A Nigerian performer impersonates Michael Jackson at a concert in Abuja. Photo courtesy of N.R. on Flickr.

The death of American pop star Michael Jackson has sparked an outpouring of emotion from nearly every corner of the world. Fans are sharing their memories of Jackson on his official site in nearly a dozen languages, and the news made the front page of papers across the globe.

In Africa, bloggers are paying tribute to the King of Pop by posting pictures and music videos. Writing from Nigeria, Oluniyi David Ajao offers a list of his 26 favorite Michael Jackson songs, while Ugandan blogger Serakelz honors Jackson's memory with instructions on how to do the moonwalk, a dance move created by Jackson.

In Ghana, Kent Mensah of Africa News collects reactions to Jackson's passing on Twitter and Facebook:

“Africa loves Michael Jackson… from birth you learn how to survive and that Michael Jackson is music… the most famous musician ever,” Rasco Patterson said on twitter @chickenwang4.

“Make this world a better place for me and you these are the words from a true legend like Michael Jackson. I will always remember you Waco Jaco,” Elton Afari, Accra, Ghana said on Facebook.

Echoing the sentiments of many African fans, Sudanese Thinker remembers the pop star fondly:

In a lot of ways Michael Jackson was my childhood. His music filled it with lots of joy and beautiful memories. It uplifted me when I was down. It made me happy when I was sad.

And as awkward and flawed as he was, I will dearly miss him and his talents.

And Ugandan blogger Dickson Wasake honors Jackson with a poem:

On the death of Michael Jackson;
The tears fill the earth,
Black or white;
The Liberian girl cries,
And so does dirty Diana,
even the stranger in Moscow,
We all scream;
“Oh it’s too bad; oh it’s too sad;
The king is gone too soon,
And I just can’t stop loving him!”

Though many bloggers are grieving over Jackson's death, others are questioning his eccentricities, including his changing skin color. In Ghana, blogger Emmanuel Bensa laments:

….the African culture tells us that we don't speak ill of the dead–and I am not about to do so anytime soon, but what I will do is to categorically state how much of a bad decision it was to become a white man.

Black is beautiful–and it will forever be so. As a Black Man, Michael Jackson had the looks, the voice; the talent. Oh what a shame.

For Ugandan blogger Rosebell, Jackson's death prompted reflections on why the news pays so much more attention to the death of a pop star than to other tragedies:

As I watched the reaction around the world to Jackson’s death I wondered if really all humans can ever be equal. Not that I don’t recognise MJ’s contribution to music and his great talent, I would be naïve to do so, but I wonder why we no longer get the shock when we see death around the world. Everyone seemed to say oh he died young at 50, and then I thought that actually in Uganda life expectancy is at 50. Do you know in many African countries dying of old age is almost history? Do you know that this shock we feel at the loss MJ’s death, many Iraqis face it everyday? The fear for the loss of their own lives and the puzzles of how their children will grow, grips people in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Omar Basawad of Safari Notes dismisses these criticisms, focusing on Jackson's legendary talent:

Whatever might be said about Michael Jackson, whatever one might think of him - one thing is certain: he defined an era.

“RIP MJ,” writes Kenyan blogger WildeYearnings. “You now have the whole sky to moonwalk on…”

In the last three decades, Egypt has become host to refugees fleeing conflicts and persecution in Africa, Asia and Middle East. Many refugees have made Egypt their home and various refugee communities live amongst Egyptian, contributing to the Egyptian society. Though Sudanese are considered to be the largest refugee population, there are also large numbers of Somalis, Eritreans, Ethiopians, North Africans, and even more from Central and West Africa as also Iraqis. Refugees from the Middle and Far East also seek asylum in Egypt. In addition, there are an estimated 70,000 Palestinians. These refugees are often falsely identified as economic migrants, rather than a vulnerable population who fled their homelands due to political unrests and violence.

The Cairo Refugee Film Festival is an attempt to integrate refugees in their new host country:

Since the vast majority of refugees will never be resettled, integration in Egypt is of great concern and the need of the hour. This is possible only when when the misconceptions between the host communities and the refugee communities are cleared and an appreciation and understanding of the others' circumstances is fostered.

Against this backdrop and with a view to bring the refugee and the egyptian communities together, the idea of a film festival took birth.

