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.