Stratford-area multicultural association looks to help Sudanese refugees

The Multicultural Association of Perth Huron is working to support Sudanese locals who are trying to bring family members – caught in the cross-hairs of the recent armed conflict there – to the safety of the Stratford region.

With the Canadian government waiving temporary residence fees for the immediate family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, Sudanese refugees who come to Canada will be able to apply for open work or study permits, as well as permanent resident under the family class, free of charge.

“I have some relatives who live in Sudan that traveled to Egypt,” said Amar Ahmed, a multicultural association volunteer who immigrated to Canada from his home country of Sudan in 2018 before moving to Stratford two years ago. “Most of them are now in either Egypt or Sudan. Egypt allows only for women and children to pass over the border without a visa, but for the men they are stuck there. … My wife’s brother; his wife and kids were able to pass into Egypt, but he’s still stuck there. … It’s a very harrowing situation there. Now the violence has gone to another level. … They’re starting to go inside (people’s) homes and businesses. They’ve taken everything. … Even in your home, you are not safe.”

Since April 15, the Sudanese army and a paramilitary group called Rapid Support Forces have been engaged in firefights in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum and elsewhere in the country after a disagreement over how Rapid Support Forces should be incorporated into the Sudanese army as the country prepares for elections, initially planned for the end of this year. The Sudanese army has held power in the northeastern African country since longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir was ousted in a 2021 military coup led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and, until this dispute, supported by the Rapid Support Forces.

According to recent estimates published in a field report by the Sudanese Doctors Trade Union, 481 civilians have died since the violence began last month.

Adding to the crisis, Sudan has long been home to one of the largest refugee populations in Africa, with estimates ranging as high as 1.1- million people, many of whom are from South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda and places even farther afield like Syria. The United Nations refugee agency has said as many as 800,000 Sudanese nationals and refugees could flee Sudan for neighboring countries, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya.

“Eritreans, Ethiopians, Somalians, they live there in big refugee camps in Sudan,” said Michael Benti, the multicultural association’s resettlement manager for Huron-Perth. “They’ve been living there for a long time. … They cannot go back to their own countries, so it’s very hard. … Sudan is the home for so many East Africans … so the problem is not just for Sudanese nationals, but all east Africans who are living there as refugees in the country.”

Charles Gak, another Sudanese immigrant who volunteers with the association, described Sudan as a country that, in times of peace, “could accommodate everyone.”

“It was a good place. … We didn’t know this would happen in Sudan one day. You can’t go home in that situation,” said Gak, who came to Canada in 1997.

As its board of directors prepares to mount a trip to Sudan’s neighboring countries in a few weeks to provide immigration and other supports on the ground, the multicultural association is offering its help as a point of contact to access immigration resources for residents in the region who need help resettling family members who have escaped Sudan. More information about these supports is available at the association’s hotline at 1-888-308-6274.

The organization is also raising money for emergency supplies, air fare, local housing and other necessities those who have fled Sudan might need when they arrive in the area. To donate, visit maph.ca.

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