, price hikes making life ‘unbearable’ in Darfur: Sheikh (8 October 2013) Protests over rising prices continue in Sudan’s main cities (24 September 2013)