Sudan:  We are not loud enough about the civil war in Sudan

I have religiously followed the war in Sudan and I am in distress about the future of the country. I am in no way compromising my safety by sharing educational insights. Henceforth, from a distance I observed how the war unfolded and now I am ready to share my views.

With that said, I would like to make mention that this is my personal observation and analysis. My analysis on the civil war in Sudan is not associated with any employer. The notion of the analysis is rather to educate and make a noise about Sudan.

I am very intentional with the use of my words ‘’make a noise’’ about Sudan. I believe this is because we are not making a loud enough noise about Sudan. This is a call to increase the noise about the civil war in Sudan because the mortality rate is not decreasing. 

War in Sudan

In April 2023, there was a vicious struggle for power that emanated between the army and a paramilitary group. The war has claimed over 20 000 lives and is the result of the growing displacement crisis. The United Nations reported that ‘’about nine million people have been forced to flee their homes’’. There have been warnings of genocide in the Western region of Darfur. Furthermore, the fighters are targeting residents according to their ethnicity. 

The ongoing civil war unravels the complexities of Sudan’s economic and political landscape. The disarray of events call for Africa and Africans to turn their attention to the country.

Save Sudan

The Sudanese people need us. Sudan needs us as an African continent to stop, pause and act. I am not authorised to call forth a ceasefire. With my platform, may I please turn your attention to the consequences of the heightened instability and underdevelopment that the Sudanese people will be subjected to if we don’t act swiftly. 

I have elected myself as a voice to shed light and give meaning to the lives claimed by the civil war. I will explore three aspects from my observations: children, women and the growing displacement crisis.

Children show dire impact of Sudan war

Children are the future. There is a belief more especially on the African continent that children are the beacon of hope in African homes. We look to the children because we have a belief that they have more years ahead of them. We also believe that their innocence when nurtured can bring forth change in our nations. It is very disheartening to have read about the wounded patients being treated at the Bashair Teaching Hospital in South Khartoum.This also includes children under the age of 15. 

The Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)  reported that ‘’they arrive in gunshots, blasts and shrapnel’’. According to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) ‘’the 16 percent of the 4214 patients treated by the MSF team and staff are children’’. Moreover, having to read about 18 months old babies being brought in for emergency due to  gunshots is inhumane. 

If the hospital is not trying to stop blood and remove the bullets, malnourishment whispers . A report published by the reliefweb reported that there were ‘’more than 1500 children screened suffering from severe acute malnutrition and 400 moderately malnourished’’. More challenges keep on bleeding in every sector. 

The sector that is associated with better and brighter futures is heavily impacted. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund UNICEF stated that ‘’90 percent of the country’s 19 million school-aged children have no access to formal education’’. UNICEF also reported Sudan as ‘’one the worst education crisis in the world’’. A UN Refugee Agency Representative emphasised that ‘’by robbing children and young people of their education, the conflict is stealing their future’’. What does this mean for the children of Sudan or rather is there a future for the Sudanese children?

The brutal civil war has posed a threat to the Sudanese education system. With a heavy heart, I can only imagine how long it will take to revive the Sudan education system. 

The civil war as a war on women

By virtue of being a woman, war was waged on our existence. Women have been subjected to marginalization historically and the civil war is a symptom of  long suffering. Women have had to give meaning to their existence. The role of the civil war on women exposes vulnerabilities. 

Wafula (2024) a Africa security correspondent wrote in BBC Africa that ‘’several women have taken their lives in Sudan’s central Gezira state after being raped by paramilitary fighters in the brutal civil war raging in the country’’.

Furthermore, a rights group told the BBC that it is in ‘’contact with six women who are contemplating taking their own lives as they fear being sexually assaulted’’.  The widespread sexual violence includes gang rapes,  women and girls forced into marriages in capital Khartoum. The pain is endless and very difficult to comprehend. 

Sudan has become the largest displacement crisis

The conflict in Sudan has accelerated displacement throughout the country. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) reported that ‘’more than 8.1 million Sudanese have been displaced within the country-representing the largest internal displacement crisis in the world’’. Meanwhile ‘’3 million people- mostly women and children have fled to neighboring countries Chad, Libya and Uganda’’.  

Given the influx of the refugees, pressure has been put on the limited resources like public health care and water supply. Therefore, the unprecedented influx spikes shortages and intensifies food insecurity. 

With that said, what will become of the Zamzam camp that was established in 2004 with the intention to shelter people and create a safe havenʔ When newly displaced families continue arriving in the camp and the medical supplies running low. 

Critical reflections 

Nations have never prospered by inciting violence to their citizens. A national identity attained through bloodshed perpetuates violence and silently magnifies internal aggression. Nations cannot be built on violence because violence has never been an answer. Violence has the ability to intensify generational trauma responses in children and child innocence is lost. 

The civil war stole the children’s ability to be children because they have had to play roles of survivors. Children had to survive instead of focusing on their education. Therefore their education will be compromised. Local classrooms being used for displaced people has interrupted learning and interfered with the future of the children of Sudan. Years to come, how will the Sudanese government revive a disrupted education system? Or what will education stand to have value in the Sudan?

Again, war is a very personal encounter. Having to encounter violent outbreaks through gunshots and blasts is not only life-threatening, it evokes tragic memories. Memories that cannot be erased immediately call for generations of trauma. Who will be held accountable for the psychosocial support to the survivors of sexual violence? Let us be frank, because we know who the perpetrators are. The underlying question posed is whether the government will investigate the crimes because crimes against humanity have long term consequences. 

Lastly, in the name of power and the unwillingness to lose influence ethnic violence, the influx of injured people and civilian casualties are what our neighboring countries have to bear witness. Our neighboring countries have had to welcome civil casualties on existing burdens in their countries systems. 

Moreover, the refugees reuniting with family or friends in the camps flags an urgent response. I also discovered that some refugees either intend to stay or attempt to cross the Mediterranean to increase their chance at a better life. What disheartens me personally is that the Sudanese people have the right to their ancestral land and some just might never return to Sudan.  

Phiwe Mncwabe is storyteller, blogger and voice in Africa.

More stories-https://botlhaleafrika.co.za/ 

I am not affiliated to any political party. I am affiliated to the Africans. 

The views that  I share are mine and not affiliated to any employer. These views are not meant to bring harm.

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