Taking place from June 16 to June 20 at the Rawabet theatre in downtown Cairo, the festival being held in commemoration of the World Refugee Day, seeks to:

chronicle the lives, struggles, and achievements of refugee populations around the world from the 1930s to the present day. We aspire to break the Egyptian myth that the refugee movement is an Afro-centric problem and that refugees are always African. Through the medium of film, we aim to sensitize the Egyptian community on refugees’ stories, obstacles and resilience.

The blog also lists sponsors, collaborators and organisers, schedule, and workshops being held in conjunction with the event.

Consequently, many Sudanese people were forced to leave the country, seeking asylum abroad. Victor Angelo [pt] was in Goz Beida camp, 200 kilometers south east of Abeche, in Chad, and from there he sent some pictures and reported on attacks by the Jenjawid, or “men on horses”, a militia allegedly paid by the Sudanese government.

Ouvir atentamente. Refugiado sudanês com quem me encontrei hoje em Goz Beida, 200 quilómetros a Sudeste de Abeche, durante a visita que Bernard Kouchner, Alain Le Roy e eu fizemos ‘a localidade

As consequências da expulsão de 13 ONGs do Sudão sobre os parentes destes homens foi um dos temas que mais preocupou a assembleia. Que vai acontecer aos familiares que ainda se encontram no Darfur e que dependiam das ONGs humanitárias no que respeita a necessidades básicas, como água, alimentação , saúde e escolas?

A sina do Presidente Al-Bashir atraiu as atenções de todos. Os refugiados apoiam freneticamente a decisão do Tribunal Penal Internacional.

Vítima de ataque dos cavaleiros Jenjawid, aliados armados e organizados sob a forma de milícias, do Presidente do Sudão. Certos Jenjawid, palavra local que inicialmente queria dizer “homem a cavalo”, tornaram-se os principais actores dos crimes de guerra.

People from the Abeche region have been treated by doctors from Médecins Sans Frontièress. Despite being a well-known NGO, MSF is one of those banished from Sudan. The refugee camp was perhaps the most sensitive place of those where it worked. In Kalma, located in the South of the Darfur region, the 6 kilometer square camp holds 100,000 people living in “houses” made of wood, plastic and anything that can be used as protection against the high temperatures during the day and the low temperatures at night.

In the Kalma camp, MSF used to run a basic health care clinic, a women’s health unit, and an outreach department, where they saw between 200 and 300 patients on a daily basis (Monday to Monday) in the out-patient department and 200 in the women’s health unit. The team was made up of both foreigners and Sudanese people, and now just the Sudanese employees remain at work. However, according Lydia Geirsdottir, former supervisor of the camp, among those who stayed “there are only two MSF-trained medical staff able to treat basic health problems and the supplies will run out quickly”. Cíntia Rojo [pt], who became aware of the news through the NGO website, comments:

“Darfur concentra a crise humanitária de maior proporção na atualidade. Ou seja, um lugar onde vida e morte são separadas por uma tênue divisa. Desnutrição, doenças, violência. Os conflitos em Darfur se tornaram quase que crônicos e, como tudo que se prolonga, acabou caindo no “esquecimento” da comunidade internacional. A saída dessas ONG´s acarretou consequências graves para a população sudanesa pois grande parte dos projetos sociais vigentes na região eram patrocinados por essas entidades.

Darfur on March 5 - see an info graphic on the left showing a description of the population range affected after the NGO ban: 4.7 million people, the centre served by NGOs, and the 13 banned NGOs: Action Contre la Faim; Solidarité; Save the Children (UK and US) Médecins Sans Frontièress (NL&FR); CARE International; Oxfam; Mercy Corps; International Rescue Committee; Norwegian Refugee Council; CHF and PADCO. Material distributed by ReliefWeb. Click on the picture to maximize.

Save the Children had been operating in Sudan for over 20 years, and for the last 6 had worked with war refugees in Darfur and South Kordofan, a region which saw the return of more than 50,000 adults and children in 2008, and where an emergency unit used to be located. According to Charles MacCormack, the NGO President, the withdrawl of the Save the Children, “poses a serious threat to the well being of more than 1 million children and family members whom the two agencies have been supporting in West Darfur, North Kordofan, South Kordofan and Red Sea States and communities in Abyei and near Khartoum”.

Among other projects, Save the Children dealt with food distribution (3,583 tons of food in 44 locations), water and sanitation (448 points of water and 177 water pumps, which supply about 201,500 people) primary health, agriculture as well as construction and teacher training.

