In Sudan, Fridays
are dedicated to the family when all children meet at the father’s house for
breakfast. This writer had the privilege of being with such a family last
Friday. This was the house of Abdallah Khalil the second Prime Minister of
Sudan from 1956-58. Abdallah Khalil’s son Amir had visited their farm house in
Omdurman that morning and brought plenty of dates and other fruits. Amir
Abdallah Khalil showed me his father’s room which was no less than a museum
with antique collections of typewriter, telephone, music recorder, rifles and
swords. There were photos framed on the walls showing Abdallah Khalil with many
heads of state. The one that caught this writer’s attention was the one with
Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister. This photo was taken when Nehru
visited Sudan.
Abdallah
Khalil’s son Amir served the United Nations for 4 decades. He retired as
Assistant Director General of Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) in
Rome. After retirement he was assigned to UN headquarters at New York as
Advisor to FAO for Security Council Affairs. Currently Amir is the Chairman of
Omdurman Teaching Hospital.
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