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By RONALD McMULLEN

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HARTOUM, SUDAN - One and there .was a four-day s�tcbJn.:1
. frequently hears the wor� August wben, if any water came Q..Ut
"Sudan" and "potentia�" of the tap, it was a slow, .coffee-col:-.. ,.
uttered in the same ored trickle. · ... \"'
sentence, .with g.ood reason. With in Gasoline costs $2 per gallon and tfie.'.
area as large as the United States gas lines are uhbelievable . :o�¢:'
.east of the Missis.slppi, and a popul�- Sunday I counted 402 cars waiting w. ·
' tion of about 20 million, the Sudan is get gas from a, single pump. When I '
blessed with the geography, resources told the last man in line he was No. �,
and aid that would turn many a Third 402, he said, "But I b� they·b6v«r'
World country green with envy. some gas, .and it may take only five or
· There. are millions of acres of six hours." , . , ,.,.
untouched arable land, enough water Food also is in short supply. ·The,
in the White and Blue Niles to irrigate government bas declared Wednesday .•
much of it, and a soil so rich arid and Saturday meatless days and
· fertile in El Gezira province that it recently confiscated the Hilton'$.·
wou\d compare favorably with-· meat supply '<but paid for it) .and dis;'
Iowa's. The yea r-round warm tributed the meat at the main marltet:" I
weather would allow double-cropp�g Inflation is zooming along at '80 :
and there are ·vast . herds of Zebu percent a month. The price of a �o�i,:_::.1
cattle waiting to be fattene4, eggs rt!Ce�tly went up to $2.30. . , ;; . �i1 ·
The Sudan rece ives generous · There are signs that the mall� �. .:;;
foreign aid from the rich oil stat�. ("Oh well'' or "So what?") . and·--:
Western Elll'Ope and even China. The inshalla ("God willing") attitudes'91:·.i
U.S. Agency for Intema,.tional Devel­ the Sudanese may be clumging. ·.:.:· .�
opment mission in the Sudan :is
among our largest in Africa. There are grumblings about ���·!
pecially the thousands.!)�. ,:i
· Chevron recently. announced the Eritreansesin Khartoum: Perhaps
refugees,
i·
discovery of high-grade oil in the viewing the refugees as a convenient"' 1
.southwest, and other major firms ·a.re scapegoat, · President Nimeirt·:/
confidently prospecting for uranium. recently . proposed sending them to ·;
President Gaafar Mohammed "labor camps" near the borders. . , ,, . ·)
Nimeiri, the benign dictator who lias
In August there were student dem- ·1

\:
run the country for the' last 10 years,
is a hard-working and sincere man onstrations and· workers' strikes ,.
trying to lead his nation to prosperity. against' high prices and the govern�. aI:
,i
He skillfully negotiated a peaceful ment. At Wad Medani, an �agricult��� ,
settlement to a bloody 17-year North- center about 110 miles p the Bl -�
South civil war. Nile from Khartoum, I talked to
youn g rioters who were burling bric1':S"
- Nimeiri has started · the govern­
ment .on a vast decelitralizatibn and stones at passing police true�,..
program that will reduce the poW:er and cars. They were supporters of-the
y
of the central goverilment and dis-·· Moslem Broth�rs, a reactionar ··
tribute power to thousands of local Islamic group, and explained tliaC
councils. After a brief flirtation with they wanted to tum .
the Sudan into'
the Communist bloc and socialism, he c1another Ir ipi." . ·
has denationa}lzed mOJt il\dustry aild This slide may be . stopped by ''· lt;!
·. bas, become a moderately p�W�- coup from the left or the µlllitary; or-t'
ern stl�man. . , maybe an Islamic Of.evolution. '.i'
p .
Des ite its advantages, .bowe�r, Perhaps Nimeiti will muddle .through . :
the Sudan .remlµJ,18· .impoverished ,.... and tum things. aro'!IJld,; although Jt)
the �verage per-capita income ,is Im remains to be seen whether t��·,
than $290 per year. · , · people and·his enemies will· give him·
Telephones occasionally work, and time.
. railroads usually do - in the dry
. .· .
I wish I could go up . and wbispe( ·
· .' .�i
season. Parts, of Khartoum are the formula in Nimeiri's ear, tiut. I' 11
.without electricity for days · on e�d, have neither·the formula nor bis �r.... j
So· we will sit back and watch· the · i

1
Ronald McMullen, a . 1at•v� of downward slide, 'hoping it will reacb-
Northwood, la.,.. and a 1978 gradaa� its nadir before an eruption . .
·occurs:
ry
of Drake UQiveli'lity, Is III bateni �t and brings more mise to this oten... · p
dae U:S. EmbassylD lltla�um. I · tially pros�ro�.land. .· . ··· ... , ':r•.: