His last salary, Razan Badr received it at the end of March. This teaching assistant in a private school in Khartoum, however, worked until April 15, the date of the first exchanges of fire between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – a militia designed under the military-Islamist dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir and become at least as powerful as the regular troops.
“In turn, with other employees, we tried to contact management. But officials turned off their phones and went overseas. They will end up paying us but we don’t know when, maybe in two or three years…”, asks the young woman, resigned. Civil servants or workers in the private sector, most Sudanese are now deprived of income. At the same time, the war continues to claim victims. According to a provisional assessment, the NGO Acled (Armed Conflict Location
“The military are almost the only ones still being paid,” said Hafiz Ismail, a former banker and director of the NGO Justice Africa Sudan. Government institutions are completely at a standstill. Offices and banks are closed. The state has no more income since most economic activities are suspended. The authorities use the last available resources to finance the war. »
Solidarity is organized, without ensuring decent living conditions for the survivors of the clashes which are continuing, particularly in the city center of Khartoum and in Darfur. A few weeks after the first detonations, Razan Badr, his mother and his two younger sisters took over the management of the modest residence of their relatives, in Wad Madani. Located 200 kilometers southeast of the capital, this city has so far been spared the fighting.
“My aunt sleeps on a blanket on a spare bed with no mattress. We share a bed for two,” says Razan Badr. In total, they are thirteen adults and two children to live on the two salaries of an uncle, a manager in the local branch of the Ministry of Education, and an aunt selling cosmetics. “One takes care of the breakfast, the other of the dinner, continues the ex-teacher’s assistant. We share what’s there, even if sometimes it’s not enough. »
Digoo Mohmed, 19, has just arrived in Wad Madani. Active in a resistance committee in Khartoum, these pro-democracy branches spread across the country, this electrical engineering student has turned into a local hero since the start of the war. He voluntarily delivered medicines by bicycle, despite the latent bombardments, and cooked for his neighbors thanks to donations.
Until his commitment made him suspect in the eyes of the FSR, who, like the army, targeted the activists. Twice, the militiamen kidnapped and beat the young man. In full convalescence, he is now looking for a source of income. Because his parents are still in the capital, refusing to abandon their home to the clutches of the FSR and other bandits. “All the obstacles stand in the way of the survivors of Khartoum”, summarizes the revolutionary, exhausted.
In the Burri district, east of Khartoum, political scientist Bashir Elshariff has also chosen to stay at the risk of his life, preferring to help those who cannot leave. Especially the most precarious or fragile. “Most depend on relatives based abroad. Others survive on their savings. The women sell the gold received during their marriage to eat. And then, charity is organized, “summarizes the father of the family, between two deliveries of bread – staple food of the Sudanese regime.
Back in Wad Madani, Razan Badr turns in circles. Before the war, this employee of a prestigious school group never spent a day at home. Freshly graduated with a degree in public health, she juggled, in her spare time, between private lessons, data collection for the Khartoum Institute of Public Health and various volunteer missions. Earlier this year, she also spent six weeks in India, after being selected for a program training young entrepreneurs.
It is therefore difficult to get used to this new confined daily life. “If I want to move, it takes money to pay for the bus. So most of the time I can’t go out to do anything. I no longer have access to the Internet either, unless a cousin or an uncle shares his connection, ”explains Razan Badr, who multiplies the applications to find a job. “But here, everything works by piston,” she laments.
Here again, mutual aid takes place. Along with five other young people from the diaspora, climate activist Nisreen Elsaim is building a platform to facilitate the employment and training of these thousands of young people forced into unemployment. It has already received more than 2,000 requests. “The majority lack the skills to meet the demands of the international labor market. But we are trying to forge partnerships to give them access to online courses so that they can quickly apply for distance offers as autoentrepreneurs. 100% of the young people we surveyed say that they are more affected by the loss of their job and the interruption of their studies than by the war itself”, insists Nisreen Elsaim. Unfortunately, adds this hard worker, international donors focus on humanitarian aid, forgetting these key areas.
Desperate and vulnerable, these citizens left to their own devices are easy recruits for both sides. More worryingly, Islamic State operatives are now prowling uncovered on Sudanese soil. Despite its extreme danger, the clandestine crossing to Europe via Libya is also attracting more and more candidates.
According to the International Organization for Migration, some 24.7 million Sudanese are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance. And researcher Hafiz Ismail warns: “The economy has totally collapsed. Enormous efforts will have to be made to restore it after the war. Nevertheless, the conflict seems to be bogged down. This chaos convinced Razan Badr to flee the dark destiny of his nation. As soon as she has collected the necessary sum, she will go into exile in a Gulf country.