Academia, archaeology and advocacy: Navigating the effects of war

Professor Intisar Soghayroun shares the fate of scores of Sudanese academics, forced into exile by war. In this interview, she reflects on her journey from archaeology to public office, disillusionment with politics, and a renewed mission to protect Sudan’s cultural legacy.

For years, professor Intisar Soghayroun had had an unsettling feeling that something bad was about to happen. Sadly, she was proven right.

Trying to settle into a new life
On 15 April 2023, war broke out in Sudan, forcing masses of Sudanese to flee, effectively shutting down society.

-I don’t see sustainable peace in the near future, she says.

The youth, of which she is so fond and has a deep connection to through her teaching at the University of Khartoum, are the ones whom in many have placed their faith.

-But they have lost their hope. They are being targeted and killed, seen by the generals at war as a threat to their power.

When war broke out, universities and schools were closed. Soghayroun, alongside her colleagues at the University of Khartoum, were thrust into a state of limbo.

In a time of acute crisis for her country, Soghayroun also lost her daughter-in-law. She says that for a while, the trauma caused her to lose the ability to speak in Arabic. The Arabic language, the words and phrases closest to her heart, just wouldn’t come out. Speaking English provided a way of distancing from it all. What lifted her out of the despair was an invitation from the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security to come meet young Sudanese women in Uganda, feminists and activists who have, like Soghayroun, been displaced because of the war.

-Among them I saw that something positive was happening. I saw hope, she says.

Since July 2022 she has been in Cairo where she is searching for a new job, sharing a fate with so many of her fellow Sudanese. Egypt is now the main recipient of Sudanese who have been displaced because of the war. Estimates show that 1.2 million have crossed the border into their neighbouring country in the north.

Disenchanted with the political game
Intisar Soghayroun was the first to study Islamic archaeology in Sudan and is professor of archaeology at the University of Khartoum. The recognition of her work and her invaluable knowledge and experience in the education sector has also brought her far beyond the realms of academia. She was appointed Minister of higher education and scientific research in Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional cabinet in 2019. Her experiences as a minister opened her eyes to foul play. In the end, it left her disenchanted with politics and public office.

-I am a woman who likes adventures, but I feel like I paid a steep price for this one. I ended up losing hope and faith, even in my colleagues. It was a hard lesson to learn at my age, says Soghayroun.

When first approached, she was terrified. She knew the transitional government was under immense pressure. But what convinced her was the promise that they would be looking for people with technical knowledge and experience, not politicians.

-That I had not been actively involved in politics was one of the reasons I was sought out, and I accepted having been reassured that I would have the chance to contribute to meaningful change, strengthening Sudanese universities and improving conditions for students and faculty members. But it soon turned out to be just about politics and power struggles, she says.

She was not only disappointed that the position as a Minister did not give her room to drive actual development and improvement in Sudan’s higher education sector. She was also disappointed by the so-called intellectuals who were part of the political elite. Politics got in the way of reforming a sector that according to Soghayroun was in desperate need of change. She and her team had worked hard towards implementing new strategies and policies, but constant disagreements, shifting demands and bickering between different politically involved factions made any meaningful change impossible.

Long-term and short-term measures for the educational sector
What she would have done, had she had the chance, is to push for professionalisation of Sudanese universities and colleges, and engage the local communities in the planning, building a new and stronger relationship. In Sudan, the universities have a special responsibility to serve and assist the local communities. For example, the majority of Sudanese universities have peace centres dedicated to research and work within the field of peace building and reconciliation. Soghayroun sees a strengthened role in peacebuilding for the universities and emphasizes the role of the youth.

-They are the ones who will be tasked with rebuilding Sudan when the time comes. We need them to help raise awareness, also of how rich Sudan is in culture and literature, she says.

In a long-term perspective, she foresees a focus on building and strengthening competencies at selected universities, rather than spreading out the resources too thinly.

-We need to strengthen the regional universities in a way that improves the quality. We cannot have any more colleges being established simply to cater for the interests of one or two students with powerful connections or for the sake of this tribe or that section of another tribe. Rather, we should create hubs for specific topics and areas where we let the academic milieus grow and develop and let this in turn attract students. We need to place more weight on quality than quantity, says Soghayroun.

But at the moment, with the current war showing no signs of ending, the tasks are out of pure necessity at a more basic level.

-We have lost academic records, and we need to rebuild them both for the sake of the staff and the students. Firstly, we need to gather data. Where have the professor and students gone to? What sort of assistance can the universities give them at the moment? When the war first broke out, we were in a state of shock. And after the first stage of disbelief, no one expected the war to last for long. But we have to get past the current state of inaction, she says.

She points to the possibilities of e-learning, and of taking advantage of resources in the diaspora. Many Sudanese who are currently displaced can contribute via digital tools and teaching, offering their expertise and securing transfer of knowledge. As a long-time key actor in higher education in Sudan, she urges the ones who will follow to look to plans and policies that had already been made for the sector. And for people with experience from higher education to take the lead.

-We need people with the technical knowledge to be in charge, and we need Sudanese professionals to do it, she says.

Protecting Sudan’s cultural heritage
Despite her disenchantment with politics and public office, and despite being displaced, she has asked herself how she can contribute towards Sudan’s future. And her role is in advocacy; advocacy for Sudan’s rich cultural heritage; a heritage which is now under threat from the raging conflict. Decisive and immediate action is critical. She argues that UNESCO has failed the Sudanese people in helping them to protect their landmarks, and also in contributing to train heritage staff or technicians that can be ready to step in when the war comes to an end. Soghayroun outlines the contours of what she terms cultural cleansing by the warring parties.

-But there is a growing group of people who are taking an interest in protecting our heritage from the destruction of war. Using for example social media campaigns in our advocacy we can create a critical base of people who will take on our case, she says.

Soghayroun argues that Sudan’s rich cultural heritage is invaluable, not only on a national level; also the international community will lose out if this is annihilated. And there is one more thing that makes protecting the country’s cultural heritage so important.

-A focus on our cultural heritage is key to peaceful co-existence, says Soghayroun.