Thread by @AssociationSd

The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA)
Press Release
For immediate release
Contact: Addresses below

SPA Invites Sudanese Professionals Worldwide to Sign Reconstruction Pledge

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Khartoum, January 14th, 2019. Four weeks into nationwide demonstrations calling for President Omer al-Bashir to step down, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), an umbrella organization for technocrats and highly-skilled workers,

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and in coordination with professionals outside Sudan, appealed today to all Sudanese worldwide (diaspora, expats, etc.) to sign a pledge for sharing their expertise to assist in leading a wide range reconstruction process of the country -

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once the current regime is ousted.

The appeal comes amid mounting waves of demonstrations in major cities seeking to end 30 years of al-Bashir’s infamous rule. The almost daily rallies have now spread to almost every major city,

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posing a serious challenge to the Islamists’ dictatorship.

In a widely circulated statement, SPA praised the spirit of unity demonstrated by the masses during the past weeks. It, however, cautioned that the toppling of the dictatorship -

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is not the end of the game but rather an important transition to a painstaking era of reconstruction.

The statement iterated that, over the long and dark thirty years of oppression, the Sudanese regime’s policies have worked incessantly to undermine citizenship
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good governance, and sustainable development. This has forced scores of professional capacities to flee the country for serious economic and political reasons, seeking decent lives for themselves and their families. As a result,

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Sudan today is suffering from a dearth of professionals in almost every domain, and even the majority of remaining skilled workers are suffocated, economically and professionally, by the regime. Although brain drain is an acute problem in developing courtiers,
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Sudan is known to be an extreme case of shedding away skilled human resources. A 2015 international report says that “in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and Central America, sometimes more than half of all university graduates migrate to OECD countries,
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with potentially serious consequences for critical sectors such as education, health and engineering.” The size of Sudanese productive human resources worldwide is a force to be reckoned with.

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The SPA call for a massive commitment of Sudanese professionals for Sudan’s reconstruction signals a keen and mature vision of the future of the country. The call for signing a pledge to put one’s knowledge and skills at the service of their country -
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concludes as follows:
“We, the undersigned, pledge to support the Sudanese people’s aspirations for change, and to share our professional knowledge and expertise in the reconstruction of our country.

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We also confirm that we will take up any relevant assignments that may be entrusted to us during the transitional period.”

The response rate to the call was significant. When posted on SPA’s facebook page, it received thousands of interactions
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and was shared over a thousand times worldwide on the platform in less than 24 hours. At the same time the email account dedicated to receiving the personal pledges received close to a thousand letters. Responses continue to increase.

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Even many individuals who are currently residing in Sudan decided to take the same pledge as well, committing themselves to contributing more and volunteering more, financially and professionally, for the reconstruction of Sudan after the current regime is ousted.
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Given the number of Sudanese active users of social media, the response to this call was relatively high.

Sudanese Professionals Association
Email (for the pledge): [e-mail]

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Facebook: @SdnProAssociation (the statement in Arabic: bit.ly/2VUl1yu)
Twitter: @AssociationSd

(Prepared from Arabic content by the Sudanese Translators for Change - STC; twitter: @SudaneseTc)

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