The Press in Sudan | Sitto, the young martyr who became an icon of the revolution

Sit Al Nafoor Ahmed, known as “Sitto”, is one of the 44 victims of the violent repression which targets, in Sudan, the opposition to the military coup of October 25th. Her relatives describe an artist full of dreams, patriotic and in perpetual quest for justice.

(Khartoum) “Sitto” is the nickname of Sit Al Nafoor Ahmed. This 22-year-old Sudanese woman is one of 44 victims of the fierce repression carried out by the security forces against the opposition to the coup d’état perpetrated on October 25 by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane.

She was shot in the left cheek on November 17, when the military should have left the reins of the Sovereign Transitional Council to civilians, with whom they had shared power until then.

“Sitto” is the nickname of Sit Al Nafoor Ahmed. This 22-year-old Sudanese woman is one of 44 victims of the fierce repression carried out by the security forces against the opposition to the coup d’état perpetrated on October 25 by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane. She was shot in the left cheek on November 17, when the military should have left the reins of the Sovereign Transitional Council to civilians, with whom they had shared power until then.

“On the bus, before we reached the demonstration, Sitto told me that she sensed that something was going to happen today. I told her she could come down if she was afraid. But she was not afraid, ”says Eman (his name has been changed for security reasons). Less than two hours later, Eman drove his friend with a bloody face to the hospital in Bahri, a large city of nearly 1 million people separated from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, by the Blue Nile.

Since then, the broad smile, the clear eyes, the shine decorating his right nostril and the wise white scarf of Sitto are brandished during each “march of the million”. By winning a new icon in its struggle for democracy, Sudan has lost a heroine with a big heart.

A click

Long mobilized for justice and against racism, Sitto clicked on February 2, 2019, when he learned of the death of Ahmed Al-Khair, a teacher who succumbed to torture in the jails of the Omar el-regime. Bashir – fallen two months later.

Shortly before her death, the youngest of this seven-member sibling painted the walls of this room white, arranged two chocolate armchairs and a matching rug, then hung thin red and gold curtains.

A graduate in first aid from the Bahri hospital, Sitto was above all a designer. She regularly crossed the Nile to reach Atina Square, a haunt of young artists surrounded by handcrafted trinket shops, to sell the jewelry she made. She was planning to export her talent to Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates for a few months, before returning to marry her fiancé and open her own business.

Helping the orphans and the sick

“Sitto wanted to earn money to help her family, because one of her sisters died two years ago, leaving her three nephews orphans,” says Alaa Omer, both cousin and best friend of the deceased. Between April and June 2019, both traveled daily to sit-in which called for the formation of a civilian government, before being dismantled in blood, killing at least 127 people.

In their living room, Sitto’s sisters and mother keep telling anecdotes about the rebellious child of the family, who sang revolutionary songs as soon as they woke up and put a smile on everyone’s face. Two of the latter’s friends suddenly arrive with an imposing water fountain, purchased through an online fundraiser, to support the bereaved home. Very moved, her friend Enass Mohammed, event organizer, remembers that “Sitto [lui] repeated to plan a charity sale of handicrafts to help orphans and cancer patients ”. “I wanted to do it, but I had to take an exam, so I waited. I started to bring the creators together. The event should take place at the start of the year. ”

Determined to obtain justice

This quest for justice, the “martyr” inherited it from her mother, who however preferred to keep her distance from the revolutionary movement. “All that interests him is buying food in the market and cooking for the orphans in the neighborhood,” summarizes his daughter-in-law. Sitto used to collect old clothes from her neighbors, have them repaired at her own expense, then deliver them to the most disadvantaged, in the underprivileged suburbs. “If someone told her that these places were dangerous, she would answer that you only die once and that she was not afraid,” says her sister.

1^er December, Sitto’s father, a retired plumber, lodged a complaint. He can count on the support of tens of thousands of young Sudanese. Among them, Amona Faisal, childhood friend of Sitto, who declared, at the heart of the demonstration of November 30, that “all Sudanese women consider this revolutionary as their sister. [et qu’elles allaient se] fight for it ”. Eman, friend and witness to Sitto’s murder, confirms: “I promised myself and I promised Sitto’s mother that justice would be done for her. Before the march on October 17, I was wondering about the interest in continuing to demonstrate and the meaning of my life. I have now found the goal of my life. “

* His name has been changed for security reasons