SUDAN INSIGHT ALERT: Washington Post - Sudan is tasting freedom for the first time. We can't turn back.
Freelance journalist and communications consultant Reem Abbas highlights the “remarkable flowering of freedom of expression,” in the 10 days that have followed Omar Al Bashir’s fall.
Arguing that the “fear of retaliation has vanished — at least for the moment,” Abbas notes that Sudanese journalists are accustomed to working under the heavy hand of the state — especially the “notorious” National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS), leading dozens (including herself) to go into research or communications work instead.
Although Sudanese people “gave up on” official media outlets “a long time ago,” Abbas highlights a contrast in their output since Al Bashir’s fall, with Sudan News Agency, “a mouthpiece of the ruling party,” and Sudan TV giving activists and protesters a platform.
Abbas concludes “now that we’ve tasted freedom, it will be even harder to go back.”