Editorial: Alarm Bell

Although the Sudanese people have always been known or so it has been said—for their religiosity, tolerance, and “kindness,” the great war of destruction that erupted in 2023 revealed to us another, more cruel and bitter side.
A side we hadn’t dared to acknowledge, but it emerged clearly, without makeup or flattery, in the daily behavior of the majority of people during the war.
We saw with our own eyes how morals collapsed in the face of the first harsh test, and how the ordeal turned into an arena where people fought each other, gnawing at what remained of the wounded nation.
Markets have turned into traps for the needy, and prices of essentials have risen at an insane rate, not only due to the shortage of goods, but also due to the blatant greed of merchants who have raised prices dozens of times over, disregarding the hungry, displaced, and sick.
Those who wanted to travel, receive medical treatment, or even obtain an official document found themselves victims of blackmail.
Conscience was absent, hearts hardened, and the weak became prey to everyone.
Some took advantage of the chaos to seize what didn’t belong to them: looted homes, seized apartments, stolen furniture, and goods plundered from public institutions supposedly “belonging to all of us.”
Even worse, some “educated,” “employees,” and “religious” people participated in this looting, seeing nothing wrong with it.
Manliness was the most significant absence. A few people helped their neighbors, sheltered them, or shared their possessions with them.
As for the majority, they chose selfishness and indifference, closed their doors, and silenced their consciences, as if those around them did not concern them.
It was strange that this happened in a society that raised the banner of Islam in everything.
Where is prayer, if it doesn’t forbid indecency and wrongdoing?
Where is fasting, if it doesn’t teach patience and chastity?
Where is the Quran, if it doesn’t deter theft and hypocrisy?
War didn’t create these morals; it exposed it.
It revealed what was hidden behind beautiful words, empty slogans, and false appearances.
It revealed the extent of the devastation in souls, before the devastation in the streets.