[Reporter] Ahmad Alawad M. Sikaingat (Assistant Prof. of History, Ohio State University)

In the beginning of his report, Mr. Sikaingat first pointed out the importance of Labor Studies in the Middle East and Africa, and at the same criticized the flaw of conventional studies, that Labor History should not equal labor union history, and stressed the importance of placing the "workers" in a more cultural and historical context by closing in on the lives of individual workers. Based on these perspectives, he illustrated some of his points such as the historical analysis of the "town of iron and fire" Atbara at the center of the 20th Century Sudanese labor movement that was positioned as the choking point of railroad system, the strategy of the British colonial authorities, the bonds between the "workers" and their homeland, and the formation of "workers' culture" by the workers club and publications.

In response, the participants of the session commented and raised questions on the following issues and a stimulating discussion ensued: the notion of "labor" in the Middle East and Africa; the roles of Islam; 'the situation of workers in sectors other than transportation; the relationship between the Sudanese labor movement and the Arab/African labor movements; the effects of change of power in the suzerain nations; and the influence of shifts in international communist movements.