(Refugees - Photos by V. Ângelo)

CARE had been operating for 28 years in the country and was also expelled, reportedly has halted all activities and had part of its equipment seized by the Sudanese government, including computers, cars and houses. CARE worked in the fields of agriculture, water, basic sanitation as well as education and health. The Norwegian Refugee Council reports that not only was their equipment seized by the government but their employees were arrested and suffered aggression. OXFAM had been in Sudan for 26 years and worked directly with 600,000 Sudanese people, it has also been forced to leave the country and is now waiting to return.

The atmosphere in Darfur is tense, according to AK. from the Forsudan blog:

“The reaction in Khartoum by the government was almost instantaneous. After speaking with some relatives in Sudan, the situation seems normal and as one of my cousins put it, ‘business is as usual.' People were expecting there to be a coordinated attack by the Darfuri rebel group Justice and Equality Movement, similar to the one that occurred back in May 2008. People also expected for general violence to breakout, but none of the sort has happened. That being said, people are very tense on the ground and anxious for what is to come. I think people are worried most about the implications on the North-South peace agreement (CPA) and the reaction of the southern government. Here are the positions of Sudanese most prominent political parties. Also, the government has kicked out several international NGOs, among them are OXFAM, Care, and Doctors without Borders.”

The forecast made by the majority of NGOs is that a disaster will happen in the refugee centres, and that an estimated 4.7 million people will be affected, of whom an exodus of 2.7 million is expected. What’s more, 1.5 million need some medical help, 1.1 million do not have food to eat and a million do not have access to water (data from OCHA). In addition,  there is a meningitis outbreak and “no treatment available in the camp, no one to refer patients to the hospital in Nyala, and no mass vaccination. It means that people may die”, reports Lydia Geirsdottir (MSF).

Because of this, Lise Grande, the UN’s Deputy Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Southern Sudan said: “One of the things that those assessments will look at is possible migration flows”. There are more than 100,000 people vulnerable as a result of the upsurge of LRA attacks including over 36,000 internally displaced people who fled their homes in South Sudan, and more than 16,000 refugees from the DRC. “An additional 50,000 people in host communities … are reported to be vulnerable and need humanitarian assistance,” said Grande.

Migration has already started, and some reports have already started to appear via blogs. The sudan-blog reports the reconstruction of a new camp of refugees in Chad, a neighboring country, which expects to attend to about 6,000 refugees.

Nasr was detained only a few hours after he expressed his support for the International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on the online International Forum for Nubia, where he is a moderator.

In this chilling post [Ar], on the forum which is now open to members only, Nasr details his arrest:

On his treatment during his detention, Nasr writes:

Nasr then details how he was woken up from his sleep by one of 11 men who raided his home:

The men then took him through a few villages, changed cars and stopped to pray. Nasr recalls:

Toothless and badly-timed as the indictment of Sudan's president may be, morally we cannot afford not to support it.

… The timing was unfortunate. Many in the Arab world are still reeling from the recent incursion into Gaza and governments are continuing to capitalise on anti-western sentiment. The ostensible hypocrisy of targeting Bashir when apparently Israel and the west are impune renders his martyrdom on the altar of international double standards convenient for Arab or African heads of state living in their own glass houses.

Second, we have Sudanese Optimist, a student in the United States, who isn't too happy and shares with us what the pragmatist in her wonders:

Every media outlet is giving a voice to a plethora of self appointed political pundits, common-sense-loathing activists, and confused citizens of the earth, all trying to make sense of the International Criminal Court’s issuance of a warrant for the arrest of Omar Al-Bashir. However, the one voice that seems to have been muffled by the pandemonium surrounding the issue is that of the Sudanese citizen. I ask: what about me Luis Ocampo?

(…)

… the pragmatist in me is questioning the effectiveness of the ICC’s decision, and the extent of ‘justice’ it will provide for the victims of the Darfur conflict. It could be too early for the man on the street to speculate, but I sincerely hope that Luis Ocampo and the ICC have a follow-up plan to assuage the commotion caused by the indictment of a sitting head of state. Does the ICC consider this the end result, or a starting point in the quest of peace and justice in Sudan? This question remains unanswered.

Now, let's see what AK, also a student in the United States, has to say.

