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By Dana Hughes in Hamdayet, Sudan | November 29, 2020
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on Sunday called for international support for Sudan, as the country hosts more than 43,000 refugees who have fled fighting in neighboring Ethiopia in recent weeks.
Grandi said the Khartoum government’s decision to host the refugees, nearly half of whom are children, set an example for the international community, but that the country needed help to take on the additional responsibility.
People from the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia have fled to the Hamdayet border point in eastern Sudan, as well as two other border points, one in Kassala state and the other in Lugdi, in Gedaref state.
“The best tradition of African and Sudanese hospitality”
But the Khartoum government has identified the site of Um Raquba, about 70 km west of the border, as a place for refugees to receive assistance with greater security. Around 10,000 refugees have already been transported there.
“The government of Sudan has kept the border open in the best tradition of African and Sudanese hospitality and I want to commend it as an example to the international community. But the government of Sudan needs a lot of help, ”he said.
He appealed for $ 147 million over the next six months for UNHCR, the UN and Sudan’s humanitarian community to manage the crisis.
“I am here also to help mobilize assistance for food, water, medicine and shelter,” he said.
Grandi spoke in Hamdayet during a four-day visit to the country during which he met Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and other government officials in Khartoum. He also spoke with refugees on the hot and dusty border with Ethiopia, where they are located. Many said they wanted to go home as soon as it was safe.
UNHCR has already started aid flights from its global arsenal in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to Sudan to deliver blankets, sunlamps, mosquito nets, plastic sheeting, tents and prefabricated warehouses for the refugees.
“This is a very stressful year”
Grandi called for mediation to end the conflict, echoing calls from UN Secretary General António Guterres and the African Union. He also said he was concerned about the situation faced by nearly 100,000 Eritrean refugees who are hosted by Ethiopia in the Tigray region.
“Ethiopia is a very hospitable country for refugees, but now they are caught up in this conflict, we don’t have access to them,” he said.
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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grande, meets with refugees from Ethiopia at the Hamdayet Border Reception Center in eastern Sudan. © UNHCR / Will Swanson
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A group of young refugees from Ethiopia’s Tigray region sit in a makeshift shelter at the Hamdayet Border Reception Center in eastern Sudan. © UNHCR / Will Swanson
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Makeda Brhare Haftu, 5, (left), sits with her relatives Fema Haftu Abay, 12 and Selam Haftu Abay, 12 at the Hamdayet Border Reception Center in Al Qardarif state, Sudan. © UNHCR / Will Swanson
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Refugees from Ethiopia sit in the shade to avoid the afternoon sun at the Hamdayet Border Reception Center in eastern Sudan. © UNHCR / Will Swanson
The refugees said they were fleeing the conflict, but they also feared inter-community violence.
Berhane, 31, fled his home in the Tigrayan town of Humera last week and arrived in Sudan. The geography teacher said this year was difficult even before the fighting started because his school had closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
His wife, also a teacher, had lost her job when schools closed and was visiting family, so now he had lost contact with her. Her daughter said she missed her mother but was hopeful the family would reunite.
Berhane’s mother, Koros, cried as she described running away after hearing gunshots and the sound of bombs earlier this month.
“This year is a very stressful year because the coronavirus has its own impact on our daily life, on our economy, on our mental health and then this war broke out as well,” Berhane said. “So those mixed things stress us out more.”
Family tracing services have been established and have already reunited many separated refugees.
