“We have had enough of silence,” said 27 year-old Amjed Farid, a doctor and member of Girifna, a civil society movement in Khartoum that, against all odds, is agitating for democratic participation in Sudan’s first multi-party elections in two decades.
The organization, whose name literally translates into “We are fed up” in Arabic, has engaged in voter education campaigns since last October, mobilizing citizens in northern Sudan to stand up and exercise their right to vote. Though a self-labeled apolitical organization, Girifna has resolutely called on the people of Sudan to vote the ruling NCP regime out of power. Their efforts have been met with resistance from Khartoum, whose security apparatus have unabashedly detained and abused the organization’s members.
Nevertheless, Girifna represents a form of grassroots opposition that could have a lasting effect on popular sentiment in Khartoum. For Farid, Girfina goes beyond traditional politicking—it goes beyond political parties and politicians, he says, it represents a “new hope” for the Sudanese people.
Click here to read more about Girifna in a new field dispatch by Enough’s Maggie Fick.
Photo: Girifna members march in a protest (Courtesy of Girifna)