The first thing that I noticed was the fact that the Court only charged him on two of three accusations, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The prosecutor did not get his third request for the crime of genocide. This is very telling. Both the first two crimes can be very easily proven and linked back to Al-Bashir, however, the third accusation (of genocide) cannot be as easily proven or linked back to the President.

… Also, the ‘Save Darfur‘ crowd in the United States cannot be happier. In fact, they are using this opportunity to raise funds, as if this arrest warrant is all due to their so-called “advocacy.” This is a snapshot of their website's home page taken after the arrest warrant was issued.

Along with most Sudanese I know, I am very critical of Save Darfur (et al.). They have been the strongest proponents of intervention in Sudan, something which will undoubtably exacerbate the situation for the worse. But I'll leave that for a later time.

(…)

Here is a clip of the scenes from Khartoum today:

AK also posted this video of Sudanese ICC supporters and Bashir supporters clashing in NYC.

At about 1:30 in the clip, you can see the clashes between the Bashir and ICC supporters.

Next up, we have Mimz with her thoughts and an important observation on what the ICC's decision could mean to this year's planned elections in Sudan.

I am not a big fan of El-Bashir, in fact I despise the man (would be an understatement) for what he has been putting our country and our people through for the past god knows how long. But the ICC just could not delay this decision, which we all knew was coming, and felt the need to make it today and ignore the fact that the first democratic elections in more than twenty years are expected this year.

Finally we have Path2Hope who isn't joyful either.

Now the warrant has been issued and exactly what this means for Sudan I do not know. But what I do know is that expelling the activities of 10 of the aid agencies does not help either. Hasn't the average Sudanese suffered enough? Now that these agencies can no longer do their work - who will step in and fill the gap? I am so angry at not only this reaction in Sudan but by the idiotic ruling of the ICC in the first place.

On a related note, here are Rob Crilly's latest Twitter updates directly from Darfur where he is right now.

10:07 AM Mar 5th # NGO staff held at gunpoint in Nyala on way to airport to leave. They were stopped by national security, very people kicking em out 7:07 AM Mar 5th

# Tired, smelly. Out of anti-perspirant. Word is Bashir coming here on Sunday but I need a drink 8:18 AM Mar 5th

# aid workers now stuck in Khartoum. Must wait for exit visas - the final irony 9:07 AM Mar 5th

# Unamid staff now being allowed out of base to go home after 48hr lockdown. All calm in El Fasher 2:10 AM Mar 6th

# three aid vehicles burned in Khartoum last night 3:01 AM Mar 6th

# Aid workers staying in khartoum for now as negotiations continue. No-one holding much hope. 6:00 AM Mar 6th

See past coverage of Sudanese blogger reactions to the ICC arrest warrant on Global Voices.

Mimz asks people living in Sudan to stop panicking because “the most likely scenario in my opinion, nothing happens!” and “Egypt doesn't need any more people crowding it.”

Either the country is turned upside down, or all our problems are dissolved (hiiiiighly unlikely) or, the most likely scenario in my opinion, nothing happens!
So please, Sudanese citizens, those of you living in Sudan… stop panicking! And stop packing your bags! I know so many people who are actually gone by now because they are afraid of what might happen if the warrant is issued. I'm telling you, Egypt doesn't need any more people crowding it!

Nothing is going to happen, and no I am not in denial, I am just thinking of the most reasonable sequence of events. You will not be attacked in your own home, you will not lose all your valuable posessions and you will not find a loved one dead outside your house. Don't be so overdramatic!

Sudanese Thinker starts an open thread to discuss the ICC decision. He finishes his post saying, “Let the entertainment begin”:

Dear fellow Sudanese bloggers, drop a link to your own blog post on the matter in the comments section so that it will get noticed by the media. I’ve got a number of journalists emailing me, and they’re all interested in hearing what we Sudanese bloggers have to say about this.
Everyone else, share your thoughts, if any. This is potentially history in the making. Meanwhile, I’m gonna go find me some pop-corn.
Let the “entertainment” begin!

Sudanese Optimist simply says, “I wonder…why did John Garang have to die?”

Dying In the Dust begins his post wondering if this could be the beginning of the end. The blogger thinks that al-Bashir will be safe “as long as he stays home”:

Could this be the beginning of the end? Today, the International Criminal Court at the Hague issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for a five-year campaign of violence in Darfur. This is the first time a sitting head of state is charged for war crimes under this international tribunal.

