Gamal Nkrumah watched as civil society organisations from Egypt, north and south Sudan crossed a bold new threshold It was not like anything the Sudanese had ever experienced before. Former Sudanese military ruler General Mohamed Sawar Eddahab warmly embraced Rebecca Nyandeng Garang de Mabior, wife of John Garang, the leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), the country's largest armed opposition group. Eddahab heads one of Africa's best known and influential Islamist charities, the Islamic Da'wah (Call) Organisation. Ideologically, the two personalities are diametrically opposed, yet they share a love for Sudan and the Nile Valley. It was precisely this affection that drew them to Cairo for an intensive brainstorming session with other Sudanese and Egyptian non-governmental institutions last week. The event was organised by the National Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) Centre for Population and Development (NCPD). An air of apprehension marked the beginning of the session. But, by the end of the workshop the ambiance was decidedly amicable. "This is just the beginning. We want to include the entire Nile Valley and its diverse people in our conceptual framework. We, the inhabitants of the Nile Valley, are all Africans. Arabs and Black people from the countries south of the Sahara, all of us are Africans regardless of religious, ethnic and linguistic differences. This is the crux of the matter, and this is what we want to stress at this meeting," NCPD Secretary- General Samir Oleish told Al-Ahram Weekly. "This is a healing experience," Rebecca Nyandeng Garang told the Weekly. "This is the beginning of the New Nile Valley," she stressed. Mrs Garang attended the Egyptian-Sudanese NGO workshop as head of the Widows, Orphans and the Disabled Rehabilitation of the New Sudan (WORDANS), an organisation working to eliminate poverty in Sudan, promote self-reliance and restore self-esteem and dignity through income- generating projects. WORDANS is affiliated with the SPLA, a southern-based organisation which has a large following among many of the traditionally marginalised ethnic groups in Sudan, including the inhabitants of the Nuba Mountains in central Sudan. This is the first time the SPLA has been represented in Egypt at this level. The proliferation of civil society organisations representing the far- flung regions of sprawling Sudan was evident at the Egyptian-Sudanese NGO workshop. However, participants were careful not to permit the workshop to serve as a forum for spreading propaganda. This was also the first occasion on which participants representing both northern and southern Sudanese NGOs worked together. In addition, the workshop enabled participants to take a fresh look at the prickly aspects of Egyptian- Sudanese relations. Historically, Sudan was an Anglo-Egyptian dominion. Theoretically, both Egypt and Britain were in control of the country, however in practice Britain maintained the upper hand. Despite this, in the past a "big brother" attitude coloured Egyptian-Sudanese relations. The "healing" of which Garang spoke at the workshop was as much a restoration of Egyptian-Sudanese relations as of relations between northern and southern Sudanese. Egyptian participants were particularly mindful of avoiding the pitfalls of delving into a patronising attitude towards northern and southern Sudanese. Egyptians had as much to learn from the Sudanese as did the Sudanese from the Egyptians. This theme was highlighted in the keynote address given by Nadia Makram Ebeid, the Arab League chief envoy to Sudan. A large number of Sudanese NGOs attended the workshop. Some 90 Sudanese NGOs participated, including approximately 65 NGOs based in northern Sudan and 24 from southern Sudan. An additional 45 Egyptian NGOs participated. Egyptian and Sudanese authorities did not decide which NGOs would participate at the workshop, nor did they select the themes and programmes of the workshop, NCDP's Oleish said. "We set the agenda," he stressed. Among the participants were NGOs affiliated with various Sudanese political parties and ideological strands, parties representing religious groups and humanitarian relief organisations. Initial apprehension about the exercise, which convened southern and northern Sudanese to develop ideas with their Egyptian counterparts, dissipated quickly as participants began resolving differences and building bridges. Long- standing animosities were forgotten in the face of the fight for better social services, medical care, improved employment opportunities and education. "The sad truth is that our society is infused with a lot of stereotypes about the Sudanese," Oleish said. "This is a golden opportunity to cement ties between Egyptians and Sudanese on the grassroots and civil society levels." Participants evaluated the nature of Egyptian-Sudanese relations as well as relations between northern and southern Sudanese. "Northern and southern Sudanese, people representing groups that have been fighting each other for the past two decades, were singing together on the bus on our way back from Minya [where the last session of the workshop was held]," Oleish explained. Most of the workshop took place in Cairo, but the detour to Minya was important because in the past it has been the scene of violent clashes between Muslims and Christians. The Egyptian organisers wanted Sudanese participants to see how Christians and Muslims in Egypt are working closely to upgrade services in the villages and advance community development, thereby highlighting the interaction among the government, churches, mosques and NGOs. The Coptic Evangelical Organisation for Social Services (CEOSS), one of Egypt's largest and most influential independent development organisations, was instrumental in organising the workshop. CEOSS traditionally encourages Muslim and Christian neighbours to work together towards common goals and to resolve disputes. The southern Sudanese in particular expressed enthusiasm for the role played by CEOSS. Many southern Sudanese NGOs identify with concerns regarding Christian groups and the need for development. While the activities of CEOSS appealed primarily to the southern Sudanese, the predominantly Muslim northern Sudanese also deeply appreciated the role played by Egyptian Christian charities and organisations such as CEOSS. The organisation, which works with the most vulnerable and deprived members of the community, such as landless peasants in rural areas and garbage collectors and street children in urban centres, is well positioned to offer support to both northern- and southern- based Sudanese NGOs. The Egyptian-Sudanese NGO workshop explored ways of empowering Sudanese communities in Sudan and in Egypt. The workshop tackled ways of implementing and sustaining improvements in infrastructure by drawing on the experiences of both Egyptian and Sudanese NGOs. Much of the discussion focussed on building trust among the local communities, the government and NGOs through common activities and shared