Journalists... War Tears Apart the Struggles of the Profession
moatinoon - Ali Al-Tahir
The war that erupted in mid-April last year displaced over 600 Sudanese journalists who went without salaries for a full six months. They endured hardship and toil to provide financial support for their families, whose lives have become filled with sad stories and tragedies that were not published on the pages of their suspended newspapers, numbering 25 daily, weekly, and specialized publications.
The tragic stories of these journalists serve as a firsthand witness to the harsh realities they face. Media institutions and newspaper owners abandoned their employees, and the war forcibly changed their way of life. Nevertheless, most of them set aside their pens and left the newsrooms to seek a living in various marginal jobs in the cities of the states they fled to, far away from the newsrooms.
Rami Mahkur, a professional journalist, used to need only a quarter of an hour to commute from his home in Omdurman to his workplace at the Kuwaiti Building in central Khartoum, where he worked for Hala Radio. However, the war disrupted his creative journey, which he used to broadcast live on the airwaves along with his colleagues. The scattered bullets above the Fatahitab Square area forced him to flee to El Doweim city and then to Kosti, the capital of the White Nile State.
Rami, who posted a photo on his Facebook account while driving a rickshaw, said, I work at Hala Radio, but, of course, the institution shut down because its location is in the Kuwaiti Building near the presidential palace, which is a dangerous conflict zone, and work is impossible. After that, I moved to the White Nile State and started working in mobile advertising, producing advertisements on demand. We didnt stick to fixed prices because we understand peoples circumstances and the countrys situation. Things are going well, thank God. After that, we tried to work in other professions, including rickshaws, but it didnt succeed. However, we resist through some small jobs to survive.
As for the talented journalist Khader Masoud, the editor-in-chief of Al-Yawm Al-Tali newspaper, he left his residence in Al-Hattanah area in Omdurman, carrying his family members, and traveled under difficult conditions to Kosti. There, he put his certificates and professional experience aside in his bags at home, entering the market to buy and sell. Regarding his situation and the bitter experience he went through due to the war, Khader Masoud said, In fact, the situation of the journalists who fled from Khartoum is tragic and sad. Most of them resorted to marginal jobs after all newspapers stopped paying salaries, except for specific newspapers that paid their employees half salaries as grants in April last year. All the colleagues I met didnt receive their salaries. These bad financial conditions have forced journalists to work in marginal jobs.
Khader Masoud added, For example, we came here, and with the help of a generous person, I started working in the White Nile State. We left our primary profession and joined marginal jobs away from our specialization. Some of us sell clothes, others work in mobile balance transfer, producing advertisements according to demand. We didnt stick to fixed prices because we understand peoples circumstances and the countrys situation. Things are going well. After that, we tried to work in other professions, including rickshaws, but it didnt succeed. However, we resist through some small jobs to survive.
Under the hail of bullets and artillery shells, the young journalist Amar Hassan, known as Al-Risha, left his home with his family, feeling his way to safety before settling with them in the Fatahitab area in the far northwest of Omdurman. After making sure of his familys safety, the active journalist bent down to his home, guarding it amidst suffering and imminent danger. Amar Al-Risha said, Materially, I consider myself one of the lucky journalists, thank God. My financial situation is good and has not been affected by the outbreak of the war like most colleagues. My financial situation is good, although my brothers who used to help me with household expenses had their work stopped due to the war, and I became the sole provider for the entire family, as they say.
Amar continued, My problem is not the money that the majority of my colleagues suffer from, but there are other problems that hinder my journalistic work. The first is poor communication and internet services, which hinder communication with sources. There is also the problem of electricity supply, which is cut off for long periods and affects devices. The most complicated problem is the precarious security situation. I am currently in a conflict zone, the Thawra Street, which is a scene of continuous clashes. The security situation is very bad, with heavy military presence obstructing the filming process and polling the citizens. We also find it very difficult to access markets and shelter centers because at any moment, we could be looted by armed men, especially since these volatile areas have witnessed many repeated incidents of assault and looting.
As for the journalist specialized in economics and financial affairs, Rahab Abdullah, she left a wound in her heart that continued to bleed after losing her colleague and professional companion, Aidah Qassis. Before she could heal her wounds, the sounds of artillery and the explosions of shells pursued her until her house in Al-Kalakla, south of Khartoum, cracked. She was forced to leave with her sick mother to her hometown, Shendi, north of Khartoum, which she reached after an exhausting and risky journey. There, in her homeland, she did not receive any aid but continued to struggle to cover her mothers medical bills and provide for her living expenses, in addition to the exorbitant rent, as a single room costs 350 Sudanese pounds, which she pays from her income as a journalist facing many obstacles, including the weak communication with sources and internet interruptions.
Ahmed Khalil, the specialized economic journalist, was not in a better situation than his colleague Rahab Abdullah, although he returned to his familys embrace and lived in the large family house in the Al-Dibaga neighborhood in the heart of Wad Madani city, located about 180 kilometers south of the capital Khartoum. In his city, where he was born and raised, Ahmed Khalil did not feel a sense of displacement or alienation, but there were security restrictions that hindered his journalistic work, which requires freedom of movement and investigation. This was revealed by Ahmed during a press conference held this month with the governor of Al-Jazirah State, in which he asked the governor to remove these restrictions so that he can do his journalistic work, which he depends on to support his family and cover his living expenses.
The war, which targeted its weapons at the heart of journalism, did not stop at killing seven journalists; it also closed the doors of media institutions and tore apart the lives of journalists before scattering them among the states, leaving them in dire circumstances, living modestly but with dignity.