It will be very interesting to see how this plays out in the world, in Sudan and especially, in the villages of Darfur. Here are two initial questions I have:
*Will it be enough? It’s only a warrant for an arrest and Sudan is not likely to simply hand over their head of state. No Western government will support going in an forcibly removing Bashir – so as long as he stays home, he is probably safe. However, will the international pressure and bad publicity drive Bashir to reform his ways? I want to say yes for the sake of my friends and their families who are suffering, but history doesn’t support hope in this case.
*Will Darfur get a backlash? How will Bashir and tribes loyal to him respond? I know they will lash out against the ICC and Western “colonial” powers – but I worry that there will also be retaliation against the men, women and children of Darfur in the form of even greater violence and suffering. The UN is already warning its people to be extra careful in the next few days. Can the AU troops protect the millions of refugees?

Ras Babis expresses his thoughts in a poem in which he says that he does not believe in international laws and that “…when it comes to a man like alBashir/you dance and loudly talk/no action/no justice/just talk and talk/for the Sudanese….” He begins his poem quoting al-Bashir telling the ICC to eat his arrest warrant:

Omar alBashir says
ICC can eat his arrest warrant
he smiled and danced
thousands of his supporters with him
he said the warrant does not
worth the ink it was written with
………
Do you remember Sudan…
how your generals with support of al-Turabi
hanged a great master in your land?
Mohmoud Mohamed Taha was a master
Oh Sudan
Oh my beautiful Sudan
thousands of differences are there between
a master and a killer
….
in this world we live in and on of contraditions and injustice
it is easy to judge a simple man
a real hero
or anyone of us
the laws are made to control the masses
and protect the powerful ones
I became a no believer
I do not believe in your international laws
….
who killed Che Guevara?
who killed Lumumba?
and who killed Taha?
it was you international law
that is why
when it comes to a man like alBashir
you dance and loudly talk
no action
no justice
just talk and talk
for the Sudanese….

Kizzie, who wrote his post before the ICC announcement, reveals that Bashir's party is divided over the issue:

Some Sudan “experts” forsee a bigger Sudanese crises, the disintegration of the Sudanese state. Andrew Natsios, former US envoy to Sudan is worried about a Somali-like situation with an Afghanistan-like intervention.

African and Arab leaders are standing together against the ICC's decision. When the arrest warrant is issued, they are going to be very silent. Bashir's party is already divided. Most of his advisors asked him to step down. He wouldn't.

Let's see what's going to happen

After a frustrated rant about Khartoum International Airport's unhygienic condition, Sudanese Optimist mourned the passing of the respected and well-known Sudanese novelist, Al-Tayeb Saleh.

Sudan has lost a dear citizen, who has contributed tremendously to Sudanese and Arabic literature. His most acclaimed work is the 1966 novel “Season of Migration to the North.” The novel was, at one point, banned in Sudan for its inclusion of sexual imagery, yet it was declared “the most important Arabic novel of the 20th century” by the Syrian-based Arab Literary Academy in Damascus.

Earlier this year, The General Union for Sudanese Writers, requested Al Tayeb Saleh to be preliminarily nominated to win the 2009 Literature Noble Prize.

Ras Babi Babiker mourned Saleh's passing too by reminding us about the great novel that made him a major name in the world of modern Arabic literature.

Season of Migration to the North (Arabic: موسم الهجرة إلى الشمال Mawsim al-Hiǧra ilā ash-Shamāl ) is a classic post-colonial Sudanese novel by the late novelist Al-Tayyib Salih. Originally published in Arabic in 1966, it has since been translated into English and French.

The novel charts individuation of the (un-named) narrator, who has returned to his native village in the Sudan having spent seven years in England furthering his education.

On his arrival home, he encounters a new villager (”Mustafa Sa'eed”) who exhibits none of the adulation for his achievements that most others do, and displays an antagonistically aloof nature. The villager betrays his past one drunken evening by wistfully reciting poetry in fluent English, leaving the narrator resolute to discover the stranger's identity. As it turns out Mustafa was also a precocious student educated in the west but simultaneously harbors a violently hateful and complex relationship with his western identity and acquaintances. The story of Mustafa's troubled past in Europe and in particular his love affair with a British woman, forms the center of the novel.

