UNHCR Provides Hope to Individuals Forced to Flee the Conflict in Sudan
UNHCR
Over the past year, the people of Sudan and its displaced communities have been enduring violence, human rights abuses and displacement as clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue to wreak havoc and cause immense suffering.
Since April 2023, more than 8.5 million people have been forcibly displaced due to fighting. Today, nearly 25 million people, including 14 million children, urgently need humanitarian assistance. Additionally, according to the World Food Programme, 25 million people across Sudan, South Sudan and Chad are facing food insecurity as a result of the ongoing war.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is working alongside governments, partners and other UN agencies to provide lifesaving aid—such as protection, shelter and core relief items—to refugees and internally displaced people impacted by the conflict. Meet some of the displaced people receiving support from UNHCR and hear about their harrowing journeys.
Once a promising young doctor in Khartoum, Razan now lives in a makeshift camp in northern Sudan due to conflict. “I woke up to the sound of shelling,” recalls Razan about the day fighting broke out in Khartoum.
Before joining the more than 6.3 million people internally displaced by the war, she was working at a hospital and planning to further her studies in medicine at Sudan International University.
Before Razan and her brother Ibrahim fled their home, he was shot in the leg while trying to retrieve water. Thankfully, the injury was not life-threatening, but it did delay their escape. Nine days later, Ibrahim was healthy enough to make the dangerous journey to Wad Madani, where he received the medical care he desperately needed. From there, the siblings took another 2,000-kilometer bus trip to the northern city of Wadi Halfa.
Now, they’re among the more than 8,000 displaced people in Wadi Halfa City Park, where Razan has been a dedicated volunteer assisting other displaced people. She joined other volunteers working with UNHCR to identify and register newly arrived people and ensure they receive relief items such as blankets, plastic sheets, water canisters and solar lamps.
“Collaborating with UNHCR has given me a purpose; I am no longer [only] a recipient of aid. It has also kept me busy while I was spending days just waiting for a miracle and thinking about my life,” explains the young doctor.
The war in Sudan is forcing many people to flee for a second time in their lives. Many former South Sudanese refugees like Angelina and her family are returning to South Sudan due to the violence.
Safe at Doro refugee camp, Angelina runs a small cafe selling tea, coffee, and food to refugees, host community members and humanitarian workers. She explains that her business helps supplement the humanitarian aid she receives from UNHCR and other organizations.
In the future, Angelina hopes for more support to enable her to become fully self-reliant.
“If I could get more land and support to start farming, I would be able to better care for myself and my family,” she explains.