Two stories: Children’s experience of war in Sudan and the struggle to find safety
It has been a year and a half since the war started in Sudan. The children and caregivers from SOS Children's Villages Sudan in Khartoum were evacuated and are safe. Eighteen months later, they are still not able to return home. Here are the firsthand stories of two boys, Ramah* (12) and Mahdi* (13), as they share their experiences of the war's onset and journey to safety.
Ramah’s story: Surrounded by fear
Life was normal, and like any other Saturday, we cleaned our house and did our usual weekend routine. But everything changed when my older brother saw a group of armed people through the window. He rushed to tell my mom, who immediately called the village director to let him know what was happening. A few of the older children in our village stepped outside to see what was happening.
Suddenly, the terrifying sounds of gunshots and explosions filled the air. The noise was so loud and scary that I hid in my brother’s closet. But I still didn’t feel safe, so I crawled under the bed, trying to escape the fear surrounding me. I could hear the pounding of gunfire, and my heart raced with fear. My mom and siblings were scared, too. One of my siblings couldn’t stop crying. My mom held him tightly, trying to calm him down.
We were stuck in the SOS Village for what felt like forever. We couldn’t leave, and during that time, we lived on food and drinks from the fridge because it wasn’t safe for my mom to go to the kitchen to cook.
Eventually, we managed to escape. SOS Children’s Villages’ car took us and some other families to a place I can’t remember very well. But soon after we arrived, we had to move again because it still wasn’t safe. We spent hours in the street trying to find a safe place until a kind man invited us into a large office building to stay until things calmed down. He gave us food and water for two days before we were moved to another house, where we stayed until after Eid.
After Eid, my family and I travelled to my grandmother’s house in Al Jazeera Aba. We rented a house nearby and lived there for about four months.
When the war started again in Al Jazeera, we had to leave once more. We moved to the city of Kassala, where we are now. Even though the city is not perfect, I feel safer here, and I would be shocked if the war reached us here again, and I hope it doesn’t.
Read more about the conflict: The forgotten voices of children in war-torn Sudan
Mahdi’s story: Leaving behind all that is familiar… again
I was getting ready for school when Mama told me there was a war. We sat down and watched the news on TV, where we saw soldiers carrying guns and shooting. I had heard about wars like the one between Russia and Ukraine, so I didn’t feel afraid at first. But later, a military plane flew above and started firing.
My siblings didn’t seem too scared, but we soon had to leave for Wad Madani. The journey was difficult—we had to travel on rough, hidden roads, rarely using the main ones.
Along the way, we encountered an armed group wearing civilian clothes. They stopped our bus and searched our bags, speaking loudly and angrily. A little later, we encountered another armed group, this time in official uniforms. They asked about my older brothers, which made me really scared. My mom told them that we were all her children, and after that, they let us continue on our way.
Later, we met other soldiers who were kinder. They didn’t search our bus, and one of them joked with me through the window, saying, "Come down and grab a gun; aren’t you a man?" Even though we had food packed for the road, I didn’t feel hungry.
On the road, I saw lots of burnt cars and buildings destroyed by bombs. I was really worried about our home, schoolbooks, and friends.
We arrived in Madani and stayed in a house, but it wasn’t as nice as our home in Khartoum. I thought we would settle there for a while. I made new friends and joined a local football team.
We played against other neighbourhood teams, and it felt like normal life again. But then my mom came to us again and said that war had arrived where we were, so we had to leave for Kassala.
Once again, we travelled in a bus through desert roads, and the journey felt endless. I don’t like Kassala because I can’t play football here. But I do like our house as it is a bit like our home in Khartoum. Still, I can’t shake the feeling that war might start here, too. If that happens, I guess we’ll have to move again. I don’t know where we’ll go next.
The SOS MAYDAY Emergency Relief Fund equips us to act swiftly and effectively to support children and families during emergencies and to build resilience against future disasters in the communities we support. Please donate to this fund to enable us to respond when crises occur.
*Names changed to protect privacy.