Meanwhile, as Drima mourned along with his fellow bloggers the death of his country's great novelist, he also blogged an in-depth analysis on the possible consequences of an ICC arrest warrant charging his country's president with crimes against humanity and genocide.

the ICC can’t do much on its own in terms of enforcing the arrest warrant (if it issues it at all) and the UN is a fangless paper tiger, but…

… given that we now have Susan Rice as the US Ambassador to the UN, Hillary as Secretary of State (she has her own blog now by the way), and a Blue Donkey administration in charge of running things, US policies towards Sudan will gradually become starkly different than they were just a few months ago when Bush was still in power.

An ICC arrest warrant issued within this new context will now have more weight, and hence its potential issuance will probably be more useful as a tool for pressuring Omar al-Bashir to act in favor of peace in Darfur and implementing the CPA.

Mimz, who returned to the blogosphere after a long absence, also recently mentioned the ICC arrest warrant and her adventures with Facebook.

“Dang!” doesn’t even begin to describe it. It’s been almost a year and a half since I was last here. And a lot of things went down during that time. Here are just a few highlights:

1. I joined facebook.
2. There’s a global economic crisis going on and it’s on the rise.
3. Obama was elected president of the United States.
4. Israeli troops attacked Ghaza killing and injuring hundreds.
5. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Omer El-Bashir on charges of war crimes.
6. I graduated.
7. Sami El-Haj was released from Guantanamo Bay. (I obviously have a lot of editing to do).
8. Gillian Gibbons was arrested for a “teddy bear blasphemy case” in Khartoum.
9. The rebels reached Khartoum and attacked everyone.
10. I quit facebook.

Did I mention that I finally graduated?

Hipster, a Sudanese blogger living in the UAE, is now also back actively blogging again. She shares with us a little “Che Guevara” experience she had while driving to work.

Aggravated at the abrupt interruption, I glared at the monstrous vehicle, only to be completely amazed and amused at the sight of the colors and words adorning the spare tire case. Che Guevara’s renowned & symbolic raggedy face picture was sandwiched between words in bold letters namely “T.N.T” and “ Al Maafia”. I couldn’t help but look down at my paperback copy of “The Young Che: Memories of Che Guevara”, lying on the passenger’s seat, triggering me to ponder and wonder upon the mockery this revolutionary has become.
With my humble knowledge, I ask: What do “T.N.T” and “Mafia” have anything to do with the Soldier of the Americas?

And if you've ever wondered whether blogging is a form of therapy, you're not alone. Path2Hope shares those thoughts too.

And then it happened, the dam that was blocking my ability from putting down thoughts onto paper broke and everything wanted to come pouring out instantly. So much to write about, so many experiences to relate and then you sit infront of the laptop and wonder - who the heck cares? Everyone has their own battle that they are tackling - and well I suppose blogging really is a form of therapy and an excuse to self indulge.

As for JohnAckec, he reminded us today of the increasingly sad situation with education in Sudan.

With more than 30 universities in Sudan and with talk of declining academic standards and rising level of unemployment amongst university graduates in our country, one is led to believe that university education has lost its glitter and is now next to worthless. Nothing could be further from the truth.

On a happier note, Precious, wished everyone a Happy Valentine's Day.

Although I no longer beleive in romance and that passionate love I used to dream of, and although I no longer trust a man's fake “I love you”s, but you might still have a little hope. So anyway, I deeply and sincerely wish you a very Happy Valentines day, whether you are Single, dating, engaged or married. Enjoy the day and dont let anyone not even him/her, ruin it for you!

The 80-year-old writer, who died in London, was best known for his novel Season of Migration to the North, which was selected by the Damascus-based Arab Literary Academy as the most important Arab novel of the 20th century. Al Tayeb was buried in Om Durman, Sudan, in a state ceremony, attended by the Sudanese president Omar Al Bashir.

News of his death quickly made it to Arabic blogs and online forums, where some bloggers who have met him and others who were planning to do so, paid tribute to this author.

