Child Harassment in IDPs Shelters, Disturbing

Khartoum – Rehab Abdullah

The stories of the displacement of women fleeing the hell of war in Khartoum are similar in many of their details, but in the middle of the story you find something different that draws attention to know its details.
While I was inside a shelter in Atbara, River Nile State, I found the displaced woman from Khartoum, Hadia Bilal, working hard to cook food for her family. She was lighting firewood in the middle of three stones and placing a cooking pot on it, blackened from the smoke of the firewood, and sweat was pouring from her face despite the cold weather.
Hadia, a widow with a child, who lives in the Bahri area, Al-Mazad neighbourhood, begins telling the story of their departure from their home in Khartoum after the outbreak of the militia war, while speaking to (Al-Ahdath): We went out on the sixth day of Eid Al-Fitr, after the water and electricity were cut off, and she justified the decision to leave because her son was in a state of illness. Fear and a bad psychological state frightened her after he refused to eat food and became infected with a fever. She left and went to “Al-Samarab” neighborhood, north of Bahri, because we thought it was safer. However, the clashes increased and became very close to their place of residence, so they decided to leave Khartoum completely. They came to Al-Damer locality in the River Nile State and lived with our relatives, but they could not bear them much due to their living conditions, so they had to go out to look for a shelter and arrived at this home in the city of Atbara, “12 Al-Matar District Basic School.”
*Suffering on the road*
Hadia, with sadness and worry evident on her face and in the tone of her speech, said, “During the exit trip, the struggle was how to know the safe way to leave Khartoum. We were subjected to inspections from the “Rapid Support Forces (RSF)” outposts and also the “Army” outposts, in addition to the fear that afflicted the children from the sound and shape of the weapons, and she continued. “My family includes my sister and her daughter, my brother’s wife and her children, my other brother has cancer, and my cousin is old.”
* Source of living*
Hadia complained about the lack of support they received from the local community or organizations, indicating that in the beginning the number of families was as simple as 16 families in the Shelter, but now it has reached 65 families, and the support that comes from food supplies has become so little that no one can divide it, so it stopped, but she indicated that there are still philanthropists who provide some meals, as the Red Crescent Organization was preparing a breakfast meal, but it was stopped after it was difficult to distribute it due to the increasing numbers. She confirmed that her family now lives from the work of her brother, who now works in Atbara as a “construction worker,” to provide the daily needs, stressing that it is not sufficient, of course, pointing out that she thought about pursuing a profession, but she failed due to lack of capital, and that work in the regions is limited and not like in Khartoum, pointing out that in Khartoum before the war she used to work in simple trade, “selling clothes, blankets, and utensils” in installments.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned of imminent famine threatening 37% of Sudan’s population as a result of the continuing and expanding fighting between the army and the RSF.
Since last April 15, Sudan has been suffering from devastating fighting between the army and the RSF, which led to the displacement of 6.3 million people, including 5.1 million internally displaced people and 1.2 million who took refuge in neighboring countries, representing eight states. Khartoum accounts for the largest percentage of the displacement wave, according to statistics issued by the United Nations.
He explained that about 17.7 million people, representing 37% of the total population of Sudan, face high levels of acute food insecurity. The organization’s statement said that it urgently needs $75.4 million, which represents 80% of the funding required under the revised humanitarian response plan for Sudan, which includes the period from May to December.
*Concerns about living in shelter homes*
Tragically, Hadia continued by saying as she lowered her gaze to the ground, “What constituted the greatest concern among the mothers in the shelter home was the occurrence of a case of harassment of a six-year-old displaced girl. She came to the shelter with her mother and brothers and was subjected to a case of harassment one evening, and even though she confirmed that Investigations conducted by officials at the shelter home proved that the harassing man came from outside the shelter home and was not a resident of the home before, and he was removed, but the child’s mother could not be reassured and left the shelter home to return to her home in Omdurman amidst the shooting, which indicates that (the mother) preferred war to harassing her child. She confirmed that the incident had an impact on families, as mothers began to place their daughters in the middle of them when sleeping at night in order to avoid harassment or to remain awake guarding their daughters.
*Community coexistence*
However, Hadia confirmed that there is great coexistence between the members of the shelter, where they share food, and needs are exchanged, “whoever needs soap or bread,” or a specific loan for medical treatment or any other matter, acknowledging the existence of minor problems due to children’s quarrels, which are resolved quickly.
*Legitimate privacy *
While our follow-ups observed that some of the displaced people in shelter homes insist on practicing their married life, given that the war has lasted for a long time, and people want to lead a life closer to normal, some of the displaced people in other shelter homes have designated a specific room, which they call the “Shariah privacy” room, which is entered according to a specific schedule, but Hadia confirmed that the displaced people in their shelter home do not live their married lives. Women sleep inside the rooms while men sleep outside. She confirmed everyone’s desire and aspirations to return to normal life.