News Club - What’s happening in Sudan?

What’s happening in Sudan?

I remember saying it a lot when I started the Squiz back in 2017 - pulling together a short-form morning news update meant I very quickly got to know a lot more about world events. 

In my previous life as a media adviser to politicians and corporate leaders, I could talk to you in detail about the things that came across my desk and a little bit about what was in the news more broadly. But when it came to anything outside my remit, forget it. 

That very much applied to stories in the world news bucket. So casting back 7.5 years, it was a lift to know enough about, for example, North Korea’s missile tests and threats against the US and nearby democracies to be able to write short. That’s another thing I found out, and this Winston Churchill quote captures it: “If you want me to speak for 2 minutes, it will take me 3 weeks of preparation … If you want me to speak for an hour, I am ready now.” 

What I’m trying to say is we know how impenetrable some of these big stories can be, even if you’re a keen news follower. And even though all that time has gone by, our purpose continues to be demystifying stories so you can connect, understand and form your own views. 

The story I’ve picked today is very much in that category - the war and famine in Sudan. It’s a situation the United Nations has called one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

If this is the first time you’re hearing about it, don’t feel like you’ve missed something obvious. I’m on so many of the world’s news sites and receive a bunch of newsletters every day, and I reckon I would only see it pop up every week or 2. So for today’s purposes, our Club Picks will help raise your awareness of why it’s something to know about. 

1. The scale of the civil war is big. About 150,000 people have been killed since last year and more than 10 million people have been forced from their homes in the fight between Sudan’s Army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). At the top of those organisations are 2 generals who disagree on the nation’s transition from military to civilian rule. This is a good explainer from the BBC to help you get your bearings. 

2. On top of that, a famine has been declared in Sudan, and some experts fear that it could become one of the worst in history, eclipsing the 1983-85 famine in Ethiopia and other countries that killed a million people. This terrific article from the Council on Foreign Relations lays out the disaster that’s unfolding there. 

3. Nicholas Kristof has won 2 Pulitzer Prizes for his columns with the New York Times, and he has a particular interest in this disaster. You can go down a rabbit hole of his writing, but his most recent effort was an interesting one. This weekend, he answered readers’ questions about what’s happening in Sudan, including why the world should care. He says for America, “just because we can’t do everything in Sudan doesn’t mean we should do nothing.” 

It’s another tough situation to add to the slate of tough news, I know. But if the unfolding events there are a fraction as bad as predicted, it will - or at least should be - big news in the coming months. 

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