Sudanese in Refugee Camps in Ethiopia… a Struggle for Survival

Sudan Events – Report

Tragic conditions are being experienced by Sudanese refugees in refugee camps in Ethiopia, where about 6,080 Sudanese refugees went on a hunger strike on the twenty-third of this month, after a series of violations to which they were exposed since they set foot in the Olala camp in northern Ethiopia.
Tragic details
Abdul Aziz Hassan, a Sudanese refugee in the “Olala” camp in Ethiopia, narrated to “Ultra Sudan” his journey of suffering, saying: “Before we left the “Ullala” camp, which includes, in addition to the Sudanese refugees in the refugee camps in Ethiopia, some refugees from other countries. After the war raged in Sudan, Sudanese refugees flocked to Ethiopia, and the Comer camp was opened. The camp was named after the region, and is specially designated for Sudanese refugees, in addition to a small number of refugees from other countries.”
He continued: “After everyone settled in the camp, we faced attacks from some of the armed militias present in the area, and the attacks consisted of (threatening – looting – and beating the refugees), in addition to some being exposed to gunfire. Two people (a Sudanese national and another of another nationality) also died as a result of the beatings by these groups.
Abdul Aziz added: “After the repeated attacks, we filed a complaint with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and another complaint with the local authorities in the region, but we did not receive a response from them.”
He pointed out that the “Olala” camp is located in a security-troubled area. Abdul Aziz said: “After the harassment we were subjected to, a group of the camp decided to leave, but they were met by a force of militia and the refugees were forced to return to the camp.”
Last week, a Sudanese refugee was shot with live bullets in the village where the camp is located when he went to charge his phone with electricity. He was seriously injured and was transferred to a hospital in the capital, Addis Ababa. Abdul Aziz drew attention to the fact that the camp is located in a low geographical area where water collects and insects, snakes and scorpions spread.
Loud voices
The voices of Sudanese in refugee camps in Ethiopia became louder, calling on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to solve the problems they are facing, and their suffering with the harsh natural conditions, in addition to the lack of health services.
Abdul Aziz added: “Our voice became louder as we demanded that the problems besieging us from all directions be addressed, and we did not find any solutions from the authorities responsible for the camps, whether the High Commissioner for Refugees or the local authorities.” He said: “We announced that the Commission would leave the camp if our demands were not met.”
He stressed that the High Commission did not care, and even ignored their demands, so they unanimously decided to leave the camp on May 1, and moved south, about three kilometers from the camp to the north. While they were walking, they were stopped by the Ethiopian Armed Forces and the Ethiopian Federal Police, and they were asked to return to the camp.
Abdul Aziz adds: “We refused to return in light of the threats and attacks we were subjected to, so we stayed where we were. Then we were threatened by the authorities to use coercive force to return to the camp. We did not comply with those threats, so the force returned to where it came from. But they punished us by cutting off the water to the camp.” The village from which we take water, in addition to stopping the meals that were given to us.”
Hunger strike
Abdul Aziz said: “We have spent more than twenty-eight days eating from the personal efforts of refugees in the presence of children, the sick, the elderly, and pregnant women. With the decrease in food, we decided to go on a hunger strike and we began the strike on the twenty-third of the month, and we allocated the remaining food to the children.” The sick and the elderly.”
He says: “The conditions here are deteriorating rapidly, and each passing day is worse than the one before, especially in light of the high rate of rain. Now watery diarrhea has begun to appear, with more than 35 cases occurring, in light of the lack of medicines for the diseases, and the health condition of those suffering from diarrhea is deteriorating.”
Preventing help
This Sudanese refugee in refugee camps in Ethiopia confirms that in the next few days they will witness a wave of malnutrition due to food shortages, in addition to their entry into a hunger strike. He confirms: “During our hunger strike, no party intervened in resolving the crisis we are going through. Even charitable organizations that wanted to help us were prevented by Ethiopian forces from reaching us and the villages neighboring us. We are in a region outside the control of the Ethiopian central government.”
Abdul Aziz called on international and human rights organizations to intervene urgently to deport them from Ethiopia to any other country, or to return them to Sudan. “Before that, we demand urgent and immediate intervention to save the situation we are going through, and to recognize the critical cases among us that need health care and meals,” and he continued: “The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees is aware of what happened and is happening, although it reduced the numbers and said they were 1,300, but it did not talk about the pressures put on refugees to return or use force.”
Rescue refugees
The Amhara Refugee Coordination Committee said: “More than 27 days have passed and we have not seen any interventions by humanitarian organizations to rescue refugees.” The ccordination added: “Access to food remains the priority need for refugees. After their food runs out, only children, breastfeeding women, the sick and the elderly remain. In the coming days, this is expected to lead to higher levels of hunger, severe acute malnutrition and increased levels of hunger-related deaths in central Refugees if no intervention is done.”