British Ambassador to Khartoum: I came to Sudan with high expectations and I haven't been disappointed; Sudanese should celebrate diversity of Sudan, Sudan has the possibility of being prosperous successful country only if….
10 November, 2014Khartoum (Sudanow) The Sudan and the United Kingdom have long historical relations which have undergone variable circumstances over the past decades. The British Ambassador, Dr. Peter Tibber, warmly welcomed SUDANOW at his office in the Embassy building which lies on the Baladiyah Street in Khartoum center. HE was frank in answering SUDANOW mostly social questions.
The interview follows hereunder:-
Q: Could YE remember your feeling in response to the decision appointing you as Ambassador to Khartoum?
A: I was very pleased. This is an important relationship for UK and for Sudan. There are a lot of historical ties, a lot of personal ties between our two countries and also a lot of issues for us to discuss, so it is a great and interesting job.
Q: Could give us an idea of your hometown?
A: I come from London, so London is a wonderful city It has wonderful things to offer, it is an economic hub, whatever your interest, sport, culture, nature, you can do it in London and I enjoy London very much.
Q: Have you experienced previous relationships with the Sudanese, considering the big Sudanese community back home?
A: No this is new for me; it is part of the excitement.
Q: Have you found any difference between the stereotype you might have had of the Sudan before your arrival and the real image you have now found?
A: I think I came to Sudan with an open mind. I haven't seen Sudan before. I didn’t know the Sudanese community in UK. I did talk to a number of colleagues who have been in Sudan before, they told me about the warmth of Sudanese people and the interesting challenge and excitement of working in Sudan so I came with lots of high expectations and I haven't been disappointed.
Q: Have you served in other Arab countries before the Sudan?
A: Not in Arab countries, but I have worked in Islamic and African countries. I had periods of diplomatic postings in Turkey and Pakistan for example, and I had short term as an interim high commissioner ambassador in Kenya. I have done jobs in London that are related to African and Arab countries, and I have visited a number of Arab countries.
Q: Have you ever make any tour of different parts of the Sudan?
A: I have been practically everywhere in Sudan, all the states. I haven't been to Kordofan because of the security situation, and there are a couple of states in Darfur I haven't been to, I have been to some states in Darfur but not to all, middle eastern Darfur for example, but otherwise I have been to all the states of Sudan, I think and again it is part of pleasure and interest of the job to get to know a country. I had excellent visits to east Sudan, Port Sudan, the River Nile, Northern State. I had a very interesting trip through Gazira region and so I have seen quite a lot of Sudan.
Q: Which was the most beautiful place you have found?
A: well, different parts of Sudan offer different point of interest, Kassala for example is very attractive, and Port Sudan has the attraction of the sea. The trip to the north was extremely interesting; I had the opportunity to visit a number of ecological sites in Sudan. I think every visit offers something.
Q: While you were entertaining your Sudanese guests during the Holy Ramadan sunset breakfast your embassy throws annually, you were dressed in the Sudanese costume and your wife was also wearing the Sudanese tobe; do you like this?
A: yes, it was fun, not surprisingly the Sudanese dress is very well suited to Sudan, it was a comfortable way to spend the evening and I was pleased to have the opportunity to do that.
Q: Have you and your family established social ties with the Sudanese, now that you have been here for about two years?
A: Yes we do have some Sudanese friends. We meet some Sudanese people quite regularly, that's part of the job and also the pleasure of being here.
Q: Have you tasted the Sudanese food? Which dish you prefer?
A: yes I have eaten quite a lot of Sudanese food in all parts of Sudan I have visited. The most memorable recently was, when I was on a visit to Gaderef State. We visited a plantation where a camel was slaughtered on my honour so that was a remarkable high point. I think Sudanese cook fish very nicely in Sudan and I enjoy that.
Q: What is your opinion about the Sudanese women?
A: well, I think there are mixed experiences to the Sudanese women. Some Sudanese women have the opportunity for education and for employment, for example in a number of Universities I have visited, the rectors there have told me that they proposing women than men for staffing in the universities. On the other hand many women have very difficult life in Sudan… poor, restricted, having to spend their day in basic tasks of finding fire wood and water and subjected to physical attack, so I think there is a range of experiences.
Q: What challenges you believe are facing Sudanese women, especially in the rural regions?
A: I think that the challenges are particularly economic, millions of Sudanese people outside Khartoum and some inside too have very poor political circumstances and the situation is getting more difficult for them and it will not improve until there is a change in the big picture, politically and economically, for Sudan. So I think recognizing that many millions of Sudanese live in situations where they don’t have access to basic services, to health, to education, many are malnourished … this bad and it's people's rights and Sudan has the capacity to do that.
