South Sudan, fleeing conflicts but finding floods: the hard life of refugees in Sudan’s refugee camps

ROME – Nyalan Goldit, a 37-year-old mother of four, walks among the remains of a shelter she once called home. First the conflict forced her to flee South Sudan in 2014 and now the floods forced her to leave her home again where she hoped to start anew with a new life. When she first escaped, she was nine months pregnant and despite the fatigue and difficulties of the journey, she says she felt safe once she reached Sudan. But that sense of security protection has been washed away by the recent floods caused by the White Nile.

Hopes betrayed. “My dream right now is to have my shelter back. How can I continue to hope if I don’t even have a place to live?”, Nyalan Goldit tells the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which is providing basic necessities in Sudan to help the population resist the consequences of the floods . After a four-month rainy season, people were finally returning to their ordinary lives when the White Nile suddenly burst its banks, taking everyone by surprise. The unprecedented water levels and resulting damage have forced over eight thousand displaced people to leave again. Another rainy season will arrive in May and some refugee camps, such as Al Redis 1, where Nyalan lives with her family, will continue to be surrounded by a large expanse of water. Already now the camp can only be reached by canoe.

The floods. In 2020, Sudan suffered its worst flood in a hundred years. Over eight hundred thousand people have been affected across the country, including refugees from South Sudan. According to UN estimates, more than 349,000 people were displaced again in 2022 by rain and water damage.

The witness. Triza Amum, 45, who also arrived in Sudan in 2014 with her family, is still paying for the consequences that the floods have had on her life. She has nine children to look after, usually emigrating to a nearby village to work during the harvest season. Like many other refugees, she has relied on the money she earns during the harvest periods to supplement the humanitarian aid she receives constantly and thanks to which she is able to provide for her family. But this year things have gone differently. “I didn’t leave. I could not leave my family. Without a shelter, without security, I stayed to be close to him ”, she says.

Predictions for the future. The White Nile increases its water volume every year, but it had never reached its recent levels, experts explain to the UNHCR. “Global temperatures continue to rise due to extreme weather events,” said Pankaj Singh, Senior Operations Officer of the High Commission in Sudan. He stresses that refugees live, unfortunately, in areas prone to flooding and therefore their living conditions will continue to suffer the impact of the floods.

The work of the UNHCR. White Nile State is home to the second largest refugee population in Sudan, with over 280,000, of which 84 per cent are women and children. The High Commission assists the displaced with basic necessities such as blankets, sun lamps, jerry cans, kitchen sets and plastic sheeting. The agency has also built dams to hold back floodwaters from destroying fields and is using pumping systems to dry the soil in most of the affected areas. While these measures have helped prevent further damage to the shelters, the amount of floodwater surrounding and encroaching on the camps limits the ability of refugees to obtain basic necessities and assistance.