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In Pictures: Ethiopian refugees in Sudan face uncertain future

Tens of thousands of displaced Ethiopian refugees are running out of food and water.

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"I am just a student. When the violence broke out, I ran for my life, and left my mother and sister behind. I am too scared to go back to Tigray," said Younas, an Ethiopian refugee sheltering in Sudan. [Ingebjorg Karstad/NRC]
By Ingebjorg Karstad
Published On 7 Dec 2020

Um Rakuba refugee camp, Sudan – As international organisations prepare to distribute aid to war-weary civilians in the Tigray state of Ethiopia as soon as possible, Tigray refugees who escaped to neighbouring Sudan wonder if they will ever see their homeland again.

A deal reached between the United Nations and the Ethiopian government last week allowed humanitarian workers to enter the embattled region, but it remains too volatile for aid to reach.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed declared victory over the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) after federal troops captured the regional capital Mekelle just over a week ago, saying not a single civilian had been killed in the offensive.

Tens of thousands of displaced Ethiopian refugees are running out of food and water due to the month-long conflict that has forced almost 50,000 to flee.

Those who fled the violence believe they are the lucky ones.

A vast majority of the refugees living in Sudan’s Um Rakuba camp, which means “mother of all shelters”, are male. They say they saw other men being killed, and fled for their lives.

Despite the bare-bones conditions of the camp, with families sleeping out in the open, Tigrayans say they feel safe there.

Cash and other assistance are available to all the refugees and rudimentary education facilities have been set up.

Refugee teachers start lessons with songs under wooden shelters – the sound of children singing is a welcome distraction for those missing family members back home.

If there is one consensus among the refugees, it is this: They will not return home until it is safe.

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“I cannot go back to Tigray. It is too dangerous for me,” said Younas, a student.

He longs to hear whether his sister and mother are safe but because of the deliberate communication blackout, he cannot reach them. “I will just have to wait,” he said.

Waiting has become a forced pastime for many Tigrayans living in Um Rakuba as the conflict, which could potentially uproot them forever, continues.

Leilti, 30, her husband Gebreyesus, 42, and their three children are tired after their first night sleeping under the open sky. They arrived at Um Rakuba camp last week. [Ingebjorg Karstad/NRC]
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Leilti is five months pregnant and found the journey to Sudan very hard. "I hope I don't have to give birth to my baby in this place," she says. [Ingebjorg Karstad/NRC]
Um Rakuba camp is 70km (43 miles) from the Ethiopian border. [Ingebjorg Karstad/NRC]
Melashu, 65, fled with her family of six and some of her close neighbours from Tigray to Sudan two weeks ago. "We saw many dead bodies along the road when we fled. No one was burying them," she said. "My son-in-law is missing. Some of my closest neighbours are missing too. I have not been able to reach them." [Ingebjorg Karstad/NRC]
Emergency schooling has been organised, with a school for 700 children up and running at the camp. [Ingebjorg Karstad/NRC]
Teachers, themselves refugees, are now working in the school. [Ingebjorg Karstad/NRC]
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Ebrahim, 24, has set up the only tailor shop at Um Rakuba. Many refugees had their clothes torn during the long days of travel. He shares the income with the owner of the sewing machine. [Ingebjorg Karstad/NRC]
Fifteen people are seeking shelter in what used to be a school when Um Rakuba was last open and hosted Ethiopian refugees during the famine in the 1980s. The roof is damaged and the living conditions are dire. [Ingebjorg Karstad/NRC]
Um Rakuba refugee camp currently hosts some 10,000 Ethiopian refugees who have fled the fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray region over the past month. [Ingebjorg Karstad/NRC]