Hope after US move to end isolation

Serene Assir - In a bustling market in central Khartoum, Sudanese applauded the US decision announced earlier Monday to welcome their country back into the international fold, voicing optimism for their future after decades of isolation.

"It means a lot of hope," said medical student Suha Anas, a 21-year-old woman in a black abaya gown, as she munched on a traditional Sudanese sweet.

The US removal of Sudan from its state sponsors of terrorism blacklist, she said, will impact people's lives in multiple ways, including the world's perception of her fellow citizens.

"I definitely think that people will no longer think of me as a terrorist," she told AFP in fluent English.

"It shows that we are a peaceful country, that we don't like conflict."

For nearly three decades, the United States had blacklisted Sudan over harbouring Islamist militants.

Monday's decision opens the way for aid, debt relief and investment to a country going through a rocky political transition and struggling under a severe economic crisis exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘EVERYONE HAPPY’

Ferial Ali Mohammad, an elderly former civil servant with traditional henna drawings on her hands and fingertips, smiled as she told AFP that "this news makes everyone happy".

She believes Sudan's long period of isolation is the main reason for the country's economic woes, including its high unemployment, which the International Labour Organisation (ILO) puts at nearly 17%.

"Isolation is the cause of the economic problems that we are suffering," said Mohammad, who wore a pink headscarf over her hair. "If we weren't isolated, the economy would not be in this state."

For months, Sudan's currency has been wracked by hyper-inflation, soaring by 254% year-on-year in November.

On Monday, in another sign of optimism over the US move, the value of the Sudanese pound against the US dollar went from 250 to 240 on the black market.

When former president Omar al-Bashir was deposed in April 2019, one US dollar equalled 76 Sudanese pounds.

INVESTMENTS

Ali Adam Hamed Abouna, a 54-year-old sports journalist passing through the Souq al-Arabi market in the heart of the Sudanese capital, said he believes the US decision will attract "many investments".

"Many American and other companies that couldn't operate here will now be able to do so, and the Sudanese economy will benefit," he said.

"We were suffering because we were closed off from the rest of the world. We need the outside world, we need foreign expertise, we need foreign currency."

Abouna also believes a more dynamic, globalised economy will help shrink corruption and the black market, which remains a feature of the country's landscape, much to the chagrin of many Sudanese.

"I think this will contribute to bringing the price of dollar down, and therefore weaken the black market," he said.

Al-Bushari Moussa, a 48-year-old mechanical engineer, was somewhat more cautious, seeing the US move as just the beginning of a long process.

"Of course the news ... is a cause of joy for any Sudanese and for any person who wants the best for his country," he said.

"But my view is different. I think that an economic turnaround is in the hands of the Sudanese people."

Still, Moussa remains optimistic.

"Now, we have an opportunity in our hands," he said. – Nampa/AFP