Over the past few years, blogs originating from Sudan have emerged as a burgeoning alternative media outlet. One prominent example is a blog called The Sudanese Thinker. Behind the pseudonym Drima, the blog’s author and upcoming author of a book about Islam and new media, is treading into territory often untouched by the traditional media and carving, what he says hesitantly, the country’s first actors in a free media.

Independent media remain slim in Sudan and bloggers are trying to fill in the gaps. The authoritarian central government continues to battle militia groups vying for national power over the fragmented country and rebel controlled villages frequently fall to violence. Under these circumstances, independent media have struggled to survive. They also work under the harsh National Press Council, a code of criminal procedure and security personnel that employ pre-print censorship.

Ethnic and vernacular composition also poses problems to the development of a pluralistic and free media. There are 142 spoken languages, though the Arabic-language often dictates who covers what in the traditional media. A difficult Arabic language test is also a required prerequisite to entering the profession - regardless of what language the aspiring journalist may speak.

In this context, Sudanese journalists and activists are experimenting with blogging, video-sharing websites such as YouTube and social networks to show what is happening beyond the constricted press. Unfortunately, these strides forward do not always go unnoticed by the government. For example, in August 2008, the National Telecommunication Corporation blocked YouTube.

In the following interview, Drima discusses with RAP 21 how the blogosphere is slowly seeping into Sudan and informing people within the country and abroad about war, human rights abuses, ethnic relations and ongoing polemics over having a united or separated country.

RAP 21: Known as Drima, you run a well-known Sudanese blog - why and when did you start putting your thoughts and experiences online? Beyond blogger, how do you describe yourself?

Drima: I started blogging in April 2006 after getting fascinated and hooked by the raw and humanizing nature of the blogosphere.

Many heretical opinions, both in a religious and political sense, were expressed in an open manner that I fell in love with. The anonymity the internet provides allows that, and hence I had to join in and see what it felt like.

I’ve never looked back since. The whole exercise of blogging is self-empowering because it enables free speech, something I now deeply value.

Beyond blogger, I’d describe myself as an upcoming author, since I’m writing a book about Islam and new media in relation to one another. I’m also an aspiring entrepreneur.

RAP 21: In your first post, you said that there weren’t any bloggers writing about Sudanese issues such as Darfur. How has the blogosphere evolved since then?

Drima: Actually, no, there were quite a number of bloggers blogging about Darfur. They just weren’t Sudanese.

The thing is, there were no Sudanese bloggers to be found anywhere at the time, at least not any that I’ve heard of even after so much searching. I thought it was a shame because people needed to hear about Darfur first and foremost, from Sudanese themselves.

Since early 2006, the blogosphere has now seen the arrival of about two-dozen Sudanese bloggers. While many aren’t very active, it’s still good to see the growth of a small Sudanese blogosphere. We could use many more bloggers, but then again, from what I see, most Sudanese youth prefer Facebook Groups and discussion forums to running a blog.

A blog takes time to market, whereas in the former two, your opinions don’t need as much marketing. I think this is one of the main reasons why many Sudanese start a blog, get tired of it since hardly anyone is reading, and then head back to forums where their words will be consumed more consistently and with less effort.

Overall though, it’s nice to see blogging approaching the mainstream and how new media is now starting to have a clear impact on elections in places like Malaysia and the United States.

RAP 21: What are the differences between the Sudanese blogosphere and the media - do bloggers have more freedom than traditional journalists? What about the independent media - are bloggers, in your opinion, the new actors in a free press?

Drima: Well, I think it’s pretty obvious. Bloggers have a lot more freedom than traditional journalists. And in places like Sudan, we’re not just merely the new actors in a free press, but rather the first I dare say.

Now, while the goal of mainstream media is first and foremost to stay profitable, and only then to inform, most bloggers don’t have that problem.

We blog because we’re passionate and want to be heard. We have no editor sugarcoating our words. We have no restrictions on our freedom of speech. Lastly we have the option of being anonymous as we write, which greatly reduces the temptation for self-censorship.

RAP 21: What have been your most popular posts? And what do you most like to write about?

Drima: It’s funny you ask this actually. Even though my blog focuses a lot on Sudanese issues, my most popular posts usually tend to be ones about Islam and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

There’s one major exception though. You may have heard of the British teacher who got imprisoned in Sudan back in 2007 after students in her class democratically voted to name a teddy bear Muhammad.

The incident boiled my blood and I blogged about it. The BBC noticed and linked to me. As a result I received about 10,000 hits from that link alone. The main blog post on that incident has been the most popular so far.

Besides Sudan and Darfur, I like to discuss Islam, American foreign policy, the Middle East, and Africa.

RAP 21: Do you think blogs can make a difference in Sudan - in making peace, implementing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), and reaching a consensus on issues around having a divided or united country?

Drima: No, at least not now, simply because internet penetration amongst the locals is tiny. Most Sudanese haven’t even touched a computer in their lives.

What blogs can do and already are doing, is that they’re slowly enabling observers in places like Darfur to share their experiences with the world, just like how Sleepless In Sudan, used to.

Such blogs end up receiving a good amount of attention from the mainstream media for research purposes, and become valuable sources of information.

YouTube is a different story though. Indeed, it is having a very noticeable impact at the political level. Thanks to it, many videos of Sudanese government abuse have been leaked and watched thousands of times.

For example, the Kajbar massacre was filmed and spread to the whole world through YouTube, which played an important role in mobilizing protests amongst Diaspora Sudanese in the United States against the Sudanese government. The videos also received attention from human rights organizations, which issued condemnations.

YouTube also helped spread awareness about the destruction of Nubian archeological treasures in North Sudan thanks to the construction of dams in the area, which the locals are against but powerless to do anything about.

In both examples, YouTube helped spread awareness and consequently helped add a little more pressure on the Sudanese government through informed parties.

Pressure is always welcome.

So basically, when it comes to blogs in Sudan alone, the impact isn’t noticeable, but with YouTube, it is. Hence, collectively I’d say that people-powered new media is certainly having a growing impact on Sudanese politics. While it’s not going to help with the major issues like the CPA and bringing peace any time soon, it’s already helping expose the crimes of the Sudanese government.