Katharina von Schroeder of the Save the Children organization was stuck at school with her 8-year-old son when the fighting started on Saturday. They are lucky because there is still food, water and electricity.
– We still have some food and water. That’s great, because most people in Khartoum don’t have enough anymore.
This is what the Campaign and Communications Director of Save the Children says Katharina von Schroeder by phone from Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, in the middle of the fighting. He has been with his 8-year-old son since Saturday at a school in Khartoum, fleeing the fighting.
In addition to Von Schroeder, there are four other parents with their children and a couple of staff members at the school. Some are foreigners, some are Sudanese.
The children came to the school with their parents for a tennis lesson on Saturday, but were stranded there when a power struggle broke out between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary RSF forces, former allies. The fighting has continued ever since and spread to different parts of the country.
“Millions of families in the same situation”
The school still has electricity and a telephone. This is probably because the school is located on the outskirts of Khartoum. Electricity has been cut off in a large part of the city.
– My friend told me that there has been no water in his area for two days and no electricity for five days, von Schroeder told on Wednesday.
Fighting is raging in the city and it is dangerous to go outside. Those in the school also hear the sounds of fighting and sometimes gunfire can be heard nearby.
Von Schroeder points out that millions of families and children in Sudan are in a similar situation.
– People persevere day after day, trying to stay safe.
Despite the danger to their lives, the people of Khartoum are forced to venture out if there is no more food and water at home. According to Von Schroeder, there has been a lot of solidarity: people share their neighborhoods with others.
Many of the shops are closed and it is now very difficult to bring supplies to Khartoum. Air traffic has been stopped and it is dangerous for trucks to travel on the roads.
Because of the fighting, Save the Children can only operate in two states at the moment. The organization has relief supplies in Sudan, but they cannot be forwarded to those in need. in the Darfur region the organization’s premises were robbed (you move to another service) medical and relief supplies intended for children.
The organization is preparing to start emergency aid together with other aid agencies as soon as the situation calms down a bit, says von Schroeder.
In particular, the need for healthcare assistance is great. Hospitals have been evacuated and according to unconfirmed reports, they have been damaged in the fighting.
– Fortunately, 98 of our 100 health clinics are still in operation, says von Schroeder.
Food aid is also needed. Even before the recent fighting, an estimated one-third of Sudan’s 45 million inhabitants were in need of humanitarian aid.
Many want to leave
According to von Schroeder, many Khartoum residents are waiting for a break in the fighting to get out of the city. Especially those who have relatives in the countryside are planning to leave.
Currently, the safest area is considered to be the southeastern part of Sudan, but the situation in the country is changing rapidly. In addition to Khartoum, Darfur is very dangerous, says von Schroeder.
Von Schroeder himself is not in a hurry to leave the school, but is waiting for the security situation to improve.
– My home isn’t any safer, so there’s no use in going there. At first we got stuck here, but later we realized that this is a slightly safer area than my home, which is closer to the airport, says von Schroeder, who has lived in Sudan for seven years.
There are a dozen Finns in Sudan, it is not possible to leave now
In Sudan, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a dozen Finns are wounded by this. All of them have been contacted.
Finns are mostly in Khartoum, where the fiercest battles are taking place, said the consular chief of the ministry Jussi Tanner on Radio Suomen Päivä.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends that they stay indoors. According to Tanner, the real danger is getting caught up in the fighting. In addition, the armed forces are unruly, the most desperate tend to enter apartments.
– The situation is truly serious and dangerous, the head of the consulate said.
According to Tanner, the evacuation of Finns is currently impossible. It is also impossible to say when it might succeed.
Khartoum’s airspace is closed and airports cannot be used. Leaving the country is not possible either, says Tanner.