We are disgusted indeed

A little over a month ago, I left the Sudanese embassy in Cairo feeling powerless and sad. Arriving there, I was expecting to see more Sudanese people registering. You see, in April, we are expected to have our first general elections in 24 years  and if you want to vote, you need to register.

What’s the point of having elections if most people don’t register ?

The turnout was low, in Sudan and in embassies all over the world. The common answer or excuse , whatever you want to call it, was ” we know who is going to win, so why waste gas money if nothing is going to change”.

Here we are, 20 years after a bloodless coup overturned a democratically-elected government , living in an oppressive dictatorship and expecting to wake up one morning and ..voila…find a politically-stable democratic government.

I went home feeling disappointed . I ranted , rambled and complained.

Then, I went back to my favorite hobby, googling Sudan-related articles.

I was pissed and I started angrily jabbing my keyboard.

Google:- Sudan, elections, movement, registration, please!

I came across a website, Girifna, a small, but growing movement lead by three guys in Khartoum, Sudan. One day in late October, they were hanging out and an idea came to their minds, why aren’t people registering? They had to take action.

Girifna, we are disgusted (literally) was born. It’s a movement to bring down the current government in a peaceful way, by spreading awareness and encouraging Sudanese people to vote in the general elections.

Their website is armed with a bilingual “About us” page.

About their mission, they state that 

“ this is a unique opportunity to bring peaceful change and to rid Sudan of a regime that has ruled for 20 years through tanks and bullets. It is also a chance to show respect to those who paid with the their lives for democratic transformation brought through the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the constitutional right for peaceful change through free and fair elections.”

Their campaign is supported by a frequently-updated blog and website, a growing Facebook group and a field presence in which they provide much-needed educational information for supporters to use.

They urge supporters to spread the knowledge and love in a number of ways.

If you want to spread awareness and you are faced with an illiterate individual,  they add, ” use simple language,illustrations, music, theater plays, etc…”

After I found Girifna’s website and joined their Facebook group, I was inspired and overwhelmed with a great sense of nationalism. People were making noise. It’s fine to not want to go out there and protest, the police forces are brutal and as humans we like protecting ourselves. However, the “garfaneen” are making noise, just like a lot of people, from their rooms.

If the pen is “mightier than the sword”, then I’m sure the laptop is as mighty.

PS:- I would like to keep all of you updated because this election is going to be HUGE! We are going to be creative and modern. So, tune to Al-jazeera if you want, but don’t forget the virtual world!

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