Adjust and Recalibrate
The Power of Adaptability and Resilience
In 2017, I returned to Sudan after working abroad for five years. I came back with everything I had learned and earned, ready to start a new chapter in my life.
With the help of a couple of friends, I started a video production company. Initially, things were hard: lots of paperwork, contracts, legal fees, accounting, payroll, worrying about camera gear and film equipment safety, and working with new companies.
Everything was overwhelming. Things were complicated, and we had no guidelines or similar small-sized companies in Sudan to follow. But after a few hard months, things got easier. Relationships with companies and organizations were built, work was flowing, and all our bills were paid.
Photo Credit: @Mu3azOsman
In 2018, Sudan experienced a huge revolution that ended over 30 years of dictatorship. This meant a lot of protesting, police and military presence, and a tight grip on who filmed what in Sudan. Due to our company being youth-owned and founded, and our work being freelance and not under the control of traditional media—which was completely under the control of the dictatorship—we showed things that regular media did not show. We spoke about the revolution, the protests, the unlawful arrests, torture, killings, and many unspeakable things. The regular media never showed anything of what was actually happening, and we were one of the few authentic news sources inside Sudan during that period.
This led to us being under the microscope by the Sudanese National Security Agency: the General Intelligence Service, and the harassment started! Imagine a government body, run by a few people with an unlimited budget, built to control the country and do all the things the police can’t do: arresting anyone without a cause just because the government doesn’t like what they said, or just because they participated in a peaceful protest, held a banner, or even wrote an anti-government post on social media. This was the Sudanese General Intelligence Service—a government body with unlimited power and zero morals or fear of repercussions.
We had to face harassment at our workplace, threats of being kicked out of our offices, being arrested while heading to a filming location, and even our gear being held up and cameramen questioned for hours for no reason or cause. This all happened because we were speaking the truth.
In December 2019, the world was hit by an unexpected infectious virus: COVID-19. Nothing was the same after that. The entire world had to adjust in a few weeks to the news, confused and unprepared for such an event. During this very hectic period, we had to give up our office and move our equipment home. At the same time, we had a huge talk show we needed to film, so we had to build a full production studio at home as well: from the set design, the desk, setting the cameras and lighting; everything was difficult but we had to power through.
Photo Credit: @Kee6a
Even though this was unconventional, filming a talk show with thousands of viewers expecting a new high-quality episode each week meant we had to be on top of things and work double the amount with only a quarter of the crew required for such a show of the same caliber. Some days, we had to operate things with just the host, working triple time writing the script, working the cameras, and setting the lights while presenting a funny episode to de-stress people during the pandemic, which was stressful on its own.
The lesson you should take from this is to expect the unexpected. Things will not always go the way you expect them to. Events out of your control will happen, and you will have to adjust and recalibrate to get things done and continue with your plans. Adaptability and resilience are key to navigating through unforeseen challenges and ensuring that you can still achieve your goals, no matter the circumstances.