responsibilities. Although in the past there have been several desultory attempts to encourage northern and southern Sudanese NGOs to work together, in Cairo last week, grassroots organisations in both Egypt and Sudan paved the way for fruitful cooperation in the future. The first plenary session was devoted to exploring methods of collaboration among civil society organisations in Egypt and Sudan and the international donor and relief organisations. The second plenary session examined the role of Egyptian and Sudanese NGOs active in the fields of advocacy and development. Workshop participants then split into five working groups based on the themes that dominated discussions. The first theme related to health concerns, with a focus on reproductive and public health services. The second group discussed educational services and human resource development. Participants explored ways of facilitating the transfer of Egyptian technical skills to the Sudanese, both those inside Sudan and the estimated five million Sudanese nationals who reside in Egypt. The third group focussed on the small industrial sector, vocational and technical training and employment. The fourth group was dedicated to the creation of productive human settlements, with a special focus on youth and land resettlement and land reclamation. The fifth and final group addressed the themes of popularising the culture of peace and defining and exploring the concept of citizenship and cross-cultural dialogue. "Some Sudanese NGOs have expressed a desire to work with Egyptian NGOs in the field of development in Sudan," Iglal Raafat, professor of African history at Cairo University and Arab League adviser on Sudanese affairs. "The areas of special interest include community development, the creation of employment opportunities and the improvement of living conditions." Raafat said that a special committee will be created to examine and meet the needs of Sudanese refugees in Egypt. "It is important that the local communities identify their own needs, prioritise them and suggest ways and means of sustaining these projects, whether they involve digging wells, solid waste management or vocational training." Raafat emphasised that this is the first time that Egyptian civil society is actively taking the lead in tackling the problems of the Sudanese people. "The governments, both Egyptian and Sudanese, are taking the back seat." A unique and unprecedented feature of the Egyptian-Sudanese NGO workshop was the open participation of the SPLA and SPLA-affiliated organisations. This was the first time in Cairo that high-profile SPLA personalities and SPLA-affiliated organisations openly spoke of the "New Sudan" and freely discussed their vision for its future. "We have moved cautiously forward," said Acuil Malith Banggol, who heads Sudan Production Aid, an NGO indirectly affiliated with the SPLA and which is based in Twic County, Bahr Al-Ghazal Region in southern Sudan. "New Sudan," he insisted, "is not southern Sudan. New Sudan is the name used by the SPLA to describe the areas liberated from Sudanese government control." "This is the first time I [have] returned to Egypt since 1985. I was enrolled at Alexandria University and I graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture in Animal Husbandry. It is an irony that most of the agricultural experts and technicians in the New Sudan were educated in Egypt," Banggol pointed out. "We, the southern Sudanese, are the bridge between the people of the African Great Lakes region and the people of the downstream Nile Basin countries, including northern Sudan and Egypt," Banggol said. Banggol recounted his experience in community development in war-torn southern Sudan. "Initially when I returned to Sudan I joined the SPLA and went for political and military training at the SPLA's Institute of Revolutionary War Studies. I was enrolled as a cadet officer and was sent for assignment from 1986-89." From 1989-94, Banggol worked at the New Sudan Humanitarian Relief and Rehabilitation Association. Soon afterwards he set up his own NGO that focusses on water sanitation and the production and promotion of the traditional ox plough. He also ran educational programmes for children in war- afflicted areas. "To us, the land belongs to the people. People need the land. People work the land. People live off the products of the land. In African tradition, the land belongs collectively to the community," he added. Banggol's passion is facilitating sports for peace purposes. "Sports is a healing factor," he stresses. Sport for Peace is one of the programmes he organises to encourage healthy interaction among the various communities in southern Sudan. In addition, for the past three years he has organised the "Twic Olympics", which has received much publicity. "God united us through the Nile. God created us to be one," he stressed. "These are artificial borders. Our fates are sealed. Together we can create a fresh sense of togetherness, good neighbourliness and well-being," Banggol said. Eissa Fadl-Assayid Shoeib, a Sudanese participant affiliated with the Umma Party, concurred. "We as Sudanese deeply appreciate the strong feeling of solidarity and concern for Sudan's political problems that the Egyptian people, as abundantly represented by the Egyptian NGO networks at the workshop, demonstrated," Shoeib said. "We appreciate the role of the Christian organisations -- both Egyptian and Sudanese. Egypt hosted the entire Sudan, northern and southern, Christian and Muslim. The Umma Party is open- minded, progressive and forward- looking. We have Christian members of the Umma Party even though we have been traditionally and historically an essentially Islamic party with strong Muslim roots," he added. "We support all organisations, Muslim and Christian, that work in the field of humanitarian relief. We appreciate the vitally important role that these organisations play in providing food and medical care to the victims of war and underdevelopment in Sudan," he added. Dr Dau Aleer Abit, the head of Sudan Medical Care, a southern Sudanese- based NGO which trains health workers, conducts immunisation programmes for children and offers emergency medical assistance to victims of war, echoed Shoeib's sentiments. He stressed the many health challenges, both physical and psychological, facing Sudanese victims of war. Milad Hanna, the celebrated Egyptian Coptic intellectual, said that the workshop will go down in history as an important landmark because the governments of both Egypt and Sudan did not interfere with the proceedings. "They left the NGOs and grassroots organisations of civil society to determine the scope of discussion." Hanna told the Weekly that the workshop was an "exercise in confidence-building". He was happy that sensitive issues such as self-determination for southern Sudan were touched upon. "People, both the governments concerned and the representatives of civil society, initially feared the eruption of clashes. Instead, they realised how NGOs foster peace and build bridges."
