Madani is Free
By: Abdulaziz Ali Omer
Last Friday, during an amicable dialogue in a football field in Gedaref state,, a Madani resident expressed his longing to return to his home town. We said that a voluntary repatriation would be possible at least estimate before next Ramadan, and he replied defiantly , “No, tomorrow.” What a happy coincidence! That happened to be January 11th, and as if the kind fate had responded to his wish, the army announced the liberation of Madani crossing Hantoob bridge. . Al-Judi Grocery is located on a street that represents the vibrant meeting point of the transportation lines of Suakin Erkowit and Abayo, which are hospitable areas where many of freedom thirsting people gathered on both sides of the public road to celebrate, chanting, “One Army… One People.” All the forces are Madani Juwa, meaning inside Madani. The fervent enthusiasm of the cheering crowds obviously increased when young members of the regular troops appeared on top of a public vehicle and got out of it to participate in the victory dance and organize traffic amidst the powerful and melodious ululations of women in an atmosphere interspersed with the defeaning sounds of sporadic gunfire in the air as an expression of an euphoria. The drivers and passengers were not bothered by the traffic jam. They seemed glad , relieved, and they raised thier fists shouting ” Allahu Akbar” or waved the Sudanese flag, the victory sign while smiling and beaming . The Gedaref dance for the triumph of Madani is the only rival of Khartoum Dance described by the poet Abdel Sabour and sung by the legendary artist Sayed Khalifa:
Neither the samba nor the rumba is equal to it
Neither the tango nor the swingo is comparable to it
No drum beaten among the Arabs on the day of revenge
No dance of the Red Indians around the fire
Neither this nor that
Neither the world and everything in it is equal to the Khartoum Dance on victory day.
The streets of Gedaref stood as a witness to the extent of genuine people’s love for their country and their hatred of injustice. A few days ago, they commemorated the 69th anniversary of independence and their ecstacy doubled with the recovery of their beloved city Madani. They cried out with delight and pride, distrubuted sweets , invited thier fellow celebrants to share feasts , prostrated in gratitude, met, embraced and exchanged mutual congratulations on the occasion of winning for their injured dignity.
Inside their homes, jubilant families clustered around T.Vs to follow with concern the spate of spontaneous victory celebrations in other Sudanese cities, where huge processions of the masses took to the streets carrying a banner that read “Smile, you are in Wad Madani, the capital of culture and beauty.” The audience extended thier thanks and salutations to the armed and joined Forces, the North Shield, young enlisted fighters, police,security and Intelligence.
Ir’s sad that the local media reported two or three cases of fatalities resulting from stray bullets during ceremones, and such a deplorable incident requires implementing the rational calls for imposing ban on firing joy shots becauss the reckless use of ammunition is a cause of undue intimidation and mortality.
At a time when displaced people began to think about returning to Madani, the competent authorities announced that they had to be. Waiting as a precaution until the streets are cleared of any strewn foreign objects or explosive waste to preserve community safety. We wish a speedy healing to the wounded and send condolences to all the families of the martyrs in all African revolutions for freedom, peace and justice.