Burhan’s Tea

Rashid Abdul Rahim

On Tuesday, May 5th, Chairman of the Sovereign Council Burhan appeared driving a double-cab pickup truck, giving ride to students at the end of their school day.

Gen.Burhan has appeared in numerous and varied scenes, in different situations, from offering condolences for the deaths of martyrs and others, to visiting families on various occasions.

Among his visits and outings, he has often been seen drinking, and frequently appeared enjoying tea and coffee while sitting with a tea vendor.

When he first left the General Command on his way to the Wadi Sayyidna military base, he sat with a tea vendor on a bench.

These actions demonstrate the president’s responsiveness to his people.

Tea ladies have always been a subject of public discussion, with people talking about their many vices, from selling alcoholic beverages to their alleged involvement in insurrections.

They are also accused of acting as informants for the rebellion, providing information on the residences and movements of armed forces personnel, or even guiding those who drop bombs at the start of the war to relaying coordinates of locations targeted by drone strikes. This isn’t surprising, as it has been proven that this crime was committed by prayer leaders in mosques near military sites, who were collecting the names of officers and soldiers.

However, the truth is that many of these tea vendors work honorably, supporting families whose breadwinners have died or become disabled, and they toil in arduous and exhausting work.

I often went to wash my car on Nile Street and sat with a tea lady whose work was neat and clean. I found a diverse range of people and professions there, including a retired general and the husband of a successful journalist.

Drinking tea and coffee in courtyards and under the shade of a tree in the street is a common practice here, and we are perhaps the only society that holds funerals and weddings with feasts in the streets.

There is talk of young men entering Khartoum and other cities under suspicious circumstances, working for the rebels and employing tea vendors.

All of this means that tea vendors are a group whose status deserves to be regulated, and their work registered and organized, especially since we are in an exceptional situation due to a war in which the enemy resorts to the weapon of drones and long-range attacks, a cowardly tactic.

In Cairo, I saw businesses operating discreetly from cars parked along highways, selling tea and drinks, far removed from suspicion. You also find carts selling beans, liver, cow brain , and other foods.

I fear that if the work of the tea vendors is regulated, they will be targeted by those who impose fees and taxes, and perhaps even forced to pay zakat (Islamic alms).

The government and society bear the responsibility of protecting and supporting tea vendors in various ways, ideally through microfinance projects.

How wonderful it would be if society and the state followed the example set by their head of state and army commander, and we pray that God will reward those who implement and establish this practice.

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