Lawyer Omar Ushari, who was detained for his activism during this time, was released and dreamed of opening a literary cafe named Rateena in Khartoum.

The cafe became a safe haven for young activists.

However, on April 15, 2020, the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces went to war, resulting in much of Khartoum lying in ruins.

Ushari watched as both his project and his dreams for a better Sudan faded away.

In April 2019, Omar al-Bashir was ousted from power in Sudan, leading to a civilian-led transition filled with hope and vibrancy among young Sudanese, according to Samah Salman, who worked in corporate venture capital at the time.

However, as the war entered its second year, thousands have been killed and millions displaced.

Samah reflects on his visits to Rateena during the raging street battles, comparing the previous music, lectures, and debates to the stray bullets and tank fire outside.

He is just one of many dreams shattered in what is now referred to as a "stolen revolution." A wave of startups emerged in Sudan, addressing the needs of ordinary people in sectors like telehealth, agritech, renewable energy, logistics, and fintech.

The boom was attributed to the country's political revolution.

However, hopes for democratic transition and freedom were dashed in October 2021 when the military took power, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Communications expert Raghdan Orsud, who co-founded Beam Reports to combat disinformation, was among those disillusioned by the turn of events.

Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his deputy Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, leaders of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), overthrew the civilian transitional administration in Sudan.

The coup led to a painful and violent period, with weekly protests met with lethal force.

On a Saturday at the end of Ramadan, the RSF turned their guns on each other, leading to urban warfare and mass displacement.

During this chaos, Orsud's recording equipment was seized and looted, and Ushari learned that Rateena had been burned down.

Sudanese expats, who had saved to build homes in Khartoum, have been disheartened as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) looted their properties.

One pastry chef, Shaimaa Adlan, described her father's despair, wishing for an airstrike instead of seeing his life's work used as a military base.

Adlan herself had to start over in Egypt after being uprooted, but she's now thriving in her catering business.

Despite the war, entrepreneurial spirit remains in Sudan, with tech entrepreneurs focusing on real-time safety updates and evacuation routes instead of protests and delivery services.

Young people who organized protests in Sudan are now leading humanitarian aid efforts, according to the UN.

Despite displacement or living in the diaspora, the dream of a new Sudan remains strong.

Ushari and Orsud, representatives of this movement, express their commitment to rebuilding Sudan.