Omar al-Bashir learns the hard way — Bread protests are more powerful than governments

Sudanese have been engaged in protests against the government for the past four months. The protestors have been calling for the resignation of President Omar al-Bashir. There is an interesting political phenomenon to be observed from the ongoing protest in Sudan. The readiness of the military to jump ship to the side of the people which eventually led to the swift collapse of al-Bashir’s grip to power. Undoubtedly the cost of war and fatigue in Sudan led to “the military to give in to the will of the people”. It was a prudent decision than to allow nation’s political down spiralling to protect ambitions of an individual. However what is troubling is the renewed role and “respect” of the army in national politics of that country. Protestors are to an extent to blame, they helped puffed up the army’s status when they call on the army for protection during protests. The status of the army was therefore unwittingly elevated to a new dangerous level, it is a level which might backlash against the people. It gave an army an impression and indeed encouragement that it is above politics and could intervene whenever necessary to establish stability in future. Judging by what happened in Egypt it is something that should not have been encouraged. After few months in power a democratically elected government of President Mohammed Morsi was dethroned by the army at the “behest of the people”soon after commencement of tenure. Importantly however what has happened in Sudan so far is that the call by the protestors to the army has backfired, at least in the media. What was meant to be a people’s victory is now presented as a coup, robbing protestors of deserved victory.

The protests in Sudan, like in many countries in the Middle East, were triggered by the “rise in the price of bread”. Intifadatul khobz or the Bread Intifada in Januray 1977 in Egypt was as a result of rise in bread prices. In Jordan in 2006, over 200 people were killed after engaging in food riots that were triggered by rise in bread prices in the main. The protests started in the streets of the town of Kerak. Morocco and Lebanon have also experienced devastating riots as a result of increase in bread prices. “In the old days, people literary fought for their food, and going to war over bread with another person or even with another nation was not such an absurd idea but rather a reality”. In the Old Testament even the manner in which bread was made divided people and created political turmoil in many communities. The leavened bread or yeasted bread for an example is generally symbolic of sin and evil, every instance that leavened appears in the Bible, it represents evil, the righteous were encouraged to eat the unleavened bread. Egyptians are credited with the making of leavened bread. Why does bread carry such power in politics of the region? What is it about bread that is so compelling that it could lead to political upheavals? First bread is the main staple for many communities around the world more so in the Middle East. Bread like water is regarded as a bounty from God, interference of its distribution is hardly tolerated. Second, bread price increases often ripple effects to a number of price increases of other products and services. Third and perhaps most important in this context is that, bread protests historically “have been used as pretext to rally people to the streets”, it the only communal cause that has proven to gunner political consensus. General political grievances are hardly voiced in the open in the Middle East for obvious reasons. Over handedness of security apparatuses and general backlash by the state to those instigating such actions. Moreover general experience to those who rose against governments in the past further complicate political organizing in the region. Unexplained disappearances, deaths and lengthy jail sentences add to the mix. Therefore it has been food particularly bread protests that has historically managed to bring people to the streets. Such protests often morph into a larger political platforms encompassing wide variety of political and social issues.

Omar al-Bashir failed to learn from the long history of bread protests in the region. During this entire period he appeared and at times acted totally out of touch with reality. In the midst of protests he travelled in and out of the country for various reasons, giving an impression that all was normal. He also went on a tirade blaming outside instigators for fuelling political tensions in the country. He failed to realize that it was him who was the problem not outside influencers. He repeatedly insisted that the “voice of the people must be heard”, well those voices were asking for him to resign. In conclusion, over the years I have tried to understand the significance of bread in religion and indeed in politics. It is my conclusion that bread is never meant to be hoarded, it is something that has to be acquired and consumed fresh daily. The Egyptian manner of making bread i.e. leavening bread, corrupted important cultural processes by introducing a shelf life for bread. Elongated shelf life introduced laziness and has had devastating political and economic ripple effects some of them are witnessed in Sudan today.