The Face of Truth: Take me back to the Nile… Don’t ask about the fatigue
Ibrahim Shglawi
Yesterday, I strolled with a number of friends through Khartoum, this city groaning under the wounds of war, which still holds in its soil enough nostalgia to awaken the memory of an entire homeland and some remnants of ink. A capital that used to be the mirror and the compass of the country—though the traitors tried to tarnish it in the night of treachery and betrayal—here it is regaining its face with a determination that knows no compromise, retreat, or defeat.
We observed almost non-stop activity. The efforts of the state government to rehabilitate infrastructure are no longer hidden from anyone, alongside scattered initiatives to repair what the war has destroyed—from hospitals to roads to schools. There is a real return beginning to pulse through the city, but it cannot be complete without a popular awakening and national awareness that gives this return a soul and meaning. For it is known that the state alone cannot bring a city back to life; it is the human being—through their will, their longing, their participation, and their effort—who does.
Until the words of our great poet Sayf al-Din al-Disouqi—”Take me back to the Nile, don’t ask about the fatigue”—become a collective pass into a homeland that does not accept its people to be exiled or reduced to war wounds. Whoever carries this love for the homeland must not hesitate to carry the tools of construction, to establish a new phase and a vivid dream that has long haunted the people of Khartoum: the return of life as it was—or even better.
Omdurman, present in this scene as always, was and still is the most expressive model of the Sudanese people’s ability to overcome hardship. The city that embraces every shade of political, social, and artistic spectrum has reopened its markets, mosques, and memory—which some sought to erase. Because it is a city brimming with beauty and compassion, bearing a rich history of night tales and the yearning of lovers. When Omdurman returns, it does not return for itself alone; it compels Khartoum to return as well.
Omdurman—of heritage, knowledge, values, and belonging; its market unites beds and perfumes, luxurious books filled with generational experiences, sellers of baklava, konafa, and lemon juice. A city that birthed radio, theater, and parliament, and embraced poets, singers, revolutionaries… and the people of remembrance, thought, and brilliance. When Khalil Farah said: “Open the stream to the locks,” he was evoking a national memory overflowing with belonging, dignity, and love for the people.
Just as the city resisted colonialism and the life of endurance, today it resists destruction with the same spirit Khalil Farah sang: “Strolling, my lord, barefoot and shaven-headed, along the tram-torn road”—a path unknown to those who came to burn, steal, erase identity, and snatch memories that never belonged to them.
This vivid symbolism that Omdurman represents must be drawn upon in all parts of the state. Rebuilding Khartoum requires adopting the philosophy of “returning to the soul.” Al-Merrikh Stadium has been cleaned, the land port reactivated, a number of hospitals reopened, roads are being paved these days, and water stations in Al-Mogran and Bahri and electricity in all transformer stations are being put back into service. Khartoum, with its geographic and human diversity, is the beating heart of Sudan. Therefore, today we are called upon to show solidarity and unity, and for popular and official efforts to go hand in hand to accelerate the pace of reconstruction.
The ongoing administrative and security reforms in Khartoum State are commendable, but they should not occur in isolation from youth mobilization. For the people, as Disouqi described them, are more precious than gold; the real reliance is on their ability to transform destruction into a new promise, into a developmental revival that astonishes those who once imagined plundering it through their deceitful options.
In this scene, the state government faces major challenges: securing fuel, reactivating facilities, containing epidemics, and restoring health and education services. But the greatest challenge remains in rebuilding trust. More than 70,000 citizens returned to Khartoum during April. While this return reflects an improvement in conditions, it also presents a significant challenge to the authorities in terms of providing basic services, ensuring security, and integrating these numbers into an economic, social, and service system that everyone must be part of. Life in Khartoum has become a decision.
Khartoum, ladies and gentlemen, is not merely a place we return to—it is a moment from our first awareness of values and belonging, a calling to a nostalgia that never ages. As Disouqi said: “Take me back to the Nile, don’t ask about the fatigue,” the return to it is not an act of hardship, but an inner submission to something resembling destiny. It is the city that knows its people and lovers—it knows us more than we know it… This is the #Face_of_Truth.
Wishing you well and in good health.
Monday, April 12, 2025
Shglawi55@gmail.com