Sudan: The Nubian Club in Khartoum; political affiliations or any difficulties for members

No contemporary mention of a Nubian Club in Khartoum could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. The only reference to a Nubian Club in Khartoum was found in a document on the establishment of the Nubian Studies and Documentation Centre in London, whose roots could be traced back to Khartoum where the first "Nubian Club" was founded in 1931 (The Nubian.net 21 Mar. 2002). The document provided the following background information on the Nubian Studies and Documentation Centre:

The establishment of the Nubian Studies and Documentation Center (NSDC) comes as the culmination of a Nubian social and cultural movement that started in Sudan back in 1931 when the first "Nubian Club" was established in Khartoum. Like Cairo to the North, Khartoum represented the newly established bustling metropolis to the South that became another attractive center where Nubians flocked to seeking gainful employment. The word "Nubian" then used to encompass that sector of the Nile Valley population South of Aswan "First Cataract" up to and South of Wadi Halfa to the fringes of Dongola. As such the area south of Aswan up to Wadi Halfa was considered by the Angle - Egyptian condominium rule as representing one unit of ethnic and social entity that merited the devise and implementation of a singularly unique administrative formula. The predominant factor that influenced the operational aspect of this administrative set-up was the cohesion and closely knit Nubian Society governed by an indigenous code of social conduct, customs and rituals which amounted to that of a one big family unit. Events that started by the turn of the 20th Century by the building of Aswan Dam in 1902 through its three successive elevations and up to the building of the High Dam in 1964 dealt devastating blows to the very fabric of this society leading to a massive exodus of the young and able men to the population growth centers to the North and South.

The inundation of the whole area by the waters of the High Dam and the resettlement of the now geo-politically divisible "Egyptian Nubians" and "Sudanese Nubians" to Kom Ombo and New Halfa respectively led to the emergence of the Nubian Dispersion in its current wide scale. By the late seventies and early eighties the prospects of the Nubian heritage and culture totally disintegrating and withering away became an imminent eventually if the status quo was allowed to drift. This awakening realization induced among the Nubians the dire need to preserve and revitalize the Nubian social [and] cultural movement spearheaded by the Nubian Club in Khartoum and the establishment by the Nubian intellectuals of its two composite organizations: the Nubian Cultural Committee and the Society for Nubian Studies. The latter came into being in 1983 as an affiliate of the renowned International Society for Nubian Studies founded in Essen, Germany in 1969 and chartered in Cambridge, UK in 1978.

Under the auspices of the Nubian Club in Khartoum, [the] above two organizations launched a campaign aimed at preserving the Nubian cultural heritage through adopting specific programs; foremost among them was:

First: The revitalization and transformation of the spoken Nubian language into a written one.

Second: The documentation of the Nubian heritage as manifested in its history, social norms and all forms of artistic creativity.

The Establishment of NSDC :

These efforts were nipped in the bud by the Coup d'Etat of 30th June, 1989, the ideological and political orientation of which ran counter to the very objectives of the Nubian Club in Khartoum. The year 1994 witnessed the re-initiation in Cairo of the activities of the Nubian Club in Khartoum in the two areas referred to above. The presence in Cairo of two prominent members of the Executive Committees of The Club's two composite organs was given further impetus by the positive response to their initiative to pursue above objectives by some concerned Sudanese Nubian intellectuals resident in Cairo. A Founders Committee was formed with the membership of those individuals whose deliberations and consultations with other Nubian social and cultural entities inside and outside Sudan resulted in the agreement to establish "The Nubian Studies and Documentation Center" (NSDC). For practical operational considerations NSDC was registered and chartered in London, UK 18th. Sept. 1995 as a company limited by guarantee according to the English Companies Act 1985 not having share capital and having charitable status by the Number: 1049048 L.NRCS at: The Charity Commission, St. Alban's House, 57 / 60 Haymarket London, SWIY 4QX - U K.

The resources needed to make NSDC operational and initiating the formal process of opening its Cairo office was made possible mainly by the generous donation in the name of The Late Sayed / Ibrahim Ahmed, a distinguished Sudanese Nubian and a prominent national figure and statesman who played a key role in the Sudanese National Movement that led to the Country's independence in 1956.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reference

The Nubian.net. 21 March 2002. "The Nubian Studies and Documentation Centre." [Accessed 10 June 2002]

Additional Sources Consulted

Africa Confidential 1998-2002

Africa Research Bulletin 1998-2002

IND Country Assessments

IRB Databases

NEXIS

US Department of State. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. 2000-2001.

WNC

Internet sites including:

Amnesty International

Gateway to Nubia

Human Rights Watch

The Nubian.net

Nubian Soul

Sudan News Agency