This week in Sudan’s al-Afad camp, where hundreds of families have arrived after fleeing the fall of El Fasher, I sat with a mother who has traveled thousands of kilometers with her five-year-old daughter and her elderly mother. Her young daughter had undergone brain surgery at a military hospital before being evacuated. Now she is sitting quietly next to her mother. He is quiet, isolated, and no longer plays like a child should. The mother told of the beatings, of the bodies left on the road, and of the people who were too weak to proceed and had to crawl and build makeshift trenches to avoid detection by drones. Most of the men were either killed or prevented from leaving. She managed to make it to Al Afad, but tears welled up in her eyes as she traced her daughter’s scars and talked about December and whether she would be able to make it to the hospital in time for her daughter’s next appointment.
Her story is not unique. Since April 2023, the world’s largest displacement crisis has displaced nearly 10 million people within Sudan and displaced more than 4 million across its borders. Across Darfur and Kordofan, entire communities are being uprooted, civilians targeted, and essential services destroyed.
The fall of El Fasher after an 18-month siege sparked new atrocities, including targeted ethnic killings, sexual violence, and deliberate attacks on civilians. These are not just tragedies. According to the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission, these are human rights violations and international crimes. Civilians are not bargaining chips. They must be protected and humanitarian access guaranteed.
Sudan was once a crossroads of opportunity. Immigrants from all over Africa and the Middle East came to study, work, and start businesses. The city was vibrant and cosmopolitan, and the university was one of the best in the region. Now that same road is full of people fleeing in the opposite direction. A growing number of Sudanese are now turning up inside and outside Libya, risking their lives in search of safety and work. Countries that once provided refuge are now a source of flight.
But even in the midst of the devastation, many Sudanese seek to return home. In Khartoum, Sennar and Gezira, families are returning to destroyed neighborhoods and looted homes. Their return is not an expression of patience, but an expression of the people’s desire to rebuild. they want peace.
But determination alone cannot rebuild a nation. Sudan urgently needs two things: peace and access. Humanitarian organizations must be allowed to deliver food, medicine and protection to civilians separated by fighting. Starvation and disease are looming, and the longer access is denied, the higher the cost in human life.
The International Organization for Migration is working with partners to respond to urgent needs, providing shelter materials, hygiene kits, food and mobile medical care, as well as tracking displaced people across the country and guiding a broader response. But without safe passage and security guarantees, even the best resources can fall short.
Humanitarian aid can only go so far. We can’t end the war. The widening global financial gap is not just a question of money. The only sustainable path forward is a negotiated ceasefire and an inclusive political process that brings Sudan’s parties to the conflict to the negotiating table. Regional and international actors must use all available tools, including diplomatic, economic and legal, to promote peace and accountability.
Once peace takes root, Sudan can recover. Its land is fertile, its people talented, and its potential immense. Within 10 years, Sudan will once again be self-sufficient and able to contribute to regional prosperity. But recovery will require sustained international engagement, not just in emergency aid but also in investing in governance, education and livelihoods that enable people to live with dignity.
The mother I met at Al Afad camp still hopes her daughter will make it to her next hospital appointment. Her hope, like Sudan’s, rests on one thing: the world doesn’t look away. That hope is fragile, but it is not lost. It is the world’s responsibility to keep it alive by opening access, mobilizing resources and advocating for peace.
The people of Sudan have been carrying this burden for a long time. It’s time for the world to take action.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.
