Post-War Battles: Defeating Emptiness and Rebuilding
By: Brigadier (Ret.) Omar Mohamed Osman
The war is not over yet, but the nature of the battles has changed. Not all are fought with weapons and fire anymore—some have turned inward, silent battles within the hearts of men and women who have lost their jobs, their sources of income, and with them, their sense of purpose. One of the most dangerous battles today is the battle against emptiness.
Emptiness is not just spare time; it is a suffocating state in which emotions swell, frustration grows, and the soul is slowly eroded. Mohamed Choukri once said:
“A person must stay busy enough to be distracted from their misery.”
And Ghazi Al-Gosaibi wrote:
“Work, no matter how hard, does not kill—but emptiness kills the noblest parts of a human being.”
Between these two quotes lies a vast space of Sudanese suffering today.
Those who lost their jobs did not just lose money—they lost the feeling of being useful, productive, and capable of giving. They became prey to dark thoughts, and loneliness attacked them in its harshest forms. As Stefan Zweig wrote in The Royal Game:
“We were not subjected to physical torture, but simply abandoned to absolute emptiness. And it is obvious that nothing in the world torments the human soul more than emptiness.”
In our reality, this is the condition of many Sudanese today. Emptiness weighs heavily on the soul, amplifies sorrow, and destabilizes a person. Meanwhile, those who remain busy—even with the simplest of tasks—appear more composed, because they simply do not have the time to collapse.
And if, for one reason or another, we did not play a role when the battles were being fought with bullets in front of us, then here is our chance to play a role in the battles of reconstruction—by spreading hope, resisting despair, and joining neighbourhood restoration teams, even if only with advice and moral support. Rebuilding requires not only hands but also minds and hearts. Today, we need to redefine survival: it is not merely staying alive, but also preserving our humanity, our values, and our sense of purpose.
That role could be in education, volunteering, supporting neighbours, or even creating a small moment of joy amidst the rubble.
Every moment we resist emptiness, we win another round in the post-war battle. The battle for reconstruction doesn’t start with bricks and stones—it begins within. It begins with a person’s decision to rise, engage, and fight emptiness before it consumes them. There can be no real victory unless we win this battle too. The war has taken many things from people—but we must not allow it to steal our souls while we are still alive.
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