Africa Is a Country

This is Africa: Sudanese TV in Dubai Edition

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

This is Africa: Sudanese TV in Dubai Edition

By
Boima Tucker

Sudan's vast diaspora in the Gulf reflected in media available via satellite in Dubai.

A screen grab from Blue Nile TV.

I came across a concert on Sudanese television station Blue Nile TV while flipping through channels in Dubai (lot’s of great music on there). Sudan has been in the news for the repression by the central government in Khartoum in Darfur and its war with South Sudanese fighting for self-determination, but the broadcast I watched reflected a much more upbeat sense of the country. Not sure if it is a channel of the state or the diaspora.

This singer, above, really seemed to get a warm reception, which included rose throwing.  Does anyone recognize him? Perhaps it’s just because of shared language, which means access to a wider audience, but I find it interesting that while Sudan borders many African countries, the text message ticker on the bottom of the screen includes only Arab countries like Oman, Jordan, Bahrain, The UAE, and Yemen, perhaps reflecting Sudan’s large diaspora in the Gulf region.

Further Reading

What comes after liberation?

In this wide-ranging conversation, the freedom fighter and former Constitutional Court justice Albie Sachs reflects on law, liberation, and the unfinished work of building a just South Africa.

The cost of care

In Africa’s migration economy, women’s labor fuels households abroad while their own needs are sidelined at home. What does freedom look like when care itself becomes a form of exile?

The memory keepers

A new documentary follows two women’s mission to decolonize Nairobi’s libraries, revealing how good intentions collide with bureaucracy, donor politics, and the ghosts of colonialism.

Making films against amnesia

The director of the Oscar-nominated film ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ reflects on imperial violence, corporate warfare, and how cinema can disrupt the official record—and help us remember differently.

From Nkrumah to neoliberalism

On the podcast, we explore: How did Ghana go from Nkrumah’s radical vision to neoliberal entrenchment? Gyekye Tanoh unpacks the forces behind its political stability, deepening inequality, and the fractures shaping its future.

The Visa farce

The South African government’s rush to clear visa applications has led to mass rejections, bureaucratic chaos, and an overloaded appeals system—leaving thousands in limbo.