In Sudan, volunteers step up to help those caught in the crossfire

On a recent day, two men rode bikes along a dusty road in a neighborhood in eastern Khartoum, Sudan’s capital.

They carried backpacks with life-saving medications for residents in the area who have diabetes and high blood pressure.

The men stopped by a house with green metal doors where a woman greeted them with a smile as she took the medicine.

“Come in,” she said.

But they had to go. The men, members of a neighborhood committee, had to get to other homes in the area — all coordinated online — before the fighting picked up again, as peace negotiations continue in Saudi Arabia.

Last month, a conflict erupted in the country between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) — Sudan’s military — and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a powerful paramilitary group. While many Sudanese are fleeing the country, most people remain trapped in their homes as food and medical supplies dwindle. In the absence of outside help, neighborhood committees have formed to bring in food and water, and to check on people’s welfare.

Duaa Tariq shared videos of the men’s deliveries with The World. She is an activist and a member of one of Khartoum’s neighborhood committees.

Tariq spoke while standing on the rooftop of her three-story house in Khartoum, the place where she gets the best cell reception.

She explained that since the fighting broke out in her city last month, basic services like electricity and water have been mostly cut off.

“All the shops are closed, a few pharmacies were bombed and also bakeries went out of service,” she said.

Wheat factories were hit as well, she added, so bread has become scarce.

The fighting is taking place in residential areas and has left some people trapped in their homes.

“The committees are playing the role of the government in providing safe passage for people to get food and [are] risking their lives to go get medicine and water, and [are] also working on fixing the electricity when the government bombs it,” Tariq said.

The volunteers connect and coordinate help on social media. If neighbors aren’t online, they check in on them in person. Donations help them buy scarce supplies.

The Resistance Committees, or neighborhood groups, formed during Sudan’s pro-democracy movement in 2019. Their initial focus was on political activism.

Tariq protested through her art and street graffiti. She organized sit-ins and led chants.

But the committees’ deep ties with local communities has meant that they can switch quickly to humanitarian help in times of crisis.

“We’re trying to protect each other and be around each other because it’s a very difficult time right now that we’re going through as ordinary citizens,” Tariq added.

This work is risky. Tariq’s group has lost members who were out on runs, she said. She herself doesn’t leave home much because she has heard of reports of rape and sexual harassment.

The sound of gunfire and fighter jets could be heard in the background as she spoke to The World, so Tariq paused to take shelter.

A few minutes later, she called back to say she was fine.

Leaving Khartoum doesn’t guarantee safety, either.

Dr. Abeer Dirar is working on the border between Sudan and Egypt. Until about a week ago, she was volunteering with her neighborhood committee in Khartoum. But when she heard about the conditions at the border, she headed straight there.

“The environment here [on] the border is very bad,” she said over WhatsApp. “Here, there [are] no bathrooms at all and no water.”

She sent a photo of a 2-year-old child over WhatsApp with a look of exhaustion on her face. She said she was suffering from dehydration and was having convulsions.

Dirar treated her at a mobile clinic and she is doing better now. But she said she’s seeing all kinds of illnesses — lots of diarrhea, abdominal pain and food poisoning. The heat and lack of clean water and good sanitation don’t help.

Dirar and her colleagues have been working around the clock as more displaced people arrive every day.

Meanwhile, the insecurity has forced some community volunteers to leave Sudan.

Enass Muzamel is one of them. She’s now in Ethiopia.

“I was [in Khartoum] for eight days and I couldn’t do anything with anyone,” Muzamel said.

She continues to monitor and coordinate with the volunteers. She mentioned one group that has been responsible for collecting the dead bodies from the streets.

“They make sure that if there is a [identity] card and if the face is visible, they [take] photos and also sometimes, if they cannot reach a graveyard, they just bury and they make a note. So, it’s a tough job but those guys volunteer to do it,” she explained.

With no end in sight, Muzamel said maybe soon all the volunteers will have to leave and join the thousands of people who have already been displaced from their homes.