Article

"All you can hear in town is crying"

Sudanese refugees in Eastern Chad urgently need help

Annadjib Ramadane Mahamat

Hundreds of refugees including women and children standing outside at a border town in Chad — UNICEF/UNI399004/Mahamat

22 June 2023

Since the onset of the conflict in Sudan on April 15, Chad faces a massive influx of refugees from Sudan, together with Chadian returnees. According to the latest figures, around 150,000 people had crossed the Chadian border by mid-June, and numbers continue to increase.

On 16 and 17 June, following yet another outbreak of violence in El Geneina, the major city in Western Darfur, thousands of destitute people, most of them women and children, arrived in Adre, the Chadian border city, where they quickly outnumbered the local population. Most of them arrived with nothing, having lost loved ones and having lost tracks of family members along the way.

The refugees arrive in a Chadian region which is already in a very dire situation, with poor access to clean water and basic social services.

As the rainy season is starting, roads are becoming impassable, further hampering the relief operations.

A woman and 6 young children sitting on the the sandy ground — UNICEF/UNI399008/Mahamat On 17 June 2023, Sudanese refugee Fatna Ibrahim Daoud, 35, a mother of 7, is sheltering in the shade in Adre, the Chadian city bordering Sudan. She fled the fighting with her 7-year-old daughter Isra. During the attacks, she lost track of her 6 other children. On the road, she took in 5 other children separated from their parents

A woman standing among other women and children who are sitting on the ground outside — UNICEF/UNI398998/Mahamat Makhboula, aged 15, from the town of El-Geneina, has found refuge in Adré in eastern Chad "Our house was attacked early in the morning. I can't find my parents. I ran away and my feet hurt a lot. I just hope I can find my parents. Someone gave me food in the street".

A group of young boys sitting together on the ground outside — UNICEF/UNI398997/Mahamat Oussam, aged 17, Mahamat, aged 15, and their little brother Djibril, aged 4, have found refuge in Adré on the border with Sudan. They arrived on foot, following other people fleeing their hometown. They found refuge in Adré’s secondary school. "People came on motorbikes at dawn and attacked us in our neighbourhood in El-Geneina. Our mother was killed in front of us. And we don't know where our father is. The night we arrived in Adré, we had nothing to eat. It was only this morning that another refugee shared his food with us.”

A woman sitting on the ground outside with a child on her lap — UNICEF/UNI400074/Mahamat Mariam Djimé Adam, 33, is sitting in the yard of Adre’s secondary school. She arrived from Sudan the previous day with her 8 children. "We were attacked in our home in the morning, my husband was killed and all our belongings were taken. I managed to escape with my children. On the way to Chad, we met other armed men who beat us up. Many people were killed and tortured. I just want safety for my children".

A group of women are outside cooking in a large pots for the refugees who have arrived in their community — UNICEF/UNI399006/Mahamat Adré’s local women are cooking food to the Sudanese refugees in front of the secondary school. The local population do what they can to help, but their resources are running low.

A young boy holds a small blackboard in his hands on which he has drawn a house

13-year old Abdelaziz show the drawing he did while attending a Child-Friendly space in Koufroun, a Chadian village in eastern Chad hosting refugees from Sudan. "I want peace so that I can go home to Sudan" he says.

UNICEF/UNI399784/Mahamat

A UNICEF staff member interacts with children sitting in a Child-Friendly-Space

UNICEF Chad child protection officer Valery Nodjimadji sits with children in a Child-Friendly space in Koufroun, a Chadian village in eastern Chad hosting refugees from Sudan. The Child-Friendly Spaces are run by UNICEF partner the Chadian Red Cross. Children can have fun, enjoy themselves in a safe space and receive psycho-social support.

UNICEF/UNI399790/Mahamat

Young girls are standing near a newly installed borehole to fetch water

Children are fetching water from a UNICEF-installed borehole in the village of Koufroun in eastern Chad, on the border with Sudan. Koufroun is home to thousands of Sudanese refugees. Even before they arrived, the village had poor access to clean water, the borehole helps both refugees and host communities.

UNICEF/UNI399785/Mahamat

A landscape image featuring children and women with their donkeys near a newly installed water borehole

UNICEF has set up boreholes in the villages hosting refugees, for the use of both refugees and host communities.

UNICEF/UNI399786/Mahamat

"All you can hear in town is crying"

13-year old Abdelaziz show the drawing he did while attending a Child-Friendly space in Koufroun, a Chadian village in eastern Chad hosting refugees from Sudan. "I want peace so that I can go home to Sudan" he says.

UNICEF has set up boreholes in the villages hosting refugees, for the use of both refugees and host communities.

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