Mohamed Ismail fled the war in Sudan for Egypt. In his new life in Giza, Ismail relies on a monthly salary of about $100 from a paper factory to put food in the mouths of his five children. But he says it’s more important for his family to be safe.
“We are not looking at the economic situation now, we’re more concerned with the safety aspect. My children now, one of them is Saleh, he still sleeps with me until now, because the sounds of bangs and explosions scare him. He still wakes up scared at night, unless he sleeps next to me.”
A year of war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has driven more than 8.5 million people from their homes.
It is the world’s largest displacement crisis, which has uprooted families multiple times and pushed millions into extreme hunger.
Some of the displaced, like Mohamed Ismail, have escaped Sudan to neighbouring countries with economic and security problems of their own.
Others are internally displaced. Tens of thousands have sought shelter under the protection of the army at displacement centres in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan.
Mashaer Ali, a mother of three from the capital Khartoum, says it’s dreadful to see what one has to go through.
“Displacement is a very harsh experience, you cannot imagine that one day you will be living like this. From your home with a room and a private life to another new place where you sleep on the floor, waiting for relief and anything to eat. You think you are in a dream when you think about this life. Up until this moment, which is almost a year now (into the Sudanese war war) it feels like we’re in a dream, is this reality? Is this how our reality would look like? It is very, very difficult.”
Sudan’s war erupted on April 15, 2023, over a planned political transition under which the army and the RSF were competing to protect their interests. Fighting tore through the capital and unleashed waves of ethnic violence in the western region of Darfur.
Thousands of civilians have been killed although death toll estimates are highly uncertain, and both sides have been accused of committing war crimes.
Washington has announced an additional $100 million in aid for Sudan ahead of a humanitarian conference in France. The US has urged partners around the world to put greater priority on the conflict in Sudan and step up with further funding at the conference.
With inputs from Reuters
