Repeated police swoops plague tea vendors in Sudan’s capital

23/04/2017 09:03 KHARTOUM

The head of the Food and Beverage Women Workers Union condemned the repeated police swoops on tea vendors in down-town Khartoum these days.
“All the localities in Sudan made arrangements for the women tea vendors on the streets and markets, except Khartoum,” Awadiya Mahmoud, Head of the Union, told Radio Dabanga.
She said that in particular Jackson Square, which is part of the main bus station in Khartoum, is regularly raided. The vendors are detained and their equipment is confiscated. They are usually brought to trial the same day, and released after paying a fine amounting to hundreds of Sudanese pounds.
“The locality’s security forces, policemen, and other employees need to be trained, so that they learn to treat the tea vendors in a human way,” Mahmoud stressed. “Some of the women have been treated so badly by these sharks that they are handicapped for the rest of their lives.”

The head of the Food and Beverage Women Workers Union condemned the repeated police swoops on tea vendors in down-town Khartoum these days.

“All the localities in Sudan made arrangements for the women tea vendors on the streets and markets, except Khartoum,” Awadiya Mahmoud, Head of the Union, told Radio Dabanga.

She said that in particular Jackson Square, which is part of the main bus station in Khartoum, is regularly raided. The vendors are detained and their equipment is confiscated. They are usually brought to trial the same day, and released after paying a fine amounting to hundreds of Sudanese pounds.

“The locality’s security forces, policemen, and other employees need to be trained, so that they learn to treat the tea vendors in a human way,” Mahmoud stressed. “Some of the women have been treated so badly by these sharks that they are handicapped for the rest of their lives.”