Sudanese Tajooj2, who lives in Saudi Arabia, notes:

Tajooj2 continues:

About Salih, Yemeni Fadhul Al Naqeeb [Ar] writes:

The blogger continues:

Lebanese The Angry Arab Dr Assad Abu Khalil pays a fitting tribute and writes about Salih's work and his experience meeting Salih:

Sudanese novelist, Tayib Salih is dead. I was rather sad to read this news. I read his Season of
Migration to the North (which is available in an excellent English translation supervised by Salih himself) in college and was affected by it. His Arabic style was not what affected me but the themes: the anger and even aggression. I was rather disturbed by the sexual aggression and never understood what Salih was doing with this element, but then understood that it was a 1) metaphor for Arab dealings with the colonizers although I did not like
the use of sex as a weapon; 2) semi autobiographical. I met Salih in the 1980s and he could not have been more peaceful, and mild-mannered, and nice. I liked him instantly. I have said before that some of the most impressive and sophisticated intellectuals I have met in life have been from the Sudan. I don't know what it is: Sudan is a
place brimming with ideas. Remember that in the 1960s, the Sudanese Communist Party was one of the biggest political parties in the region.
Sudanese like ideas and debates, until the US-supported dictator, Ja`far An-Numayri was permitted to impose his Islamist version (assisted by the brilliant but dangerous Hasan Turabi in return for opening up his country for US companies and intelligence, and in return for the smuggling of the Falasha. Sudanese are comfortable in the realm of abstract ideas and would debate in a way that is different from us Arabs in the Mashriq [East]:
we end up shouting and getting agitated, while they can argue for hours while drinking and munching, very calmly. I know, I am engaging in cultural generalizations but I allow myself–but not the White Man–that privilege. I once saw Tayyib Salih in Washington, DC through his friend Halim Barakat. I went with Halim Barakat, Hisham Sharabi and Arab literary critic, Kamal Abu Dib, to hear him talk. Salih (who is one of the best conversationalists I have met […] was most interesting and amusing.

Another author, Moroccan Laila Lalami, who is based in the US, is also moved by the news. She writes:

I was terribly saddened to hear that the great Sudanese novelist, short story writer and literary critic Tayeb Salih passed away in London yesterday. He was eighty years old. A few months ago, when I was preparing my introduction to the new edition of Season of Migration to the North, I had considered going to London to interview him. But then life intervened: I was busy and thought I might be able to meet him some other time. That time never came. He published only a handful of novels, but each had the beauty and complexity of dozens of literary works.

Sudanese Optimist is saddened by the news and writes:

Sudan has lost a dear citizen, who has contributed tremendously to Sudanese and Arabic literature. His most acclaimed work is the 1966 novel “Season of Migration to the North.” The novel was, at one point, banned in Sudan for its inclusion of sexual imagery, yet it was declared “the most important Arabic novel of the 20th century” by the Syrian-based Arab Literary Academy in Damascus.

Earlier this year, The General Union for Sudanese Writers, requested Al Tayeb Saleh to be preliminarily nominated to win the 2009 Literature Noble Prize.

Al Tayeb Salih’s death will definitely leave a big void in the Sudanese literary world. He will be greatly missed.

Like in many online forums across the Arab world, Arabian Leopard, at the Emirates Economy Forum [Ar], notes:

The men - whose identities are obscured - are former members of the Sudanese military and the Janjaweed militia: one was a senior officer in the Sudan Army Finance, one a high-ranking Janjaweed commander, another a Janjaweed footsoldier, and the last a Sudanese soldier.

On the video, you can hear their testimonies of how the Sudanese government recruited the Janjaweed militias, gave them weapons and supplies and whenever they attacked villages, the government would cover it up and state that the attack had been done by the military against rebels, and not by militias attacking civilians.

The video is available with German subtitles, Arabic subtitles and French subtitles.

According to Aegis Trust's press release on Human Rights First, this video could assist in the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant against Sudan's president, General Omar al-Bashir:

Since 2003, at least 300,000 civilians have died in Darfur and millions have been displaced from their homes, many of them at the hands of militia nicknamed the ‘Janjaweed' ('devils on horseback'). Time after time, survivors stated - and international observers confirmed - that as they murdered, raped, looted and burned village after village, the Janjaweed was backed by the Sudanese army and air force. Yet the Sudanese Government has consistently denied responsibility for atrocities in Darfur and to this day, says it has nothing to do with the Janjaweed.

However, the defectors in this film - some of them speaking publicly for the first time - tell a very different story.

The video can also be seen here:

Darfur Destroyed: Sudan's perpetrators break silence from Aegis Trust on Vimeo.

Thumbnail image used from photo by Nicolas Rost/UNHCR, uploaded by hdptcar