One People… One Army

I followed with immense pride the spontaneous outpouring of the people after the army’s victories in Sennar city, its surrounding villages, and the events at the liberation of the Radio and Television buildings last February.

Wherever army officers and soldiers appeared, crowds spontaneously greeted them with hugs, tears of joy, cheers, ululations, and sacrifices of livestock, embodying the beloved slogan: “One Army… One People.”

There is no doubt that the army now represents the will of the people (except for traitors, doubters, and hypocrites, or as Christ said, “By their fruits, you will know them”).

Such unity of the people and embodiment of the nation’s will is unprecedented in Sudan’s history of wars. In previous conflicts, there was always some division or variation in support for the army, especially during the war in the south. But today, there is total consensus and full solidarity between the people and their armed forces. If this war has brought any benefit, it is this unity between the people and their armed forces, a unity that intimidates both friends and foes.

This unprecedented unity and solidarity place an enormous responsibility on the army leadership, officers, and soldiers who are sacrificing their lives to defend the nation’s sovereignty, dignity, and pride. They must always remember that their people deserve to live, to be defended, and for sacrifices to be made to uphold their dignity.

The militias humiliated the people, violated their dignity, assaulted their women and girls, and committed atrocities without conscience. Therefore, the army is tasked with not only defeating and crushing these militias but also restoring the nation’s pride and dignity. This task is not the army’s responsibility alone; it is a collective duty for all of us—intellectuals, thinkers, and patriots—to work together with full dedication and determination to meet the people’s aspirations for honor and pride.

Our vast and resource-rich country can accommodate us and millions more. So why should we wander the earth as exiles?

This unity must empower us to strive for greatness, no matter the costs and sacrifices. Nations are not built or developed through laziness, dependence, carelessness, or complacency. They are built through determination, persistence, hard work, the rule of law, justice, equality, creativity, and innovation.

This unity and solidarity must be harnessed to ignite the flames of progress for our people. Other nations have risen because they dedicated their time to hard work, not to hollow slogans or social pleasantries that neither produce wheat nor milk for children.

History teaches us that the bond between a people and their army is the key to a nation’s victory. That is why imperial powers and their regional proxies have always sought to drive a wedge between the people and the army, isolating the latter and working openly to dismantle it. This would facilitate the colonization and plundering of our country, leaving us a people without sovereignty or dignity, governed by a clueless tyrant whose only qualification was once being a failed donkey trader, later turned killer and thief.

These powers sought to reduce us to a laughingstock among nations. But they have failed and will continue to fail. Now, the world knows that our country has an army and a people ready to make every sacrifice, offering their lives and most precious resources to defend their nation’s pride and sovereignty.

This war has proven to the world that we are an enduring people whose women give birth to heroes, unlike the militias who produce only thieves and murderers.

The unity of a people behind their army can achieve miracles, as history has repeatedly shown.

Consider the example of Vietnam: The Vietnamese people (except for American collaborators) united behind the Viet Cong revolutionaries, rejecting the division of their country into North and South. They resisted French colonialism and defeated it after tremendous sacrifices. When the largest empire in history, the United States, invaded with over 500,000 troops equipped with the most advanced weapons and aircraft, the Vietnamese persevered through unspeakable suffering and drove them out, forcing them to retreat in humiliation.

The Vietnamese people’s unity, bravery, and unwavering determination to preserve their country’s sovereignty were the keys to their victory. This triumph shocked the world and affirmed that the will of the people is indomitable, regardless of the strength or destructiveness of their adversaries’ weapons.

How I wish the history of Vietnam’s struggle and sacrifices were taught to our children in schools, so they could learn how other peoples defended their nations, instead of the distorted history being taught today.

Undoubtedly, this wretched war has granted us an unprecedented national unity that we have lacked since independence. History and education remind us that unity and unwavering determination are essential prerequisites for progress.

The crucial question now is: How can we harness this unity and solidarity for the advancement of our humiliated people?

This is the fundamental challenge facing all of us—army, people, thinkers, intellectuals, and writers alike.

It is clear to all discerning minds that this war has—unintentionally—presented us with a historic opportunity to rally our fragmented people and place them on the path to progress.

This unity and the ongoing victory will be meaningless if we do not roll up our sleeves and channel our people’s revitalized energies onto the right path. We have the expertise, talents, and resources needed.

The challenge of rebuilding and advancing a nation is far greater than the challenges of war. But now we have the most critical component: unity.

Will we seize this opportunity and place our nation on the path to progress?

That is the real challenge. We must not let this opportunity slip away, no matter how great the obstacles.

The late leader Nelson Mandela once said:

“It is not done until it is done.”

One People… One Army.

This land is ours.