Sudanese Students Worried by Demonstrations in Their Country
Weeks of protests in Sudan are worrying and affecting students from that country at the American University in Dubai.
“I used to visit Sudan at every vacation, but since the protests started, my family and I don’t have any intention of going back until the situation calms down, despite the fact that most of my extended family is living there,” said Esraa Suliman, an AUD student.
Razan Al-Zain, a third-year Sudanese architecture student, said that the protests are making it difficult to contact those living in Sudan, “since internet has been cut off” in many places.” “It’s difficult to contact my mother, she has to use a VPN which isn’t always reliable.”
“ATMs don’t have money, gas stations don’t have gas, and bakeries don’t have bread, so it’s become very difficult to live there,” Al-Zain said.
Demonstrations in Sudan broke out in December after food prices trippled. The protests quickly turned into nationwide rallies against Omar al Bashir who has been ruling the country for three decades after a coup d’Etat in 1989.
Sudanese officials say 30 people have died in protest-related violence, the U.A.E.-based newspaper The National reported. The New York-based NGO Human Rights Watch says at least 51 people have been killed in clashes with security forces.
