I'm having a difficult time now that I'm in the US for a few days and mass protests are breaking out in Sudan.
The protests began on Saturday when female protestors from the University of Khartoum dorms protested the ever-increasing food prices and transportation costs. They walked over to the male dorms and male and female students left the dorms in large numbers.
The protest was aborted by the police who attacked the students in an attempt to disperse them.
The students did not succumb and continued protesting the rest of the day and on Sunday, the situation escalated and the police entered the university campus.
The students were beaten and viciously attacked, however, they fought back and kicked out the police from the campus.
The protests continue and have spread to Sudan and Ahlia Universities and there are reports of protests in Jackson Square in downtown Khartoum, in Kober (a neighborhood in Bahri) and Burri (a neighborhood in Khartoum).
I'm trying my best to tweet and retweet to connect Sudan to the world and spread awareness, but I feel really sad that I'm not there.
When I left Sudan, over a week ago, I was very down. I visited a friend who is a journalist the day before I left and she told me that sometimes she thinks we , the activists, are the crazy ones.
"Why are the people not out there on the streets?" we have been asking this question for sometime now. We are probably one of the most revolutionary people in the world, we have revolted a number of times in history against the colonial powers and against two military dictatorships in 1964 and 1985, why not now?
So today when I got up early in the morning to make calls, send emails and read the latest news, I couldn't help but burst into tears.
I was very happy that students are finally rising and my disappointment is replaced by a lot of positive energy.
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