Media Blackout in Sudan; Why Crisis Communication is Important

Sudanese citizens have been protesting their government’s autocratic rule, starting with the country’s former president, Omar al-Bashir, and now the Transitional Military Council, demanding a citizen-ruled democracy. Positions of power have responded with extreme violence against peaceful protestors, as well as authorizing a media blackout, disabling access to the Internet, social media, and certain mobile service providers.

This reoccurred June 5, according to The Washington Post, “Security forces launched another crackdown on a sit-in in Khartoum. Reports circulated that the regime had unleashed the notorious janjaweed militia — responsible for committing genocide in Darfur a decade ago — on the protesters. More than 100 civilians were reported killed, as the regime methodically shut off communication throughout the country. On Monday, the regime severed Sudan’s remaining Internet access, resulting in a ‘near total blackout.’”

There has not been much news coverage yet about the crisis in Sudan and the threat of genocide. There has not been much word of mouth coverage on the situation either. Not many people know, so not many people are talking about it. This is something that needs to change and because of social media, there is more conversation about the Sudanese massacres. Many social media users in Africa and in the “Westernized” countries have begun to speak out about what is happening; because of the media blackout, most Sudanese social media users have not been able to tell their stories to receive an international spotlight.

“Communication is one of the fundamental tools of emergency management. It becomes crucial when there are dozens of agencies and organizations responding to a disaster” (Simon et al., 2015). For the citizens of Sudan to receive aid from emergency response organizations, they must be able to coordinate their responses with the needs of the people. Communication on a mass scale through social media allows those organizations to better prepare themselves for the severity of the situation based on what information the victims provide. “(Social media) provides opportunities for engaging citizens in the emergency management by both disseminating information to the public and accessing information from them” (Simon et al., 2015).

Applying the importance of crisis communication to the severity of this situation is horrifying. People are peacefully protesting in the streets for a democratic government. They are protesting their own starvation because of the former government. They are being murdered, raped, and terrorized by paramilitary forces who have provenly committed genocide in Sudan already. They have little access to tell the rest of the world about their current state. They have been silenced by their oppressors through facist attempts to regain power and crush political dissent. In their current media blackout we have to talk about what is happening in Sudan, not as white or Western saviors, but as humans connected to one another and our brothers and sisters in Sudan are suffering greatly.

Talk about justice for Sudan. Talk about paramilitary enactment of genocide. Talk about human beings’ bodies being dumped in the Nile. Talk about the bravery of those who pulled their friends and families bodies back out of the Nile. Talk about those who are missing. Talk about those who have been raped. Talk about the culture that will be lost. Talk about the trauma being inflicted. TALK ABOUT SUDAN.

Feldstein, S. (2019, June 13). To end mass protests, Sudan has cut off Internet access nationwide. Here's why. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/06/13/end-mass-protests-sudan-has-cut-off-internet-access-nationwide-heres-why/?utm_term=.2a83dd9f0112\

Simon, T., Goldberg, A., & Adini, B. (2015). Socializing in emergencies—A review of the use of social media in emergency situations. International Journal of Information Management,35(5), 609-619. doi:10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2015.07.001