World Refugee Day: 12m+ Sudanese face desperate conditions

As the world observes World Refugee Day* today, designated by the United Nations Refugee Agency under the theme “Solidarity with Refugees”, Sudan faces the largest displacement crisis globally. Since the war began in April 2023, over 12.3 million people have been displaced. Nearly four million have fled to neighbouring countries including Egypt, Chad, and South Sudan, placing heavy strain on already fragile host nations and humanitarian services.

According to a statement by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) marking World Refugee Day, 24-year-old Munana arrived in Adré, eastern Chad, after fleeing attacks in Sudan’s Darfur region with her two children. “The journey between Sudan and here was very difficult,” she said. “When we arrived, the Red Cross welcomed us. They have given us a tent, lights, toiletries and water.”

While some, like Munana, received support upon arrival, conditions in other areas remain dire.

Earlier this year, Radio Dabanga reported on the situation in Tongori camp, a remote settlement in eastern Chad where refugees forcibly relocated by Chadian authorities face severe shortages. Many lack access to clean water, healthcare, and food.

“We are forced to fetch polluted water from a valley because there is no safe drinking water,” said Aisha, a camp resident. Fatima Adam Idris added: “We have spent over a year walking long distances to collect water. We are exhausted. We need food, water, blankets and clothes, especially now in the winter season.”

Many camps remain critically under resourced, and international funding appeals have so far fallen short.

Sudanese refugees are also attempting dangerous migration routes through Libya to reach Europe. In April, Radio Dabanga reported on a rise in irregular journeys, with some smugglers charging up to $150,000 per person.

According to Malik El Dijawi, from the Organisation for the Prevention of Illegal Migration and Voluntary Return, some attempt the crossing alone in homemade gliders, balloons, or modified boats. “Refugees face death in many forms, starvation, drowning, abuse by traffickers, or getting lost in the desert,” he said.

The Anti-Illegal Immigration Service in Libya set a January 2025 deadline for businesses to regularise foreign workers. With the deadline now passed, pressure has intensified on undocumented migrants. Sudanese without valid documents face heightened risk of detention and deportation.

The IFRC is calling for “solidarity through action”, urging governments and donors to move beyond statements of support. Refugees need access to essential services, legal protection, and opportunities to rebuild their lives.

The World Health Organisation has warned of a global health crisis affecting displaced populations worldwide. Over 70 per cent of the world’s refugees live in low- and middle-income countries, where public health systems are already under significant strain. 

According to the organisation, 47 million displaced children across the globe now face serious disruptions to healthcare, education, and basic protection.

Women and newborns are especially vulnerable, with legal barriers and underfunded maternal health services further limiting access to essential care.

Radio Dabanga reported last month that two Sudanese girls were raped after leaving Kounongou camp in eastern Chad to gather firewood, highlighting rising risks for displaced communities near the West Darfur border.

The incident sparked anger among refugees and aid workers, reflecting wider insecurity in camps sheltering over 800,000 Sudanese. Sexual violence, food shortages, and lack of protection remain persistent threats.

Conditions for Sudanese refugees continue to worsen. Without increased international support, the devastating humanitarian toll is expected to grow.

Testimonies

Sudanese activist Manal Ibrahim, a refugee living in Libya, shares a stark reality: “Asylum is not an option, but a forced reality experienced by millions of Sudanese after the outbreak of the war. According to international law, refugees are supposed to receive legal protection and decent treatment, but many countries that are signatories to refugee agreements do not apply these obligations on the ground.”

Manal adds, “Some countries see the growing number of refugees as a threat to their national security or economy, which reflects negatively on refugees who are deprived of their most basic rights to work, education and health care.”

“Even those who live outside the camps and rent houses face harsh daily challenges, due to poverty and lack of support,” Manal states.

In Chad, Sudanese refugee Hikma describes the ordeal: “It is the hardest thing to have to leave your home, your family, your neighbours, and your friends, just to save yourself.” She calls the situation “tragic,” highlighting high rents and growing tensions with host communities.

For Sudanese journalist Ishraqa Abdallah, forced into exile from South Darfur, asylum means enduring constant fear and cultural dislocation. “Asylum is not an option, it is a destiny imposed on us,” she says.

“Host countries are often poor and do not bear the burden of refugees, we are treated as strangers, not as citizens, we lack health care and employment opportunities.”

“Asylum is a wound, but it is not the end of life. We just need genuine support, and recognition of our suffering. Until we return to our country safely,” Ishraqa adds.

In Libya, Lamia Mohammed Saleh Mustafa recounts her perilous journey: “We did not leave our homeland by choice, but we were forced to leave to escape danger, accompanied by our children. The journey from Sudan to Libya was arduous and deadly, it took 18 days in a harsh desert, during which we suffered from thirst, hunger, disease and heat of the sun.”

She describes the harsh refugee conditions: “Women live responsibilities greater than they can. Many of us left behind husbands and siblings, and became the only breadwinner of the family. We face the challenges of daily living… in light of precarious security conditions in which refugees are subject to multiple violations.”

Sudanese journalist Amal Ahmed Beto, now a refugee in Uganda, offers a message of resilience: “You are a refugee, but you are also a survivor. You carry pain and hope inside you, live harsh conditions, yet insist on life, and resist for a better tomorrow.”

She reflects on the weight of exile: “Alienation is not the alienation of one place, but the alienation of a soul… Our bodies are in one place and our souls are in another.” Amal calls on the world to recognise refugees’ strength: “Your stories are proof of great strength and courage, and your reward with God is great.”

Activist Sami Hamza speaks from South Sudan, where many Sudanese refugees have found relative acceptance. “We found no difficulty in integrating… we were and still are one people.”

Yet, he stresses, asylum demands courage: “The refugee needs psychological and material support, and cultural and social adaptation. Unfortunately, many have collided with language barriers and customs.”

Sami urges host countries to honour their commitments: “We hope that these countries will abide by what the international community has agreed on the rights of refugees, and give them the opportunity to live with dignity until they return home safely.”

World Refugee Day stands as a solemn reminder of millions displaced by conflict worldwide. The testimonies of Sudanese refugees underscore not only the human cost of war but the urgent need for solidarity, support, and a path to peace.

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*In December 2000, the United Nations General Assembly designated 20 June as World Refugee Day, to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees as “a day to honour the courage of people who have been forced to flee their homes to escape conflict or persecution”.

A refugee is defined as “a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of persecution in their country of origin based on race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, receives international protection from another state on its territory”.

View the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol

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