Browsing the news recently, the latest civil war in the African country Sudan ceasefire for seven days on May 22. Unexpectedly, on the 24th, military clashes broke out again in Khartoum State, where the capital Khartoum is located, and the exchange of fire near the Saitana military base in the suburbs was particularly fierce.
Sudan's latest civil war begins
The ceasefire agreement, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the United States, was signed on 20 May by the two parties to the conflict — the Sudanese Armed Forces representing the current Government and the rival Rapid Support Force — but the lack of mutual trust prevented an end to the bloodshed after the agreement entered into force.
Compared with the world-famous "Russian-Ukrainian war", the Sudanese civil war is undoubtedly a forgotten violent conflict. Since its independence in 1956, Sudan has experienced 15 military coups, large and small, and two decades-long civil wars have killed 1.5 million people. Like many "failed states," the world is clearly paralyzed by these relentless killings.
African countries are rich in resources and have young population structures, and if they participate in the development of globalization, they will certainly have a lot to do. Unfortunately, due to the lack of a modern political civilization foundation, many countries have been unable to achieve basic stability, and their economies have naturally been unable to develop. The Western colonizers have been gone for almost a century, and it is increasingly unconvincing to blame the colonizers for the problem. With the departure of the colonists, modern civilization seems to have broken up with the land.
Sudanese soldiers cross the desert
The blue ocean will make you wander.
I remember the first trip to Sudan more than 20 years ago, a poor and turbulent land. It was an ancient and mysterious country. There are brilliant and enchanting colors floating everywhere...
That day, after nearly 20 hours of aerial flight, our group landed at Nyala Airport, the capital of Darfur, Sudan. As soon as I got off the plane, I saw the peacekeepers who greeted us: wearing blue berets on their heads, blue silk scarves around their necks, and blue UN armbands on their shoulders, which looked particularly eye-catching against the blue sky.
Soldiers of the peacekeeping force in Sudan▲
Walking into the gate of the super camp, the first thing you see is the blue United Nations flag and the bright red five-star red flag flying together. In the days that followed, wherever I went, a soft blue fluttered in front of my eyes. On the streets, the emblem of the United Nations can be seen everywhere, and peacekeepers from various countries wearing blue berets can be seen everywhere. This blue landscape cannot be seen in the country.
At the super camp, the author also had the privilege of watching a collective defense exercise conducted by various troop-contributing countries. Soldiers from Pakistan, Egypt, Bangladesh, Nigeria and other countries are wearing various camouflage uniforms of different shades and changing formations. From a distance, the swaying blue hat, blue camouflage uniform, and blue armbands are like an endless sea, very pure, very spectacular, very shocking.
Blue symbolizes tranquility, symbolizes hope, symbolizes peace. In this war-torn country, the blue that can be seen everywhere gives people endless reverie...
Female warriors in the super camp▲
The sacred and solemn white color will make you awe-inspiring.
In Sudan, the "country of blacks", black is the keynote of national colors, giving other colors great freedom, without black, there is no colorful world.
Sudan is like a huge old photograph that treasures historical secrets, and if black is the national background, then white is the background.
Isn't it? You see, on the street, Sudanese men are dressed in white robes with long white cloths tied up on their heads, just like the Chinese Avanti. According to reports, Sudan is located in a high temperature desert area, loose and flowing Arabic robes can not only quickly reflect light and heat dissipation, form a ventilation pipe inside, air circulates from bottom to top, making the human body feel cool, but also can effectively resist the sandstorm that hits the sky.
Sudanese men's clothing▲
Wearing white robes is a symbol of fashion and status in Sudan, and it is not uncommon for heads of state and high-ranking officials to wear large white robes to attend feasts. At that time, I didn't know the meaning of wearing white robes, but once, at Nyala Airport, I saw a group of gentlemen in white robes waiting for the flight, the white robes and white turbans were very clean, contrasting with the black face
In addition to white, the colors of the Arabic robe are dark blue, dark gray, dark brown and black. However, no matter what color you wear, it must be long and do not show your shoulders and legs. If you show your shoulders in a public place, you will make jokes, and in serious cases, you will be punished by the police. Students dress more casually, and Muslim girls have to wrap their heads in another white cloth, especially when taking photos, and the whole body must be tightly wrapped.
Sudan has a bird that is white and prefers to move in flocks, similar to the continental egret, but many times larger than the egret. They usually like to walk on the ground and look for food in garbage dumps, and people call them "garbage birds". The name is indecent, but the bird is extremely beautiful. Flocks flew up, the sky was white, like flowing white clouds, spectacular.
Sudanese Lady Army▲
As soon as you get off the plane, you know what a "black African" is.
In large cities or tourist attractions in China, it is common to see dark-skinned foreign friends, but they have never been in close contact, let alone have any dealings.
When I first came to Sudan, I was curious about what I saw, so I took the camera in my hand and started filming. But in the airport, a "solid" black man wearing a camouflage uniform military uniform and a long gun on his shoulder walked up to me, pointed at the camera in my hand and chattered for a while, and from the gesture I understood what he meant, the airport cannot be filmed.
A beautiful black woman▲
We were greeted by local dark-skinned soldiers, the first black man I came into contact with in Sudan. The friend who came to pick us up told us that Sudan is an Islamic country, and it is very sensitive and taboo to compare and photograph, not only the military forbidden place cannot take pictures, but also ordinary pedestrians walking on the street, can not take pictures casually. Sudanese women, in particular, are tightly wrapped in their heads and faces, and cannot be photographed by others, and if they are discovered by the ubiquitous plainclothes police, they will buckle the machine, which is very troublesome.
