‘Nobody is okay’: Halifax’s Sudanese community fear for family and friends amid conflict
Halifax’s Sudanese community is working together to send aid and support to family and friends back home as they try to escape the escalating conflict there.
Fighting began erupting across the country on 15 April, including in the capital Khartoum.
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From the moment the fighting began, Huwaida Medani feared for her family trying to survive in Khartoum.
“For most people, they have the power to fluctuate, there’s no water inside, there’s not enough food, and nobody’s okay,” she said.
Medani is President of the Sudan Maritime Association and has lived in Nova Scotia for 18 years after moving from Sudan. Her concern for her homeland is shared with the rest of Halifax’s Sudanese community.
“Halifax has a very damaged community, many of them refugees, because of what they saw in their part of Sudan. We had high hopes, but unfortunately the situation is worse now.”
Khartoum was last invaded 1884 When Mahdist forces laid siege to the city until it fell on January 26, 1885. Today, the city has about 9 million inhabitants.
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The city is now torn between the Sudanese army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Bahhan, and the militia’s Rapid Support Force (RSF), led by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. al-Burhan and Dagalo initially worked together to organize a coup that would bring about the end of civil rule in October 2021.
“Unfortunately some people call this a civil war. This is not a civil war,” Medani said. In her words, the conflict is with a military-procured militia created to support them in previous operations.
“This is a silly battle between two men for power. Two crazy, vicious, notorious war criminals.”
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5 days after conflict
Unfortunately, all she can do at this point is focus on what’s happening from her home in Halifax. I was able to get transportation to my parents’ village in
Yasir Ga’far is an entrepreneur who moved to Halifax from Sudan two years ago. Through Facebook, he shares videos from all sides of the conflict. He gets information from his family and friends who are doing their best to escape or survive the violence. Some of his friends almost became refugees.
“They were looking for someone to buy from the black market so they can go with [a] We will drive out of Khartoum and probably go to neighboring countries like Ethiopia and Egypt,” he said.
While Ga’far cannot help directly, we are reaching out to members of the Halifax Sudanese community to see what they can do to help their country. He hopes they will get support from charities to send emergency medical and food supplies, as well as to the Sudanese community.
Ga’far believes that being well organized is key to helping.
“We just need help [to] Figure out how to do this in a legal way. what do we need What are the legal requirements? What are the steps we need to follow to organize ourselves and be able to start some kind of fundraising campaign?”
The death toll from the war reached about 300. Fighting continues despite his planned 24-hour truce.
“They basically use the masses as human shields,” Medani said.
She and other organizers are planning a rally at Victoria Park in downtown Halifax on Saturday. says.
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