The Return of “Teacher Muhajir” and “Awadiya Samak”: Omdurman’s Most Famous Landmarks Facing the Scourge of War

Sudan Horizon – Azmi Abdel Razek

“The Class is on the Homeland.” This was the slogan of the famous mathematics teacher, Muhajir Abdel Rahman, for resuming studies in the city of Omdurman after a hiatus that lasted for more than a year and a half.

The return of Muhajir is considered good news for Sudanese students in the old capital. Still, it is also a bold step to defeat the war and erase its effects by encouraging the resumption of life and overcoming the dilemma of depriving students of education.

Muhajir, who was forced by war and random shelling carried out by the Rapid Support militia in residential neighbourhoods in Omdurman, had immigrated to Egypt more than a year ago. However, after the armed forces preface, the rebel militia’s defeat, and the return of relative security to the city, he decided to return and open his own schools. Migrant appeared in a video clip on his social media page, fighting back tears, saying: “We are a people who do not deserve to be insulted.”

Sudan Horizon monitored the details of the return of an immigrant teacher from Egypt, where he landed at Port Sudan airport and from there to Atbara, finally settling in the city where he spent most of his years in the field of education amid the warmth of his family and students who welcomed him with the anthem of knowledge: “We are God’s soldiers, the nation’s soldiers.”

Muhajir pledged from inside his school classroom and in front of a group of his students to continue teaching, saying, “I assure you, the certification exam is on time; as long as I have chalk in my hand, I will not give it up. We have to prepare and work hard.” He appealed to families in Egypt and all immigrant professors to return to resume the academic year. He urged students not to neglect books and pens and stressed that he was ready to cooperate with all students without any conditions.

Muhajir is not alone. Omdurman remained resistant to the attempts of the Janjaweed to kill life there and forcibly displace its population. They resisted violence, looting, and systematic killing, and in most neighbourhoods, they preserved their homes and streets from chaos, and many of them volunteered to fight alongside the armed forces in defence of honour. And property, as was famous in the city, Masid Sheikh Al-Amin Omar in the ancient Wad Daru Al-Amdurmani neighbourhood, continued to provide free food and first aid to the injured, in addition to other food hospices that performed similar roles, which emerged in the darkness of the bitter reality, including the hospice of Sohanda Abdel Wahab, and the journalist Othman Al-Jundi in the area. It seemed remarkable that as soon as the neighbourhoods of Omdurman were liberated from the Rapid Support gangs, their residents returned to them immediately, carrying out cleaning campaigns and opening shops.

Many social media users posted videos showing Awadiya Adam Abdullah, known as “Awadiya Samak” (Samak meaning fish, referring to her main cooking ingredient), opening her restaurant. The restaurant serves Nile cuisine and is one of the most famous fish-cooking shops in the Al-Mawradah suburb of Adurman.

Awadiya, who suffered from movement problems, overcame all these circumstances with courage, and today, she is a friend of the disabled. She has given them hundreds of opportunities for training, work, and care, especially those with special needs. She has also sponsored many charitable initiatives and was not defeated by the war. Some consider her a symbol of Sudanese women.

Although Awadiya opened her shop temporarily in the Thawra area, she is determined to return to her old restaurant in Al-Mawradah. The restaurant was controlled by the Rapid Support militia, which caused destruction and fire in some parts. The restaurant was a destination for many customers from all over Khartoum and is sometimes visited by famous people and the city’s friendly people.