{"id":20117826,"date":"2025-06-20T14:37:15","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T12:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/?p=20117826"},"modified":"2025-06-22T08:39:26","modified_gmt":"2025-06-22T06:39:26","slug":"world-refugee-day-12m-sudanese-face-desperate-conditions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dabangasudan.org\/en\/all-news\/article\/world-refugee-day-12m-sudanese-face-desperate-conditions","title":{"rendered":"World Refugee Day: 12m+ Sudanese face desperate conditions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As the world observes World Refugee Day* today, designated by the United Nations Refugee Agency under the theme \u201cSolidarity with Refugees\u201d, 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.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a statement<\/a> by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) marking World Refugee Day, 24-year-old Munana arrived in Adr\u00e9, eastern Chad, after fleeing attacks in Sudan\u2019s Darfur region with her two children. \u201cThe journey between Sudan and here was very difficult,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen we arrived, the Red Cross welcomed us. They have given us a tent, lights, toiletries and water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While some, like Munana, received support upon arrival, conditions in other areas remain dire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year, Radio Dabanga reported on the situation in Tongori camp<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are forced to fetch polluted water from a valley because there is no safe drinking water,\u201d said Aisha, a camp resident. Fatima Adam Idris added: \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many camps remain critically under resourced, and international funding appeals have so far fallen short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sudanese women and child refugees in Metche camp, Ouaddai, eastern Chad (File photo: Karl Schembri\/NRC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sudanese refugees are also attempting dangerous migration routes<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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. \u201cRefugees face death in many forms, starvation, drowning, abuse by traffickers<\/a>, or getting lost in the desert,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>. Sudanese without valid documents face heightened risk of detention and deportation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IFRC is calling for \u201csolidarity through action\u201d, urging governments and donors to move beyond statements of support. Refugees need access to essential services, legal protection, and opportunities to rebuild their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The World Health Organisation<\/a> has warned of a global health crisis affecting displaced populations worldwide. Over 70 per cent of the world\u2019s refugees live in low- and middle-income countries, where public health systems are already under significant strain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the organisation, 47 million displaced children across the globe now face serious disruptions to healthcare, education, and basic protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women and newborns are especially vulnerable, with legal barriers and underfunded maternal health services further limiting access to essential care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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Frontline workers at a women-led organiaation working on gender-based violence and child protection in Sudan (File photo: UNICEF \/ Tess Ingram)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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

Conditions for Sudanese refugees continue to worsen. Without increased international support, the devastating humanitarian toll is expected to grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Testimonies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sudanese activist Manal Ibrahim, a refugee living in Libya, shares a stark reality: \u201cAsylum 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manal adds, \u201cSome 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.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Even those who live outside the camps and rent houses face harsh daily challenges, due to poverty and lack of support,\u201d Manal states.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In Chad, Sudanese refugee Hikma describes the ordeal: \u201cIt is the hardest thing to have to leave your home, your family, your neighbours, and your friends, just to save yourself.\u201d She calls the situation \u201ctragic,\u201d highlighting high rents and growing tensions with host communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Sudanese journalist Ishraqa Abdallah, forced into exile from South Darfur<\/a>, asylum means enduring constant fear and cultural dislocation. \u201cAsylum is not an option, it is a destiny imposed on us,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHost 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAsylum 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,\u201d Ishraqa adds.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In Libya, Lamia Mohammed Saleh Mustafa recounts her perilous journey: \u201cWe 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 <\/a>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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She describes the harsh refugee conditions: \u201cWomen 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\u2026 in light of precarious security conditions in which refugees are subject to multiple violations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sudanese journalist Amal Ahmed Beto, now a refugee in Uganda<\/a>, offers a message of resilience: \u201cYou 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She reflects on the weight of exile: \u201cAlienation is not the alienation of one place, but the alienation of a soul\u2026 Our bodies are in one place and our souls are in another.\u201d Amal calls on the world to recognise refugees\u2019 strength: \u201cYour stories are proof of great strength and courage, and your reward with God is great.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Newly arrived Sudanese refugees in Chad in May 2023 (File photo: \u00a9 UNHCR \/ Colin Delfosse)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Activist Sami Hamza speaks from South Sudan<\/a>, where many Sudanese refugees have found relative acceptance. \u201cWe found no difficulty in integrating\u2026 we were and still are one people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, he stresses, asylum demands courage: \u201cThe refugee needs psychological and material support, and cultural and social adaptation. Unfortunately, many have collided with language barriers and customs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sami urges host countries to honour their commitments: \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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*In December 2000, the United Nations General Assembly designated 20 June as World Refugee Day<\/a>, to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees<\/a> as \u201ca day to honour the courage of people who have been forced to flee their homes to escape conflict or persecution\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A refugee is defined as \u201ca 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\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

View the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

#<\/a>WorldRefugeeDay<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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