Come Back to Us, O Night of Joy..Truth’s Face | Ibrahim Shaglawi

Truth’s Face | Ibrahim Shaglawi

Come Back to Us, O Night of Joy…

When Dr. Abdullah Mohammed Suleiman wrote his words, “Come back to us, O night of joy,” and Tayeb Abdullah sang them, in my view he was not merely describing an emotional state. Rather, with the poet’s intuition, he was touching a particular human need that expresses a society burdened with wounds, yearning for a space of joy, even if temporary.

 

Thus, this call, saturated with longing, has remained alive in the Sudanese conscience through its evocative density, allowing the meaning to shift from the particular to the general, and borrowing resonance whenever horizons narrow and anticipation widens. It has also remained present and renewed in the Sudanese memory, surrounded by hopes and challenges.

 

Today, this call returns through the gateway of reality, not from the platform of poetry and song. The announcement yesterday by the Khartoum State Security Affairs Coordination Committee of a decline in the crime index and the absence of serious crimes in police stations during the first week of Ramadan is a telling piece of news indicating the return of security—indeed, a political sign that deserves careful reading. In post-conflict contexts, the crime curve is often the most sensitive indicator of the state’s recovery of its primary function: imposing public order, extending security, and restoring reassurance.

 

However, a vigilant reading requires caution against excessive optimism. The security improvement attributed to the activation of preventive plans and the deployment of foot and mobile patrols reflects—on one level—a tactical success, not a fully realized strategic transformation.

 

The committee’s directives to intensify joint patrols and tighten control during evening hours reveal that the security institution is still dealing with a reality susceptible to relapse, and that reassurance remains under test.

 

From a broader angle, these measures can be understood as part of the state’s attempt to reproduce its authority in the capital after a period of security fluidity. Strict adherence to the State Security Committee’s directives, and follow-up on the implementation of Decision (153) regarding the removal of military manifestations from Khartoum, indicate an official awareness that the battle for stability is not won merely by reducing crime, but by dismantling parallel armed manifestations and restoring the state’s monopoly over organized force.

 

In the experiences of countries emerging from wars, these important measures constitute the most complex challenge.

 

In the same context, the state’s decision to allocate the Khartoum International Fairgrounds to receive recovered looted property carries political significance that goes beyond its procedural dimension. Returning property to citizens represents a practical test of the state’s ability to move from the phase of war to the phase of the rule of law.

 

If this file is managed with transparency and efficiency, it may form an important moral lever for rebuilding public trust between citizen and state—trust that constitutes the cornerstone of any national recovery process.

 

In parallel, positive signals about the return of life to Khartoum are multiplying: relative improvement in electricity and water services, the resumption of government institutions’ work, the reopening of hospitals, and the revival of markets and transportation movement.

 

The return of large numbers of displaced persons, and the filling of mosques with worshippers during Ramadan, give the impression that the city is trying to regain its old rhythm. Yet a realistic reading imposes the need to distinguish between apparent recovery and sustainable stability. The scale of destruction, the pressure of living costs, and the cost of reconstruction are all factors that may reproduce fragility if not managed within an integrated economic and political vision overseen by both the state and federal governments.

 

Accordingly, according to #Truth’s_Face, the current moment of Khartoum can be described as a phase of “cautious reassurance”: positive indicators advancing slowly, countered by a heavy reality of structural challenges. Between the two, the city’s general mood is formed—a mood that closely resembles the tone of the old song: a hope peering through the challenges of anxiety.

 

This distance between the text and its interpretation closely resembles Khartoum’s need today to be read as a renewing project of hope, not merely a security or humanitarian file. Until that is achieved, the city—just as the song said—will continue to wait for the night of joy to return, not as a poetic wish, but as an established political and social reality.

 

Wishing you continued health and well-being.

Thursday, 26 February 2026

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