Yaqoub El Helou: When the war touched the door of the homeland – Sudan

Al -Helou, who is currently the regional director of Africa at the United Nations Development Coordination Office, worked with the United Nations in more than 16 sites, from Liberia, Libya, Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan.

Mr. Yaqoub Al -Helou spoke with Melissa Fleming, UN Secretary -General of the United Nations for global communication in her program.Awake at night“Who talks about issues that worry about the officials and humanitarian workers. The program – the award -winning program – broadcasts the United Nations website.

In this episode, he reflects deeply in the size of human suffering, reviews his career busy career with the United Nations, and confirms that every people deserve an opportunity to build their future.

In this article, we review excerpts from the dialogue in the tongue of Mr. Yaqoub El Helou.

I did not see a war -like war

I spent approximately 36 years of working with the United Nations, most of which were already in conflict areas. I have never seen anything as it happens in Sudan.

I saw nothing like this due to the speed and scope that caused damage. Human and material damage. And damage to a country that was living a real moment of hope to abandon the shackles of the past and start after the 2019 revolution. But it is now a country on the lips of more escalation, and the worst of that, the divisions.

There are 14 million people who are forcibly displaced now, including two million people who had to cross the border to become refugees in neighboring countries. But besides that, there are now Sudanese in every corner of the world literally. This is not our war. This is not a Sudanese war. Sudan is a theater of an agenda to be settled. We, the Sudanese people, continue to pay the price every day.

From this platform here, I want to take the opportunity to invite the Sudanese to put Sudan first, and not to take ideas from abroad, ideas that have nothing to do with stability, prosperity or success of the idea of ​​Sudan. Because the agenda does not go in this direction. The agenda is destruction and exploitation.

Sudan is a very rich country. His wealth continues to fade while the people of Sudan are forced to leave their homes.

I am afraid that the bleeding of murder and death will continue unless the international community will put Sudan in the focus of its attention. Although there are voices of leaders like the Secretary -General of the United Nations and other UN officials who talk about Sudan and work in it, Sudan, unfortunately, is absent from the interest of the global media.

Other conflicts have been overwhelmed by a no less fun, such as the war in Ukraine and Gaza. But I believe that the scale of the catastrophe that is revealed in Sudan exceeds the damage to these two regions.

I worked for the homeless throughout my life

We still feel the bitterness of homelessness. I devoted my life to the service of the homeless. This experience never leaves you, as it comes back and touches the depth of your feelings. Even as we tour the world for the sake of our message to serve those who were forced to flee, this feeling remains present. It affects you, but at the same time gives you courage and inspiration to move forward.

I know that there are those who see that the needy is weak and they have nothing to offer. But the truth is that all the strength and courage we collect comes from these people themselves, who have been sent to support and help them overcome their ordeal.

An ordeal they did not cause, but rather the result of the actions of a small group of concession and greed who do not refrain from causing human suffering. And Sudan, unfortunately, is not an exception from this rule.

Why does this happen? Where is the mind?

Sudan is our home. The concept of the family in Sudan greatly exceeds the scope of the direct parents, and includes huge numbers of people. For this reason, many of our people are still stuck in Sudan, and they continue to displacement according to the change of war map.

Many other Sudanese who grew up with them, went to school with them, or worked with them are still in Sudan. The more you look at it, the more it asked: Why does this happen? Where is the mind? Human spirits that are not compensated. This is a very expensive price.

But the material damage caused to the infrastructure in Sudan, its industries, methods, bridges and businesses. It is a random and non -life destruction, as well as the infrastructure of Sudan.

It is a devastating matter that goes beyond the description, and I think and believe that the words that I express the situation do not reflect everything that happens in Sudan, because the situation exceeds my words to describe. It is a catastrophe.

A risky trip from Khartoum

We have a lot of relatives who had to leave Khartoum. Most of the family was in Khartoum. We are originally from the White Nile region, south of Khartoum.

I am from a family of farmers on the banks of the White Nile, my grandfather had a large agricultural project, and today it turned into a shelter for the homeless. These are people who only support themselves and others, but they were running their own business, or they were government employees or university professors, but like anyone else, they were forcibly displaced.

When the war began in Khartoum on April 15, 2023, two of my children were in Khartoum. One was working in Khartoum after she finished her studies abroad and returned home to work. The other was at school.

My younger son, Ali, who called my father’s name, was going to school in Khartoum. Of course, the war began. They were stuck in the area where they lived, where we lived, for about two weeks after the war. In the end, we had to evacuate them.

The evacuation process was very stressful, because it did not include them alone. She was with their ancestors and many other family members. They were traveling in a bus of 55 individuals from the direct family.

I was in Addis Ababa. So, I had to manage this process remotely, and it was very stressful. While they were leaving, I told my children: ‘Write. What you see, write it, because it will help you not to suppress your feelings. Perhaps one day you will return and benefit from these memories and details. ‘

Their journey took about 50 hours. This is a 12 -hour trip from Khartoum to the Egyptian border. They finally crossed the border to the Egyptian side. I immediately made my children’s conditions arrangements to come to Addis Ababa.

I was talking to them, and they were tired. I asked my daughter, Razan, ‘and what did you do?’ She said, ‘I have already spoken to many people on the way and on the border. I will start a blog. ‘ Razan now has an online platform called “The Voices of the Homeland”, where you write all the stories. It creates opportunities for interaction and treatment, and perhaps even people talk to each other and help each other.

Our dining table was our parliament

I don’t think there is a home in Khartoum. Not in Khartoum, nor in the old Omdurman where there is a serious house and where the family comes, and where it also grew in certain stages of my life.

These areas were hot points and very dense fighting areas. So, the assumption is that everything has been broken, all this family has worked on for generations.

I am from a family that pursues agriculture, but it is a strongly involved family in politics. It led the rebellion against the British occupation in the nineteenth century. I do not participate in Sudanese politics, but my family does it strongly, and our dining table is a parliament.

Sudanese run the largest humanitarian operation

I always say that Africa occupies me during the day, and Sudan prevents me from sleeping at night. The Sudanese are now in all areas of time, people you know, people who suddenly found themselves in the unknown. Keep in contact with people, and people are also communicating with me. You cannot give up. This is part of the culture on which you grew up, and it is painful to see people asking for help now.

Many of the people you see displaced around the country today continue to host people who can hardly know them, or have not met them before, but the doors are open. This is a country in war, but generosity does not stop. For this reason, I believe that the largest humanitarian operation in Sudan today is run by the Sudanese themselves, motivated by generosity and simple hospitality.

Hope in the heart of the tragedy

I derive my hope from multiple sources. The first is that each beginning has an end, and this applies to wars as well. We have seen this in many other places, and we saw how the parties that nourish this war will absorb sooner or later that the weapon is not the solution. They must now sit to save the rest of Sudan. It is a homeland that has everything that qualifies to return as a great nation again, and this begins with its people.

My hope also comes from the simple Sudanese person; Among the peace -loving people, warm, and hospitable, who faces today with harsh plight, but a people characterized by solid. They have a firm faith who realize that adversity does not last.

And third, as much as we stop the flow of support and supply to the conflicting parties in Sudan, as much as we hurry to reach the moment everyone sits at the dialogue table.