The severe economic crisis experienced by Sudan has reduced the size of the tables in the “Ramadan Gathering” significantly, in light of the many people raising the slogan “Goodness in Existence” to preserve the gathering, which aims to increase social cohesion between the population and feed passers-by who are raided at breakfast time before reaching their homes.
In an interview with Sky News Arabia, Hamad said, “Despite the strong impact of the economic crisis on all aspects of life in Sudan, many Sudanese adhere to the habit of breaking the fast with neighbors in the neighborhoods, even if it requires sharing a few dates and bread.” .
Hamad added, “This is a very old habit that has been passed down from generation to generation for decades, so it is difficult to abandon it, no matter the severity of the economic crisis.”
He pointed out that most people “maintain this habit, but they are forced to put pressure on other expenses, because whoever fails to share the Ramadan Iftar with neighbors is usually a social outcast, unless he is ill or has compelling reasons that prevent him from doing so.”
While the tendency to preserve the habit of the Ramadan gathering by applying the slogan “goodness is present” seems to prevail among most Sudanese, some have given up and preferred to retire in their home and suffice to have breakfast with their family members in light of the high cost of food needed to bring them out to the street gathering.
Regarding this, Hassan Mahmoud, an employee in a government institution, says that he and many of his colleagues have given up the habit of going out with Ramadan breakfast food to the street because that requires a very high cost that the average employee is no longer able to do in light of the continuous erosion of the purchasing power of the local currency and the salaries’ failure to keep up with the big jump that took place. The prices in the markets.
Reducing the volume of purchases
In light of the high prices of basic commodities, many Sudanese find it difficult to purchase Ramadan food supplies.
Despite the great recession currently hitting the markets, which led to the exit of many traders, the prices of meat, sugar, flour, fruits and oils are still recording continuous increases.
According to Muhammad al-Abbas, who runs a small grocery in the Jabra area in southern Khartoum, the continuous rise in prices has forced a large proportion of consumers to reduce their purchases to a minimum.
Al-Abbas told Sky News Arabia that daily sales decreased by nearly 60 percent, especially in groceries scattered in the neighborhoods.
In order to reduce the costs of purchasing Ramadan goods, youth groups in residential neighborhoods work to bring consumer goods directly from factories or production areas to distribute them to residents at cost prices only.
This method has become a safe haven for many consumers, although some believe that it limits them to specific commodities and does not provide them with the freedom of choice that they find in the markets.
Although many Sudanese believe that the current economic situation requires giving up many well-established social customs that characterize the Sudanese people and emphasize their historical tendency towards solidarity and cooperation, especially in the month of Ramadan, they hope that economic conditions will improve in the coming years and that the street community will return to its usual social flavor and momentum. known.
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