Thursday Reflections: Haneen... A Withered Flower in the Furnace of the Sudanese War By Ibrahim Shglawi She handed me her story just like that—without details—leaving me the choice to use her real name or replace it with another. I chose to express her tragedy through the significance of this name, which they stripped of its meaning, beauty, and essence. This is how their war on a peaceful nation unfolds—driven by greed for its wealth and its people. Sudan will never forget, nor will it forget the betrayal. In one of Khartoum’s neighborhoods, which had turned into a battlefield, Haneen—a young woman in her twenties—dreamed of a bright future after graduating from medical school. But war leaves no space for dreams or aspirations. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia stormed into her life, turning her into a symbol of an unforgettable tragedy. One morning, while Haneen was helping her mother tidy up what remained of their crumbling home, RSF militants invaded the neighborhood—as they had done in many others. Their goal was not combat but rather to spread terror, loot property, and steal whatever they could lay their hands on. They stormed Haneen’s house, robbed the family of their remaining savings, and then committed heinous acts against the women, sparing no one. Haneen resisted with all her strength, but they were merciless beasts. Her suffering did not end there. She was forced to flee with her mother to another state, where she found herself in a displacement camp devoid of the basic necessities of life and dignity. There, she was confronted with a new reality—her life had lost its meaning. She was no longer the ambitious young woman who once dreamed of healing the sick. Her spirit had been extinguished, just as the spirits of thousands of girls had been, led by war into the unknown. Haneen is not just a story; she is one among thousands of tragedies born from the RSF militia’s crimes—indiscriminate in their cruelty, sparing neither the young nor the old, men nor women. Women became direct targets of their brutality. And today, as the war rages on, Haneen and her fellow survivors remain living witnesses to the urgent need for justice and an end to the chaos and armed violence that have shattered innocent lives. Haneen is not merely a survivor—she is a witness to a layered crime: a crime committed by a militia backed by foreign hands, armed with weapons sent by those who saw Sudan as mere spoils, and funded by forces that viewed innocent blood as an opportunity for dominance and power. But will they escape the promised reckoning? Or will Haneen’s cries and those of her fellow victims reach the conscience of humanity—so that not only the perpetrators but also those who shielded and empowered them are held accountable? Wishing you all well. Thursday, November 27, 2024 [email protected]