Journeys of Sudanese children and youth, fleeing the Sudan conflict – Migrant stories

The outbreak of war in Sudan on April 15, 2023, has had significant consequences for mixed migration and cross-border displacement. As of November 21, 2023, more than 1.4 million Sudanese and third-country migrants have left Sudan in search of safety and protection. Egypt, which has a long history of migration with Sudan - hosting somewhere between 2 to 5 million, according to government estimates from 2007 - has recorded over 343,000 new arrivals since the outbreak of conflict. To gain insight into the experiences of Sudanese children and youth fleeing the conflict and seeking refuge in Egypt, the following are firsthand accounts of three Sudanese girls and one young woman headed to Cairo, zooming in on their experiences on their way to Egypt. Note: Personal information has been treated with confidentiality. The names of the respondents were altered to protect their identities.

Story 1 – Lina’s Journey

‘‘I did not know we were coming to Egypt in the first place. I did not think about travelling. It all happened so fast, and my mother was not at home. My house was attacked and I heard gun shots, one of our neighbors died and that’s when I knew I had to leave as soon as I could.’’

̶ Lina, 16-year-old Sudanese girl

‘‘I was separated from my family after the outbreak of the conflict in April. I am from Darfur. I found a woman who was in the same locality as my family, she had two other daughters and I was stranded

with them. We stayed in a mosque in Darfur for 3 days and came to Egypt with a car. I did not know we were coming to Egypt. She just told me that either I followed her or stayed there, where the situation was very difficult. I asked her where we were going but she didn’t tell me, I thought we were going to a safe locality within Sudan. The journey took us 10 days.

I don’t remember the names of the routes we took. All I know is Shalateen in Egypt, which is where we were dropped by the driver. The road was deserted. There were some men who made me very uncomfortable along the way. The woman I traveled with protected me from them but they continued bothering me at night. I did not have any documents that I travelled with.

The car we used to come to Egypt was very congested and someone died in the car. I’m not sure if we used a smuggler or not. When we arrived at the border, the driver told us to rest because there were border officials and we had to hide to avoid from getting caught. From Shalateen to Cairo, we were separated from the people we had initially travelled with. We used a train, from Aswan to Cairo.

I did not know we were coming to Egypt in the first place. I did not think about travelling. It all happened so fast, and my mother was not at home. My house was attacked and I heard gun shots, one of our neighbors died and that’s when I knew I had to leave as soon as I could. That’s how I met the woman with whom I traveled with.’’

Story 2 – Suha’s Journey

‘‘My mother made this decision for me to leave. In Khartoum, when the war started, the army forced families to give their daughters away for marriage and my mother wanted to prevent this from happening to me.’’

̶ Suha, 14-year-old Sudanese girl

“I did not come with my family. I came with my neighbor, who migrated onwards to Libya to reunite with her husband. I don’t know anything about this woman. […] My mother made this decision for me to leave. In Khartoum, when the war started, the army forced families to give their daughters away for marriage and my mother wanted to prevent this from happening to me. I am okay with the decision that was made.

From Khartoum, we went to Abu Hamad, then to Aswan and Cairo. I’m not sure who facilitated the journey. We used several cars. From Aswan to Cairo, we used a bus. I don’t remember who was facilitating the journey because the woman I came with arranged all of it.

We got to Cairo via Aswan. Before we left Sudan, the Sudanese border control asked for some documents but other than that we were not stopped again. I did not encounter any challenges. I don’t communicate with any of my family members. I have no clue where they are or if they are safe.’’

Story 3 – Rawan’s Journey

‘‘We came by car. The smuggler facilitated the journey. The journey was very difficult, there was no water. People were dying along the way. There was no food at all. We stopped a few times between Wadi Halfa and Aswan.’’

̶ Rawan, 14-year-old Sudanese girl

“I came with my neighbours and my brother. We had initially planned to come with my family, but we got separated in Khartoum because of the war. My brother and I went to our neighbor’s place and they asked us if we could communicate with my parents, but we couldn’t, so when our neighbors decided to leave we followed them. […] We lost contact with our family.

We came by car. The smuggler facilitated the journey. The journey was very difficult, there was no water. People were dying along the way. There was no food at all. We stopped a few times between

Wadi Halfa and Aswan, there were security checks. After we reached Egypt, we got separated from my neighbor.

I don’t remember what happened at the border. Leaving Sudan was difficult but entering Egypt was easy. When we were leaving Sudan, the border guards did a thorough security check and they were asking too many questions. We did not have our passports.’’

Story 4 – Nawal’s Journey

‘‘We explained that we did not have any kind of documentation from Sudan. They told us we have to come off the train because I left all my documentation. My aunt had her identification card, and then they let me too pass through.’’

̶ Nawal, 20-year-old young Sudanese woman

“I traveled with my aunt. The journey was long and difficult. We did not have water or food. We walked for a long time after we crossed the border to Aswan which was tough for me as I was at the beginning of my pregnancy. We did not have enough information and did not know where to go to get to the train station.

We did not prepare for the journey, we just knew we had to leave as soon as possible. I did not know what to expect in the first place and so we used a smuggler, who had a car. We traveled through the night, the journey was tough and long. It took us 3 days to travel from Khartoum to Abu Hamad and then finally to Aswan. We used a train to travel from Aswan to Cairo, which took another 2 days. The journey was very tough, I don’t want to talk about it.

When we reached the border, there were many border guards. They asked us to provide our passports or identification documents. We explained that we did not have any kind of documentation from

Sudan. They told us we have to come off the train because I left all my documentation. My aunt had her identification card, and then they let me too pass through. The rest were denied access and were stuck because they had to present some kind of documents.”