What the displaced Sudanese in Egypt miss most is breakfast with family and neighbors (Reuters)

More than 10 million people left their homes following the outbreak of war in Sudan in April 2023 and were displaced inside and outside the country. Due to its neighbourhood, Egypt was one of the first stops for those fleeing the fighting.

According to United Nations statistics, about 460,000 displaced people from Sudan took refuge in Egypt, and the number rises to more than one million in the data of the Supreme Council of the Sudanese Community in Egypt, which states that the number of members of the community reaches 4 million.

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The war and its horrors have deprived most of the displaced people of integrating with the rituals of the Holy Month, and currently the displaced people are experiencing their second Ramadan, during which some of them notice differences between Ramadan in Egypt and in Sudan, and remember details associated with the month of fasting in their country.

Sudanese women prepare breakfast during the holy month of Ramadan in Cairo (Reuters)

To the limits of the sky

Ramadan in Sudan has special rituals that begin weeks before the beginning of the month, according to Noha Reda in her interview with Al Jazeera Net.

The forty-year-old woman says that at the beginning of the month of Shaban, a beautiful smell emanates from Sudanese homes that reach the limits of the sky, which is the smell of “abry” or “bitter sweet,” which is the national drink on the breakfast table in Sudan.

Noha says that it takes weeks to prepare “sweet bitter,” which is a mixture of spices, a specific type of dough, a mixture of fermented corn flour, and some herbs.

In addition to "sweet bitter", there are other types of Sudanese juices, such as "Aradeeb", which is the opposite of Egyptian "tamarind" juice, as well as "baobab or jungle" juice, but Noha confirms that the basic juice that cannot be dispensed with throughout the 30 days, is "sweet bitter" juice. "Sweet is bitter."

Noha says that one of the forms of preparing for Ramadan in Sudan is also “drying onions, okra, and meat in a specific way to make traditional dishes during the holy month.”

Noha found difficulties in obtaining the basic materials for making Sudanese juices and food. She says: “I searched a lot and worked hard, until I reached a Sudanese merchant who sells dough, spices, and all things related to our food and Sudanese juices.”

According to United Nations statistics, about 460,000 displaced people from Sudan took refuge in Egypt (Reuters)

Distinctive dishes

The Sudanese breakfast table differs from the Egyptian one. While Noha mentions that the Egyptian breakfast depends more on meat, chicken, and cooking, the Sudanese table is distinguished by dishes that do not fail throughout the month of Ramadan.

Noha says: “Fava beans and falafel are essential dishes on the Sudanese breakfast table, while Egyptians eat them at suhoor, and it is impossible for them to eat them at breakfast.”

Noha mentions the most famous Sudanese dishes at the breakfast table, including “porridge,” which is present on the table for 30 days, and is eaten with “salah,” which are types of “sauce.” “Al Nuaimiya Mallah” or “Al Taqilya Mallah” is minced meat, dried and crushed okra with tomato sauce and onions, and “Yogurt Mallah” is made from yogurt, onions and spices.

Noha continues: “There must also be meat or chicken, and the Sudanese tear, whether made with meat or chicken, is cooked with onions, tomatoes, garlic, and coriander.”

Fava beans and falafel are essential dishes on the Sudanese breakfast table (Bixabe)

“Balila” is also considered a main dish on the breakfast table, and despite the similarity of its name to the Egyptian “balila” made from crushed wheat, “Sudanese balila” is red beans and is cooked with corn and “tura,” that is, dry bread, fennel, salt, and lemon.

“Qarasa” is also a main dish on the Sudanese table. It is a type of bread made with dough similar to “qatayef” dough, but it is thinner than it, in addition to soup.

Four or five hours after breakfast, the Sudanese eat dinner. Noha says: “Before 12 p.m., we eat dinner, and usually the surplus food is from the breakfast table. Before dawn, we eat only bread and milk for suhoor.”

The Sudanese breakfast table differs from the Egyptian one (Reuters)

In the face of alienation

Although Noha, who lives in the Fifth Settlement neighborhood in Cairo, misses meeting with her family and neighbors as she was accustomed to in Sudan, “because after the war, the family and friends dispersed to many countries, making it difficult for us to have the sweet touch that distinguished us in Sudan,” she finds in Egypt a compensation and rapprochement. She didn't feel alienated.

She says: “Ramadan in Egypt is beautiful and has high spirituality. Many things in it remind us of Sudan, such as the tables of the Most Merciful, and the Ramadan bag to help needy families, and also, helping the poor with alms and good deeds exists in Egypt, as well as the joy and celebrations of the advent of Ramadan from decorations hung on homes and in the streets.” “It reminds us of Sudan, but Ramadan decorations in Egypt are sweeter and more diverse.”

In order for the Sudanese citizen to feel that she is spending Ramadan in her country, she eats breakfast most days with her family and friends who have arrived in Egypt, and she adds: “After breakfast, we gather together and go to the mosque with the children. We pray Isha and Tarawih and remember the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, as we used to do in the dhikr circles in Mosques in Sudan.

She continues: "We miss Sudan very much, but we feel like we are in our second country and we are trying to make up for that by providing aid, performing Tarawih prayers, and gathering with our family."

“Bursh” is spreading the ground in front of houses with large “rugs” that connect one house to another (Reuters)

“Borscht”... Breakfast for neighbors and family

Al-Rahman’s table is an essential element of Ramadan in Egypt and Ramadan in Sudan alike. It is an iftar table held in the streets and squares to break the fast for passersby and the poor. But Abdul Aziz Haroun, a forty-year-old merchant, misses the “borsh” he used to have in Sudan.

Haroun, who lives in the Al-Rehab neighborhood in Cairo Governorate, says that what he misses most is breakfast with his family and neighbors in “Al-Bursh.” He told Al-Jazeera Net that “Al-Bursh” is sleeping on the ground in front of houses with large “rugs” that connect one house to another. , where neighbors and family gather to break the fast together throughout the month of Ramadan, and “in Egypt, gatherings are limited to small families or relatives only.”

The Sudanese citizen remembers the days of Ramadan in his country, and how young people go to the banks of the rivers, especially near the confluence of the Nile River on Tuti Island, which is in the middle of the cities of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum and Omdurman, to reduce the heat of the weather, “but the weather in Egypt is cold.”

As for Al-Masid, which is found throughout the year, it is more active during Ramadan. Haroun describes the “Al-Masid” as a large plot of land in more than one area, which includes a mosque, classrooms for students to memorize the Qur’an and learn matters of religion, and a hostess for visitors, in addition to the “Hospice,” which is a large kitchen for preparing food for expatriates, visitors, scholars, and sheikhs.

He says: “In the month of Ramadan, there is a lot of praise for the Prophet and the remembrance of Allah, and celebrations for memorizing the Qur’an, religious competitions, and feedings are held in Al-Masid. It was our destination after breakfast until Tarawih prayers.”

Although Abdel Aziz misses spending Ramadan in Sudan, where he hopes that the situation will stabilize until he returns with his family, he describes Ramadan in Egypt as “rich. The streets are awake all day, and there are lights and decorations everywhere. Even the Egyptian TV programs and dramas are much more than the Sudanese ones.” Despite some Differences, but Ramadan in Egypt is very similar to Ramadan in Sudan, it makes you feel familiar even if you are far from neighbors and friends.”

Source: Al Jazeera