The war in Sudan began with a coup in April 2023 and is estimated to have killed around 150,000 people since then. The conflict faces the Sudanese National Army and Rapid Support Force, which receives arms support and funding from the United Arab Emirates and is carrying out a massacre whose bloodstains can be seen from space. This conflict has been buried under the rubble of the current chaos. But for journalist and author Nesrin Malik, the war in Sudan hits close to home. Born in Jatum 50 years ago, she moved to England at the age of 20, where she built a career and is now a columnist. guardian. He explains how he was influenced. “I felt very lucky to be able to live in the West, but I didn’t really instill my identity because I had a home elsewhere and had the best of both worlds. When the war started, I felt that I had finally come to the West, because there was nowhere else to go,” Malik reported before taking part in a discussion at the Barcelona Center for Contemporary Culture (CCCB).
In the war in Sudan, as in the war in Gaza and Ukraine, narrative plays a key role. The book that Malik doesn’t want to know We need a new story. Challenging the harmful myths behind the Age of Discontent (We Need a New Story. Challenging the Toxic Myths of the Age of Discontent. No translation into Spanish), I wanted to explain the past, but ended up being prescient. This essay, published in mid-2019, opened the door for the Royal Society of Literature to analyze how politics and economics, especially since government, have fabricated myths that appear to be natural facts that have given rise to phenomena like Trump. A pandemic, a new rise of ultras, a brutal war, and a second Trump administration all fuel Luego, but do nothing more than support his claims. If Roland Barthes, in Mitrogia, thought that myths are so powerful that we can only give up on them, Malik believes that we need to create new stories.
question. Where do these myths come from and why are they so difficult to travel?
answer. This is not a bad thing in itself, but is necessary for organizing society. The problem is when it becomes corrupted and the group starts to feel superior or exceptional. and abolish hierarchy, racism, and tribal seclusion. We deal with everything that we think is inevitable. And it’s up to you to create your own story.
P. Is the creation of these stories an unconscious process?
A. On the part of the ruling class, it is very conscious and concrete. Their amount is think tank The right to spend to support these articles is enormous, especially in the US. Visit Los Años University in the 60s. Dear Los Progressistas, we are not very good at this.
P. Is it because they are not monolithic?
A. One reason is that we simply don’t have the type of fund that has that right. By definition, anyone who wants to make the world more conservative has an economic interest in it. Another thing is that the right always works, even if it’s popular and within the government. I believe that progressives have captured cultural space, social space, and general value space. There is a degree of complacency on the left.
P. What do you think about Zoran Mamdani’s victory in the New York City Council?
A. This is a great example of how powerful these new stories can be. Fraternity, brotherhood, and solidarity are as motivating as brutality. Mamdani appeals to the identity of our shared experiences. In the past, Progressistas were misunderstood in terms of identity and invited representatives. Casablanca needed a black woman, and the State Department needed LGBTQ representation. Basically to incorporate her into the Diet. Establishmentbut instead of changing it, just becoming part of it.
P. Who are Trump and the right appealing to?
A. To everyone. His message resonated with people of all backgrounds, which is why the second Trump administration was so persuasive and raised the profile of voters. It gives an easy solution and a better sense of status than others. Even if you are an immigrant, you are better than someone who just arrived. Enthusiasm that comes from breaking through tradition and cold, abstract politics.
P. Are today’s teens more interested in law?
A. Try to take a position that gives you a sense of certainty. They are trying to find their place in the world and are your ideal customer. We regret that we have not presented a clear and compelling vision of fraternity, kindness and solidarity that is also appealing. However, teenagers are more social than adults, attend school, and interact with others more. Your politics cannot be isolated in dere cista like adult politics.
P. What is the role of technology in the creation of myths?
A. Very relevant. The technocracy is also the class that generates millions of dollars of wealth and has a class interest in maintaining the myth. And on social networks they are interested in perpetuating the myth of division and hatred, strife and cruelty. It promotes participation and leads to human trafficking, advertising, and profit. There is an entire mythical economy that traps us in virtual space, using tools such as: loop video and scroll infinite. But few people speak directly like they do on the internet.
P. How do myths work in extreme situations like the Gaza war?
A. One of the ways this genocide was carried out is to make people doubt their own eyes and ears and disbelieve in their own abilities, which are incredibly powerful. Since Zionism and some on the right, death and meanness have been questioned and denied. This form of communication is inherently fascist and is tied to technology and networks.
P. Why does Gaza receive more attention than Sudan?
A. The war in Sudan is not being financed by Western taxpayer money, as is happening in Gaza in the United States. Gaza is a domestic issue for Western countries, and the government’s complicity makes people even more worried and protesting. Responsibility for the Palestinian incident is global, and Israel believes itself to be responsible for the Jewish Holocaust, which is a European crime. Sudan’s case is unique, having spent years in isolation. It is not a civil war, it is between two armies, and the conflict is not closely linked to the West.
P. We only have links through third parties such as the United Arab Emirates.
A. Yes, what is happening in Sudan is the latest evolution in world politics. The rich states of the Gulf region are becoming small imperial powers in the region, strengthened by the example of the EE UU and the transactional vision of its foreign policy, as well as by Israel’s impunity in Gaza.
P. As a Sudanese, what do you think about this war?
A. Many years have passed since then, but I still don’t think it’s over. It is an unusual and rapid war. Imagine that fighter jets arrive, the airport is bombed, and by the afternoon all the planes at Barcelona Airport are burnt out. That’s what happened.
About The Author
