Across the Arab world, the chocolate-covered marshmallow treat known elsewhere as Krembo is commonly called “Ras al-Abd”—literally, “slave’s head.”
A Jordanian factory producing this candy and exporting it across Saudi Arabia and the Gulf proudly markets it under that same name. But a Sudanese TikTok blogger, furious after seeing it, is calling the term a blatant example of Arab racism toward Africans.
In his viral video, he urges the African Union to translate the clip into Swahili, French, English, and Arabic so that all Africans understand how Arabs still use racist terms against them. He also calls on African nations to demand the closure of the Jordanian factory and to protest outside Jordanian embassies until Amman apologizes publicly and withdraws the product.
The blogger draws a parallel to France, where a dessert once called “Tête du nègre” (“Negro’s head”) was renamed after protests by the Black community forced manufacturers to apologize and change the name.