By Ismail Kushkush IF YOU DRIVE too fast along Khartoum's Jamhuria Street, you might miss it. The old 1950s building that holds it is no longer that impressive. But once you pass its old front gate into its shady courtyard and colourful walls, Papa Costa Café opens itself to an atmosphere of culture, food and stories of Sudan. Omar Al-Fadli, 55, is the owner and manager of Papa Costa, an old Khartoum café established in the 1950s by a Greek immigrant, Papa Costa. "It was the first modern bakery in Khartoum," recalls Al-Fadli who took over the café in 2006 and turned it into a cosmopolitan place of food and culture. "We cater to both Sudanese and expatriates," he says. "We also try to help community youth by creating a space for artists and musicians. It has become a cultural centre as well." Al-Fadli, who was born in 1956, the year of Sudanese independence, is the son of the late Sudanese nationalist leader Yehia Al-Fadli. That south Sudan may separate and become an independent state has heavy meanings for him. "My father saw that one of Sudan's biggest challenges after independence was tribalism and sectarianism," he says. "He started to campaign against them, but some leaders thought that was a war against them," he added sadly. "I am convinced that had that campaign succeeded we would have solved the problems of south, west and east Sudan," Al-Fadli adds. "As much as I should be happy for them, I feel very sad. They are not a separate people; they are us: Sudanese." William Wol Kiir, 24, was born in the southern state of Bahr Al-Ghazal and has been a waiter at Papa Costa for four years. "He came and applied for the job. He is a sincere, self-motivated and an honest guy," Al-Fadli says of Kiir. "We consider him part of the family." "I love my job. I meet many interesting people," adds Kiir. Like the tens of thousands of southern Sudanese living in the north, Kiir is facing tough life-changing decisions. "Until now, I have not decided whether I will go to the south or stay. It depends on the situation" "My studies are here, plus, I may go to the south and not find work." Another challenge that faces Kiir is that he has not been able to get a copy of his high school certificate issued. "After the final exams, my dad died in the south, so I went there to be with my family. At the very same time I was supposed to take part in Izzat Al-Sudan." Izzat Al-Sudan, or The Pride of Sudan, is a two- month mandatory national service training period for high school graduates who wish to continue to study in university. Without completing it, one cannot obtain a certificate. Stuck in a bureaucratic limbo, Kiir finds himself in a catch-22. "I'm in a dilemma. This country is about to split and I have not been able to get my certificate. Do I stay to get it or go south?" he says with a satirical laugh. Kiir, who has been living in Khartoum for 10 years, says that even his relatives "say that I speak Arabic and conduct myself like a northerner." But part of that has to do with a tragedy he faced as a young boy. "During the civil war, I was kidnapped by Messeiria nomads." Inter-tribal raids over cattle and grazing lands in southwestern Sudan, especially between the Messeiria Arabs and Dinka, have often led to the abduction of young men used for forced labour. "I used to herd cows for the Messeiria. It was difficult." Kiir escaped after four years living with the Messeiria. He eventually made it to Khartoum, where he heard that some of his relatives were staying. "I enrolled in school and got an education," he says. But he differentiates between how he was treated by the Messeiria nomads and the people he met in Khartoum. "When I came to Khartoum, I realised that it was because the nomads were uneducated that they mistreated me. My experience here is different." Nevertheless, Kiir, who voted in the referendum last week, is weighing his options. "The political climate is changing and the future is uncertain," he explains. Omar thinks that this historical juncture should provide lessons to Sudanese in the north. "The problem is due to the lack of education and that people in power use tribalism as a tool," he says. "We have not been able to overcome our differences in race, tribe or colour. "It is very sad that we have reached this point." Kiir adds that "my feeling is that since I lived here in Khartoum, I considered myself a citizen in my country, but now everything is being pulled from underneath me." Of his relationship with Al-Fadli, he says: "It was the respectful treatment of Sudanese to his fellow Sudanese."