Sudanese mercenary soldiers▲
Despite all the unpleasantness, I found many lovely things about black people. Sultan, Arabic means "country of blacks". Most men and women have tall bodies, thick lips, curly hair close to the scalp, and colorful braids. Their skin was dark and shiny, oily and shiny, like silk satin. This is a skin that adapts to the hot climate of Africa, resisting strong ultraviolet rays, sandstorms. I started to like black Africans a little bit. Once, on a small United Nations airliner, a Sudanese next door wanted to talk to me, but he just gestured with his hand to say some simple Chinese city names, such as Xi'an and Nanjing, but unfortunately I did not speak Arabic and could not communicate. Another time, in the humble departure lounge in Khartoum, a black African officer saw the red Chinese flag on my camouflage uniform and offered to take a picture with me.
Very sexy very black girl▲
When you come to Sudan, you can't fail to talk about Sudan's specialty - black wood. This kind of wood has a delicate texture, black and translucent, hard texture, anti-termite and anti-natural dry cracking characteristics, especially after polishing black and shiny, it looks luxurious and elegant, so "African ebony" is often used to describe African beauty. In Khartoum's European street, specializing in various works of art carved in black wood, animals such as African elephants, and Sudanese beauties and other human figures, ever-changing, rich in expressions, lifelike, with its simple lines, rough shapes, imaginative exaggeration, deformation and ancient, mysterious charm to impress. I bought a few black wood rolling pins with Chinese characteristics and treasured them all the time, and when I saw them, it was like hearing the dense leather drumming and gentle high-pitched singing of the Sudanese, which gave people a strong shock.
True Sudanese blacks▲
The world of yellow - the sandstorm is coming!
It was a summer afternoon, the clear sky suddenly darkened, and then a large yellow net shrouded the earth from the vast space, accompanied by the whistling wind.
The sandstorm of Sudan was like a grumpy yellow-robed monster, tearing, roaring, shaking its body, and the overwhelming yellow sand fell, and the whole world was filled with yellow. This is the yellow world that everyone who sets foot on Sudanese soil should know.
From the plane to get a bird's eye view of Sudan, everything is submerged in a chaotic yellow halo, which is an endless sea of sand. When the plane is about to fall, careful people will find that in the sea of sand, there are still sparsely dotted gray-brown grass houses, like grass mustard floating in the ocean.
Yellow sandstorm▲
In the arid desert of Sudan, there is still a beautiful river - the Nile. In Khartoum, I had the privilege of witnessing the Nile: it was a flowing yellow, like the Yellow River in China. I think it must be the color of the turbulent current, rolling up the yellow sand at the bottom of the river. The source of the Nile is the Kagera River in Burundi, which flows through Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda, flows from the west into Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa, and crosses several large lakes, mixing with many rivers and is called the White Nile. The waters of the White Nile sing along the way, forming a unique landscape where the Sudanese capital Khartoum meets another Blue Nile from Ethiopia, before entering the Nile Delta through the Egyptian capital and finally emptying into the Mediterranean Sea. Standing on the Nile Bridge, I gazed at the yellow river that had precipitated dust, imagining how people on both sides of the river were sipping precious river water, multiplying in the desert for generations.
Perhaps for the sake of stealth, many animals in Sudan also appear yellow or yellowish, the same color as the desert... So animal fur here is so precious that many people take risks.
African elephants
The Republic of Sudan (Arabic: جمهورية السودان; English: Republic of the Sudan), the main ethnic groups include Arabs, Bejas, Fur, Nuba and blacks, of which 70% are Arabs.
Sudan has a long history and has been home to the Nubians for generations. It was part of ancient Egypt from 2800 BC to 1000 BC, and became independent from Egyptian rule around 950 BC, establishing the Kingdom of Qush, which ruled Egypt at its strongest. In the 7th century AD, the Arabs moved in large numbers, the Kingdom of Fingi emerged in the 15th century, and the Fur established the Kingdom of Kordofan and the Sultanate of Darfur in the 17th century. In the 70s of the 19th century, British power expanded from Egypt to Sudan. In 1899, Sudan was administered by the Anglo-Egyptian Commonwealth. Condominium was abolished in 1951. It became independent as the Republic of the Sudan on 1 January 1956. It was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Sudan in 1969 and again in 1985.
Khartoum, the capital of Sudan
Sudan is one of the richest countries in terms of investment value in tourism, such as African wildlife, birds and Nile natural landscapes. The climate of Sudan presents a wide variety of climatic conditions, with the Red Sea region having a moderate climate, especially in the highlands similar to the Erkwiet summer tourist resort. Sudan has more than 700 kilometers of the Red Sea coast, especially represented by boats - boating, paddling, diving, underwater photography and many other tourist projects. Sudan also enjoys the heritage of ancient civilizations, attracting many domestic and foreign tourists. These heritages are concentrated in the northern region, including Al-Musawarat, Karima, Merowie, Al-Berkal, Dongola and elsewhere in Al-Nag. The remains of pyramids and temples are still being unearthed in these and other places, also testifying to the ancient civilization here.
Local herd of camels▲
Central Sudan includes: Sennar and Sinja, home to the ruins of the ancient Al-Funj kings. In the capital, the eastern and western states of Mahdi hold many ancient relics. Ancient ruins of the country's history that are worth foreign tourists from other regions and reflect the glory and history of the Sudanese people. In the eastern Sawakin region, on the Red Sea, there are a large number of ancient ruins, indicating the presence of major historical periods in Sudan.
"Sultan Jiangchengzi ▪ Reminisces of the Past" - anon
Don't dream about it. Don't think, think again.
Thousands of miles of barriers, there is no way to say a long story.
The two places are the same, the Sultan dreams, return home.
It's like meeting in a dream. Hearts hugging, emotions rippling.
Holding hands and caring for each other, only tears and thousands of lines.
Talk about leaving sorrow and bitterness, dream the world, never forget.