The Sudanese family has historically been characterized by social cohesion, where supporting one another is considered a sacred duty. This culture aligns with tribal legacies that govern the social behavior of Sudanese people, where familial and tribal allegiance manifests in pride, strength, and unique solidarity.
However, the rebellion against the Sudanese army, initiated by the Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) on April 15, 2023, has shattered the Sudanese family structure. It has dispersed its members between those residing in Sudan fighting the RSF in defense of their homeland, those displaced in other states, or those fleeing as refugees to other countries as the vast land of Sudan became unwelcoming.
The successive and deliberate interruptions of communication services have further burdened these families, who struggle to connect between the battlefield and the areas of displacement or refuge in neighboring countries.
9 million displaced Sudanese within the country and 2 million refugees in neighboring states!
With 9 million displaced Sudanese within the country and 2 million refugees fleeing to neighboring states, the war has painted a bleak picture for these families. Due to the multiple displacements from war-torn states to safer areas, these families have lost their homes, possessions, and some family members either to gunfire or epidemics that spread along the routes of displacement and refuge.
Thousands of families have moved from Khartoum to Al-Jazira State, then to Sennar State, ultimately arriving in Gedaref State in the east after losing all their belongings and transitioning from a comfortable lifestyle to mere displaced persons searching for support that seldom comes from international relief organizations.
Escape Journey
According to live testimonies from Sudanese families who unfortunately became victims of the rebellion against the state and army, members of these families shared a small part of their suffering from fleeing their homes to refugee camps in neighboring countries on social media and satellite channels.
They all agreed on similar narratives of their escape, mentioning that their homes were attacked and looted, and sometimes young people were killed. When they tried to leave, they were often met by thieves on the roads, trying to take whatever money or jewelry the women had left.
Houses were attacked and looted, families were beaten, and sometimes some young people were killed.
They lost sick individuals along the way due to the lack of medicine, children who could not endure hunger, and women who died of grief after being raped by those criminal groups. Additionally, they faced deadly diseases such as cholera, dengue fever, malaria, and malnutrition. Many families were also killed by snake and scorpion bites on their journey to Chad, Ethiopia, South Sudan, or the Central African Republic.
Mohamed Osman, in Cairo, recounts how his wife was on a work mission in London just before the war and could not return to her country. She is now stuck in Saudi Arabia with their son, who studies there, and cannot join him in Egypt. Meanwhile, two of his brothers and their mother sought refuge in South Sudan after fleeing their home in central Khartoum to Al-Jazira state. When the “Rapid Support Forces” entered the state, they fled to South Sudan. The family lost Mohamed Osman’s father during the escape, as doctors failed to treat him due to a lack of diabetes, hypertension, and heart medications when they sought refuge in South Sudan.
The suffering of Sudanese families did not stop there; they were surprised by a shortage of relief supplies. Yohan Watson, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, admitted that his commission and other organizations had received only 19% of the refugees' needs across various host countries. The severe shortage of medications threatens the lives of all those suffering from epidemic diseases, especially after heavy rains and floods since last June, which have increased the number of disease-carrying insects.
According to reports from international relief organizations, the right to education for Sudanese families is no longer possible for most children and students abroad due to weak infrastructure in host countries. Except for Egypt, all these countries lack sufficient educational infrastructure for their populations.
Egypt, Ethiopia, Chad, and South Sudan have received the largest number of Sudanese families.
The crisis of refugees in the “Olala” and “Komer” camps in Ethiopia illustrates the immense suffering Sudanese families face in exile. Refugee coordinators demanded their evacuation from the camp after armed militias took control and turned it into a bloody battlefield. However, authorities refused, forcing all 6,000 of them to flee into the forests, where they are besieged by beasts, insects, hunger, and a blockade imposed by the Ethiopian army to force them back to the camps. This deadly crisis has surrounded the lives of Sudanese children since May 1 and continues to this day.
Refugee Distribution Map
No neighboring country to Sudan has been free from the extensive refugee movements of Sudanese families fleeing the war and seeking safety from death.
Egypt, Ethiopia, Chad, and South Sudan have received the largest number of Sudanese families who were accommodated in refugee camps in all these countries, except for Egypt, which refused to set up camps for the Sudanese people as it did for the Syrian people previously. Sudanese have integrated into Egyptian society, living in their homes, streets, alleys, and neighborhoods without being grouped into a camp or refugee center.
This month, the UN Refugee Agency added Libya and Uganda to the list of neighboring countries where Sudanese people have sought refuge. In June alone, 27,000 refugees fled to Uganda, in addition to 12,000 refugees since the outbreak of war in April 2023. Furthermore, 20,000 refugees have entered eastern Libya in the past few months.
Relief organizations have received only 19% of the needs of refugees across various host countries.
According to UN reports, refugee camps in South Sudan have received 150,000 Sudanese, in addition to the return of 550,000 South Sudanese from Sudan to their homeland. Authorities in South Sudan have reported a continuous increase in the number of refugees arriving, with about 1,000 Sudanese refugees reaching the border crossings daily. This poses a threat to the economically fragile state’s ability to accommodate such large numbers.
Chad is one of the largest neighboring countries that has received and continues to receive those fleeing the war, hosting around 600,000 Sudanese refugees, the vast majority of whom have fled from the five Darfur states, four of which are now controlled by the Rapid Support Forces. Most of these refugees are concentrated in the Chadian town of Adre, where many members of African tribes from the Darfur region, especially the Masalit tribe, sought refuge; approximately 15,000 of its citizens were killed by the Rapid Support Forces.
Official data in Egypt recorded the legal entry of over 400,000 Sudanese, in addition to tens of thousands who entered the country through illegal means. Despite political leadership issuing instructions for Sudanese to enjoy the same rights and privileges as Egyptians and the authorities' refusal to establish refugee camps for them like those for Syrian refugees, the suffering of families persists due to a lack of job opportunities and insufficient attention from international organizations towards these refugees.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Read the Article in Arabic
