At the same time, UN agencies are also helping to provide emergency relief support, including the International Organization for Migration (IOM), whose Transitional Migration Matrix (DTM) aims to help refugees and third countries of he tries to escape the fight by running away. to neighboring countries.
The Sudanese National Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary unit, have been locked in a violent conflict since 15 April. According to the UN, more than 400 people have been killed in the conflict while thousands of people are estimated to have been displaced, with more than 100,000 people fleeing to neighboring countries.
Mr. Sharma moved to Sudan in 2021 with his brother. At the time of the violence, he worked at the Omega steel company and was living with 160 workers in a guest house in an industrial area 15 kilometers outside the capital Khartoum.
“We work to clean the environment by recycling scrap metal. I have been living there for almost two years and things are going well. Unexpectedly, the conflict started there on 15 April. Militants and militiamen fought among themselves and set fire to the airport.
When the airport was damaged, we were worried about how to get back home to India. We are not even able to contact anyone in India. We are trying to establish a contact with the Indian Embassy, but network problems are making that difficult.
Fighter jets flew over the guest house where we stayed, dropping weapons and ammunition.
We are very worried about how to get to safety in Sudan.
Indians lined up in Port Sudan after being rescued from Khartoum.
Victory and terror
On April 17, a group of armed forces entered the guest house. We all locked ourselves in a room in fear. They were calm and firing their guns incessantly and talking in a local language that we couldn’t understand.
Then they took one of our companions captive. He started crying for help.
Having gathered courage, we went to get him, and we gave them whatever we had – mobile phones, laptops – gave them the keys to the cars, and that’s how we drove them.
Commercial vehicles for ‘our world’
We made a policy that once the armed groups entered the guest house, we did not let them in. We think that as long as we have a car and a cell phone, we will save our lives. We let them drink whatever they want; we just need our food to survive. We have to hide our food.
We let them drink whatever they want; we just need our food to survive. We have to hide our food.
They came back again and again, hour after hour, and took whatever they wanted. They will come, we will give them a car, and they will take it. We have 10 to 15 cars with us.
He went this way for seven days. They come every day, and we all gather outside the guest house. At this time, we cannot sleep well or eat. When they come, we go out and give them whatever they want. By lying, we can save our lives.
A soldier
The strange thing is that the armed fighters seem to be mostly children, aged 10 to 15 years. They don’t seem to know when and how to fire a weapon. They are putting a gun on the child, who should have a pen and book in his hand.
During this time, there was no good relationship with our families. At least 150 phones were stolen from us, but we kept a dozen hidden. We had to face serious problems, but as soon as we contacted the India Office, the evacuation effort began.
‘Great relief’
On April 23, we were picked up by an Indian Embassy bus, which took us on a 1,000 kilometer journey to Port Sudan. When we arrived at Port Sudan, we were saddened to see the Indian Army. We feel a great sense of relief that our lives can be saved.
We can only pray for Sudan. It would be good if the UN could take some measures, especially for the children who are used by the soldiers.
The Sudanese love us and are happy to help. There is a lot of respect for India. People are still crazy about Bollywood. Sudanese people listen to Hindi songs, and Indian Bollywood stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan are easily recognized by everyone.
I hope everything will return to normal in Sudan soon. “
In happier times, Raghuveer Sharma along with his brother visited the Nile River. In the background is a bridge that is said to have been “completely destroyed”.
