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Message to General Burhan of Sudan

Reading Time: 5 minutes

By Dr. Ahmed Gumaa Siddiek

General, 

I am very fond of those stripes 

On your chest and shoulder, with different sizes

 

I am fond of the stars, brightly shining

And the sword by your side, proudly dangling

 

I am fond of eagles on your shoulders,

With golden wings, flying like winds

And your fingers full with rings

 

I am fond of your chest

Full with rainbow colours

Medals with different sizes and shapes

Medals of silver and gold

Some are new and some were old

Shinning in the sun form your military suit

In fact, general, 

I am also fond of your boot

That fits beautifully in your foot.

Newly brushed, and to be fair

It is always shining in the air

Making a fearful rhythm

When you tread the floor

With your mighty power

 

General, I love your entire look

Arrogant and tall in features

Smart and slim in your pictures

 

I am fond of the way you instruct your soldiers

To carry out your orders

But I really tremble with fear

When I hear

Your voice raised too harsh

To make your soldiers begin the march

 

And although it is so tough and harsh, 

They go straightforward, keep the lines and march

 

Active and attractive when they walk

Though they are not allowed to talk;

They just walk as proud as the peacocks

 

General, I am fond of those embellishments on your shoulders

But I always ask how you got all of that stuff? 

Is it through giving orders?  to your soldiers? 

To aim their guns and shoot at the enemy? 

That is what people say, including ME! ! 

 

It is natural that all Generals give instructions

To defend their nations

And keep borders safer from invasions

 

This is what I understand that you all stay, 

Awake, during the day

And during the whole night,

With your guns, ready to fight

 

With eyes open against intruders or spies

Who may tread our land or cross the skies

Then you shoot them and bring them down

To make safer all our towns

 

My General, I understand that you took an oath

To defend the Sudanese people 

All Sudanese, everywhere, 

In the seas or in the air

On the land 

Or under the sand

 

General, you took the oath

To defend the honor of the Sudanese country

By all means, by planes, by tanks, 

By machine guns or by infantry

 

Then when you win the war and come back

Defeating the enemy and making victory

We all feel proud of you as our hero

And put you name in the book of history

 

Then we reward you with medals of gold and silver

Stripes on your chest or on your shoulders

And  rings in your beautiful fingers

Because you defended the people and the land

And because you make the victory

We hail your bravery

To be the hero of the county

So, that will be your dowry

 

This is what I understand about 

all the Generals’ work here or out there

To defend the people and the land 

and toil with blood their own sand

 

But I do not understand your role in Sudan

My country, 

Your country, 

Their country,

Our country,

For all those years but for centuries

 

Although you still look like all Generals

Gentle and handsome in your military suit

And full with pride from head to foot

 

But my questions now, how did you get all of that stuff? 

Including your shining boot?? 

How did you get all those medals on your suit? 

 

Is that because you defeated our enemy at the borders? 

Because you carried out all the orders? 

And brought back Halaib and Shlatin? 

Brought back our dignity in the Fashaga

Or because of killing your people in your own country

In the Military  Square? 

And other places somewhere? 

 

And this what you have practically done

Killed our people with their own guns

Eliminated millions of souls

Hitting their heads on the walls

 

In the South and in the West

And destroyed the land and the people

In the North and in the East.

And millions, displaced

In the four corners of the world.

 

General, we have bought all those machines

We paid for your training in our best military colleges

To be equipped with skills and knowledge

To defend the people and the land

This is what you should understand

 

And we have sent some of you

To the best military schools abroad

To Sand Hurst in UK, 

And West Point in the USA

 

Then some to Russia

To fly the Sukhoi and the Antonov

And skillfully use the Kalashnikov

And steer warships in the seas

To disperse all our enemies

 

General, your training was well done

Getting the best education

But you have achieved none

To defend the nation

 

So instead of killing the enemy

You killed your own people, in cold blood

Shooting them like dogs in the streets of Khartoum

Where your tanks used to roam

Day and night, devastating the city

With endless of atrocity

 

And then you proudly come to tell us the story

And speak about your victory

To celebrate the Sudanese soldiers’ bravery! 

 

General, you’re always proud

That you fought bravely all over the world

And all around

 

You always keep saying that: 

‘We fought the German in the Desert and won’

But I say that was not our war!! 

 

‘We fought in Mexico and won’

But that was not our war

 

‘We defeated the Italian in Karan’

But that was not our war

 

‘We fought in Kuwait’

But that was not our war

 

‘We had been to the Congo some years ago’

But all were not our wars

 

‘We had been to Jordan and Lebanon’

But that was not our war

 

‘Now we fought the Shia’a in the Yemen’

But that was not our war

 

‘We fought for the Aqsa Mosque’

Yes, the work was well done

But thankfulness was none

 

You fought with the Egyptian in Saini

But this work they forget or deny

 

All you did was not our war

It was a waste of our men

Loss of dignity and much more

 

You General have lost your men

And we have lost our pride

Our honour and dignity

And lost identity as well as unity

 

General, 

We have lost twice

We have lost thrice

For no good price

For no good reason

IT was all treason

 

Do you know who you killed yesterday? 

That was Doctor Babkir

A young lad with a degree from (U of K)  Medical School

And master’s degree from Liverpool

Then a Ph.D. from Cambridge

Where he gained the best of knowledge

Exerted efforts in medicine all his age

He did well and got his degree

And came back to Sudan to live happy and free

 

He was back to Sudan with great wealth

To take care of our people’s health

But you got him terminated

When he raised his voice for freedom

A sniper shot him down to death

And stopped his breath

With a five-pound bullet at his head

He brought him dead

 

With a shot between the eyes

Who cares for his mother’s cries? 

Who cares for his sister’s cries? 

 

But we all do, General

We all do to get revenge

We will be fair and never forget

Because we care and we will avenge

 

So general, it is high time to step down

From the back of my town

Spare your machines for the enemy

Not for your people in the Sudan

Just step down

 

Take away your guns from our chest

It is time to get some rest

 

BUT REMEMBER GENERAL THAT

We had spared every penny

And paid our own money

To equip you with the best machines

To defend the people and the land

And toiling the sand

 

We made you get the best education

To defend the nation

 

But General!! 

You have broken the oath

And achieved none

As nothing has been done

Nothing was done

Nothing done

Nothing and NONE

 

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