My name is Abdullah. I used to live in a village on the outskirts of Khartoum, north of Jabal Awliya. We lived a modest, yet content life till April 15th, 2023. On that dreaded morning, everything changed. The loud sound of bullets and rockets filled the air. At night, it turned pitch black due to the power outage, a water outage followed and we were too scared to leave our homes to even fetch water. On April 29th, with my parents and siblings, we hastily packed whatever little we could carry and hitched a ride on any vehicle heading out of Khartoum. The only direction we could go was south and we landed in Kosti. We didn’t have family in Kosti, nor did we know anyone.
We arrived in Kosti’s main market: hungry, tired, and despondent. The people in the market told us to go to the shelters. At the entrance of the shelters, we were met by a relief worker who said “Hababkom ashra” (Sudanese Arabic for “we welcome you and are at your service”). Not knowing what got over me, I hugged him and broke down in tears. True to their word, we found food, shelter, and most importantly, we felt safe.
It wasn’t perfect, mosquitoes were everywhere, and we worried about getting malaria. As the war continues, more people are coming into the shelter. I am hoping the war would stop, so we can go back home. But for now, I am grateful that we are safe.
Interviewed by Duaa Sharafeldin
Written by Eman El Jack
Revised by Rahiem Shaddad
Shortly after the war broke out, SAMA has provided humanitarian aid (feeding) to internally displaced persons like Abdullah in White Nile State. Your donation keeps this aid going.