Sudanese journalist and novelist Ahmed M. Ahmed, 46, got his first taste of social activism when he was about 15. Incensed that his school wasn't distributing enough bread, Ahmed and his classmates staged a protest. However, his teacher broke up the collective action within two hours, leaving Ahmed "very sad, very angry," he recalled. Though short-lived, the incident was pivotal for him, said Ahmed, who now lives in Colchester with his family. "[That] was the moment I discovered myself: I'm a leader for problems." By that he meant that he felt a responsibility to expose corruption, social ills and government failings. He did so by becoming a journalist. "People look to you as if you have the key to solve their problems," Ahmed said of that profession. Ahmed was born and raised in the city of Kosti on the western bank of the White Nile River. He began writing at age 12, when he discovered that a book he was reading had several missing pages. He took it upon himself to imagine what those pages might have held. He showed his creation to a neighbor, who was a journalist. "You have a big future," the man told him. After Ahmed entered high school in 1989, he began to write articles about the problems that students faced, such as exorbitant school fees. His writing often got him in trouble with local officials, he recalled. "They [thought] I was [going] to make the government collapse," he said, chuckling. But Ahmed and his peers grew up at a time of significant political change. They were born only 15 years after Sudan gained independence from British rule. And in 1989, Omar al-Bashir led a coup against Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi. Al-Bashir's government failed to provide basic necessities such as food, education and health care, and exploited the citizens' Islamic sensibilities, Ahmed said. One organization, the Sudanese Writers Union, was repeatedly targeted by al-Bashir's regime and was forced to close. "The government in Sudan doesn't like intellectuals," Ahmed said wryly. At the same time, Marxism and Russian intellectuals greatly influenced his generation. "We don't think there is a writer better than Tolstoy or Chekhov or Dostoyevsky," he said. While at university in Omdurman, Ahmed started his own student weekly newspaper. His only guideline to his writers was, "Say what you want to say," he explained. But Ahmed had to quit after four months because…
Sudanese journalist and novelist Ahmed M. Ahmed, 46, got his first taste of social activism when he was about 15. Incensed that his school wasn't distributing enough bread, Ahmed and his classmates staged a protest. However, his teacher broke up the collective action within two hours, leaving Ahmed "very sad, very angry," he recalled. Though short-lived, the incident was pivotal for him, said Ahmed, who now lives in Colchester with his family. "[That] was the moment I discovered myself: I'm a leader for problems." By that he meant that he felt a responsibility to expose corruption, social ills and government failings. He did so by becoming a journalist. "People look to you as if you have the key to solve their problems," Ahmed said of that profession. Ahmed was born and raised in the city of Kosti on the western bank of the White Nile River. He began writing at age 12, when he discovered that a book he was reading had several missing pages. He took it upon himself to imagine what those pages might have held. He showed his creation to a neighbor, who was a journalist. "You have a big future," the man told him. After Ahmed entered high school in 1989, he began to write articles about the problems that students faced, such as exorbitant school fees. His writing often got him in trouble with local officials, he recalled. "They [thought] I was [going] to make the government collapse," he said, chuckling. But Ahmed and his peers grew up at a time of significant political change. They were born only 15 years after Sudan gained independence from British rule. And in 1989, Omar al-Bashir led a coup against Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi. Al-Bashir's government failed to provide basic necessities such as food, education and health care, and exploited the citizens' Islamic sensibilities, Ahmed said. One organization, the Sudanese Writers Union, was repeatedly targeted by al-Bashir's regime and was forced to close. "The government in Sudan doesn't like intellectuals," Ahmed said wryly. At the same time, Marxism and Russian intellectuals greatly influenced his generation. "We don't think there is a writer better than Tolstoy or Chekhov or Dostoyevsky," he said. While at university in Omdurman, Ahmed started his own student weekly newspaper. His only guideline to his writers was, "Say what you want to say," he explained. But Ahmed had to quit after four months because…