Sudan’s War: When a Journalist Becomes a Driver and an Engineer Turns Farmer

Report by Yasser Abdullah

When war erupted in Sudan on April 15, 2023, journalist Abu Ubaida Abdullah found himself unemployed. He shifted between professions he had no experience in—trading, telecommunications, and finally, working as a driver traveling between states in his car.

Abdullah, the former managing editor of the newspaper Alyoum Altali, said that after the war broke out, all media institutions and printing presses—most of which were based in central Khartoum—ceased operations. He remained in the capital for a month before packing up and heading to El-Obeid in North Kordofan State, his hometown.

The first crisis he faced there was finding a source of income to support his family. He initially worked distributing soft drinks, but it didn’t yield the expected return. He then shifted to distributing plastic bags to shops, which were brought from Wad Madani in central Sudan. However, this work came to a halt after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) invaded Al-Jazira State and took control of Wad Madani on December 19, 2023.

Profit and Loss

Abu Ubaida, 40, and his brothers rented a shop in El-Obeid market and opened a supermarket. Though they made decent profits, expenses exceeded revenues, forcing them to shut it down.

He then purchased a Starlink device to provide internet services, working with it for four months and making good income that allowed him to support his family. But the project came to an end after communication networks were restored in El-Obeid.

With few options left after the city’s siege was lifted, he returned to Khartoum—after it was retaken by the Sudanese army—and started working as a professional driver, using the car he had left in a safe area in Omdurman. He now transports passengers between northern cities such as Shendi, Atbara, Merowe, and Dongola.

Abu Ubaida expressed deep regret that newspaper publishers and owners had shown “no concern whatsoever for their staff since the outbreak of the war, abandoning them to face their fate alone without any assistance or alternatives.”

Challenges

Meanwhile, Osman Sayed Ahmed, 56, a maintenance engineer at DAL Food Company and father of eight, said that the day war broke out remains etched in his memory. After staying in Khartoum for about 45 days, he moved to Al-Jazira State and settled with his family in the village of Al-Tarjama, where they were warmly welcomed by the locals.

Osman and his children searched for work for days until they found a job on a farm, where the owner paid them generously out of sympathy for their displacement—40,000 Sudanese pounds (less than $20).

Despite having no experience in farming, they successfully cultivated 15 feddans (about 15 acres) and earned a decent sum. However, with the arrival of the rainy season, all sources of income vanished, and Osman had to rely on his previous savings.

Preparing the Land for Farming

Osman decided to pursue farming further. He rented a plot of land for 60,000 pounds and planted okra and cucumbers. The project initially succeeded, but heavy rainfall and floods destroyed the crops. Undeterred, he replanted after the water receded and began harvesting. He distributed the first yield of okra for free to local villagers.

With help from his children, he harvested 22 sacks of okra and then began picking cucumbers, selling each sack for 15,000 pounds. Afterward, he planned to grow legumes and prepared the land for that purpose.

“I started to forget the war after the success of the farming experience,” Osman said. “But just as we were getting ready to plant again, the RSF invaded Al-Jazira State. Life came to a complete halt—communications and electricity were cut off—and they started raiding homes, looting, and stealing.”

He decided to flee Al-Jazira, using up all his savings to secure safe passage for his family. They headed north to Shendi and settled in the village of Al-Juweir, where he worked harvesting onions for two months before work dried up during Ramadan. He then turned to selling clothes, shoes, and later food items—but the income was minimal.

The Return

“When war reached Shendi—after RSF drone attacks and an assault on the Hajar Al-Asal area south of the city—life slowed down and many people left,” Osman said.

He met a friend in Bahri (Khartoum North) who offered him a rickshaw (a three-wheeled motorbike taxi) to use without charge, on the condition that he maintain it. The earnings from this job were barely enough to meet his family’s needs.

“We lived this harsh reality for a whole year. Then, after the army liberated Al-Jazira, Bahri, and Khartoum, people started returning—and I was among them.”

Osman is now living in the Kadro neighborhood of North Bahri, working in construction for a daily wage of 7,000 to 10,000 Sudanese pounds, and also repairing electrical appliances.

The greatest lesson he took from this “very harsh and bitter” experience is that “it’s possible to live and get by with the simplest things.”

Source: Al Jazeera Net