Q: Has your Embassy any projects in support of Sudanese women?
A: yes we do have a number of projects designed to support Sudanese women, supporting communities, creating working opportunities, making access to water much easier , working to monitor and to restrict sexual abuse of women, you probably know that UK launched a big initiative to prevent sexual violence in conflict.
Q: How do you view the Sudanese personality?
A: I wonder if there is a Sudanese personality! I think Sudan is a very diverse country, it has people from different backgrounds, different religions, different languages, different ethnicities, so I don't think that the Sudanese should be too concerned with trying to identify a Sudanese stereotype, they should celebrate this diversity of Sudan.
Q: Which of the Sudanese traditions you have found most attractive?
A: I think you have a multi-cultural society, a diverse society and I think it is very important that the Sudanese collectively see that as strength and try and build it rather than trying to suppress it and force everybody into a single model, so I think you should celebrate the diversity of your languages, of your cultures, of your cuisines, of your dances, of your clothes, and enjoy that. And When I go to different parts of the country whether to Darfur or to Red Sea State for example you see different types, different traditions. I went to the Nuba festival that is held in Khartoum every year and saw a different type of dancing, different story telling, this is good and you should hang on to it and cherish it.
Q: Do you think that the international media reflect a real image on Sudan?
A: yes on the whole, the international media tend to concentrate on here, as they do in many places, on problems, on conflicts, on human rights issues and it is right these things need to be discussed, they need to be aired, they need to be publicized and they need to be resolved.
Q: Excuse me, but they sometimes focus only on the negative aspects and neglect the positive ones. Do you agree?
A: well, I am afraid that is a feature of the media actually internationally rather than Sudan and anywhere else.
Q: Is your Embassy planning any support to the Sudanese youths who play an important role in the country's development?
A: yes we do. We work with a Lot of young Sudanese people, they feel very alienated from the political parties, the political systems whether it's the government party or the opposition parties, but they are the future for Sudan and far too many Sudanese young people leave Sudan for financial means or education and they tend to leave Sudan because they can't find opportunities here … and this is a huge loss of resource for Sudan, so we try and work with those groups to help them to develop their capacity and their potential here inside Sudan, but again this is one of the issues that could only be resolved when the Sudanese people collectively address the issues.
Q: Is your embassy contemplating any future projects in support of the Sudanese society?
A: well, our projects, the work that we try to do here whether it's with programs or diplomatic initiatives is to try and support Sudan in delivering on the agenda which that the president set out when he announced national dialogue. So we do what we can to support that, we have big programs providing humanitarian relief for people in conflict areas around about 50 million pounds and we recently announced a further 20 million to support the World Food Program in delivering aid and humanitarian assistance in Darfur. We are working, as I mentioned earlier, on issues of trying to end violence against women in particular, to provide safe access to water for people of conflict areas in Darfur and also elsewhere such as in Port Sudan. We are supporting initiatives to try to end conflict, to build resilience in communities and so on ...we have a big presence here, I think as I said in the beginning the relationship is important and we try to use that to support Sudan to address the fundamental issues that it faces and to mitigate some of the consequences for the poorest and most vulnerable Sudanese people in places of conflict and economic deprivations.
Q: How you view the future prospects of the Sudanese society?
A: well as I said I think a lot will depend on what happens if National Dialogue works , I think the future of Sudan can be transformed and its relationship with the international community can be transformed. If National Dialogue fails I think the prospect is rather bleak , further economic pressure on the country, further conflict , further bad media coverage since that Sudan is a place of conflict and of abuse and it shouldn’t be that.
Q: What do you say to the Sudanese people?
A: I would like to say to them that the National Dialogue is an important opportunity that Sudan needs, a process that is inclusive and brings everybody together and that provides an opportunity to readdress some of the important issues that Sudan faces, issues of conflicts, issues of economic management and issues of political and human rights. Sudan has the possibility of being prosperous successful country which provides its population with an environment in which they can develop and contribute, but for that to happen, Sudan needs to address these fundamental issues but only the Sudanese people can do that, the international community can help, can provide support but we can't do it for Sudan. It's very important that government, the opposition parties, civil society, rebel movements get together and resolve these issues collectively for the benefit of all the people of Sudan.
Q: After the elapse of about half of your service tenure, have you had any change in your opinion about the Sudan?
A: Oh, it is changed. I didn't really know Sudan before I came here but now I do or at least I know it better, and I can see what Sudan has achieved in the past and what it could achieve in the future to get rid of these problems.
(End)
AS/ MAS
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