A year lost for Sudan's children

By Francesca Merlo

Sudan’s children have lost almost an entire year of their lives. Fighting that broke out in April 2023 is taking a toll on each and every person and, as usual, it is children who are suffering most.

Osman Abdelkarim, Head of Child Protection and Operations for Save the Children in Sudan, describes the horrifying reality on the ground in his northeast African country.

“Actually, the situation is even more complicated than you could imagine," he warns in an interview with Vatican News, explaining that Sudan was in need of humanitarian assistance even before the conflict broke out on 15 April 2023.

Now, over 6 million Sudanese are suffering from displacement, which has led to desperation.

Women and children

Women and children, Mr. Abdelkarim says, are the two most vulnerable groups. He notes that children “do not understand what is happening," whereas women are often victims of sexual violence as they flee.

Unfortunately, as Mr. Abdelkarim explains, there is no safe place to run. “The people are displaced from Khartoum to Yezira, and then again to other locations, and this makes some people decide just to go back home.”

They feel like no place is safe, accept the situation and go back home, where they witness and are exposed to endless violence.

Endless violence

The conflict in Sudan, stemming from events on 15 April, has led to the exodus of millions of people in the capital, Khartoum, and various regions across the country.

Mr. Abdelkarim explains that the conflict between Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has expanded to key areas, including Al Jazirah State, West Darfur, South Darfur, East Darfur, Central Darfur, North Darfur, and the three states of Kudufan.

While the government retains control over certain areas, such as the east and south, the RSF controls the west up to Khartoum.

This situation has severely impacted services and access to assistance, with the conflict persisting for nearly eight months without a clear resolution in sight. In this time, nearly 1,800 civilians have been killed and 6,000 injured, including children.

Services

Children have seen their entire lives disrupted by the conflict. “Schools are not operational," says Mr. Abdelkarim, and “there is no access to services.”

Whereas before systems were in place to enable children to attend school, now 6.9 million children are not attending school.

Children are seeing the violence with their own eyes, warns Mr. Abdelkarim, and in return, “adolescents have decided to join the calls to defend the country.”

He explains that the children join in the fighting. “This way they not only see the violence, but they experience it; they become it," says Mr. Abdelkarim, emphasising the brutal effect this can have on a child’s future.

“They cannot be objective,” says Mr. Abdelkarim. “They are pushed by the feeling of revenge,” and this only complicates things for them in the future.

Whether they are witnessing violence or practicing it, Mr. Abdelkarim warns, “reintegration will be even more difficult later.”

The silence of the Western world

So why has the Western media been almost silent about the war? Mr. Abdelkarim explains that, one the one hand, there is more documentation concerning conflicts in other countries.

“In Sudan, it’s not easy to find the documentation and to verify the news coming out of the country," he says.

On the other hand, Mr. Abdelkarim continues, the news is sometimes "more focused on some conflicts than others," and he admits, “I do not know why.”

Fleeing the violence

But this violence affects everyone. As human rights are violated, countless numbers of people are fleeing the violence, and without the help of the international community, many are undertaking perilous journeys to safer neighbouring countries.

“People are starting to cross borders to different countries and even to different continents,” says Mr. Abdelkarim. "They’re being smuggled and trafficked; they're finding any way to enter the various countries. Half a million people have fled to neighbouring countries."

Here, too, as they migrate to new countries, humanitarian assistance is needed to ensure the safety and security of all people, including those lacking access to services in Sudan.

In Sudan, the list is endless. “Health, sanitation, food, water,"hygiene"—everyone is suffering, and as time is wasted discussing the situation with donors, the situation worsens, “and malnutrition rises,” says Mr. Abdelkarim. 

Over 500,000 children were already suffering severe acute malnutrition before the fighting broke out. Thirty-six children suffering from malnutrition are being looked after by Save the Children health workers. Before the conflict broke out there were only 12, and as the numbers have risen drastically since April, they are expected to continue to rise, warns Mr. Abdelkarim.

An appeal for peace

Mr. Abdelkarim's request is therefore simple: “We need food."

He concludes with a heartfelt appeal to the international community. 13.6 million children in Sudan now need humanitarian support.

“I ask for more push for commitment from the parties to end the conflict," says Mr. Abdelkarim, adding that we need this more than ever "so that the people of Sudan can finally rest."