Over the past two years, the brutal war in Sudan has escalated into the world’s gravest humanitarian crisis, and shows no sign of abating.
The catastrophe has engulfed the entire country and spilled across the region, tearing apart the lives of millions of Sudanese people.
Record numbers of people have been internally displaced, are in desperate need of aid, and facing catastrophic levels of hunger. Malnutrition levels are soaring, with children and pregnant women among the most vulnerable. Women and girls are facing unimaginable levels of physical and sexual violence.
The human cost of the ongoing war is harrowing. Much of it remains undocumented, endured in silence, with no records or witnesses.
Below, three Sudanese people forced to flee the country share their stories.
Tian’s story: “I didn’t even have time to cry for my mother"
Tian was forced to flee her home after witnessing her mother killed while fetching water for the family.
There was no time to grieve; bombs continued to fall from the sky, tearing through homes. Tian grabbed her three children and ran. She didn’t know where she was going, only that she had to keep moving.
For four months, she walked with her children through blistering heat until, by chance, they reached safety in a border village of straw-roofed huts in South Sudan.
“I didn’t even have time to cry for my mother, I had to leave her body behind. I just wanted to save my children; we just ran in any direction. Today I have difficulties recalling my mother’s face.”
Jaqulin’s story: “It has been three days since we ate anything”
Jaqulin had no choice but to leave everything but her nine children behind when the bombs and guns reached her village. Carrying her disabled son on her back and her baby on her front, she walked for eight days until she reached the border.
Once in South Sudan she heard of a centre where the family could get help. She continued to walk until finally arriving in the middle of the night, and a nightguard let them sleep in the courtyard.
The next morning Jaqulin and her children received medical treatment, and were given temporary shelter before being transferred to an official refugee camp.
“Except the clothes we were wearing, I had a pot, a small tin container and an old blanket. It has been three days since we ate anything, but I am grateful that my children are being taken care of here, and we can stop running and hiding."
Assim’s story: “I slept in a tree to hide from the hyenas”
Assim found himself dodging relentless bullets as he ran for his life when violence tore through his hometown. Separated from his family, the 13-year-old was forced to keep fending for himself as he tried to reach safety.
Fighting back exhaustion and hunger, he ran for nine days under the unforgiving sun until the sounds of gunfire grew faint. Finally, he stumbled on a small village along the border with South Sudan, where neighbours gave him food and water.
Assim wants to return to his home but he doesn’t know if anyone from his family is still alive. He saw his brother fall in the gunfire, his parents ran in a different direction when the bombs fell – and he hasn’t heard from them since.
“There were so many people shot directly next to me. While fleeing, I had to jump over their dead bodies and run as fast as I could. I slept in a tree, to hide from the hyenas, as they were hunting me. But they were not as scary as the men with the guns.”
Sudan crisis: How you can help
The situation in Sudan is a historic catastrophe, unlike any humanitarian crisis we’ve witnessed, with the population – especially women and girls – enduring unimaginable suffering.
CARE has been working in Sudan since 1979, and is also responding to the refugee crisis in Chad, South Sudan and Ethiopia. Since last year, we’ve provided over 1.8 million people with vital food, water, hygiene kits and access to essential medical and mental health support.
But right now, 25 million people in Sudan are facing severe hunger. The world must not look away as the lives of Sudanese people hang in the balance. Please donate today to help provide life-saving support to those who urgently need it.
