Hanane’s story, a 17-year-old refugee living in Daguessa camp with her newborn baby, reflects the forgotten emergency unfolding along the Sudan-Chad border, where the war in Sudan has forced millions of people to flee, including nearly one million refugees and hundreds of thousands of Chadian returnees. In this context of extreme vulnerability, where most of those fleeing are women and children, INTERSOS’ work in Zabout and Daguessa camps provides vital support to people who risk being forgotten.
My name is Hanane, I am 17 years old, and I come from Nyala. I used to live with my family, but then the war took everything away from us: first my father died, then my mother. Together with my three siblings, we fled to Chad to save our lives. At first, in order to get something to eat, we were forced to work in nearby villages; later, we were assigned a tent and settled here. Today, only two of us remain: me and my little brother Mousa, who goes into town whenever he can to do small household jobs so that we can survive.
The pain has never left us. My older sister became pregnant during our journey. She fell ill seven days after giving birth and died just three days later. During the conflict, even though we saw dead bodies everywhere, we tried to stay. But when soldiers began storming into homes and shooting people, terror took over. They were armed with rifles and shot at anyone they saw; there was no choice but to run.
I remember the escape: the sound of gunfire behind us and the desperate urge to keep running in order to stay alive. As I ran, I saw people falling under the bullets. I had to jump over bodies lying on the ground while the shooting continued. I had never run so much in my life.
Then there is the father of my child. I do not really know what to say about him because, in truth, I do not know him. He disappeared as soon as he learned about the pregnancy. When I found out I was pregnant, I was terrified. I feared I would suffer the same fate as my sister and die in childbirth.
We had nothing to eat, so I kept working in the villages until the very end. Then the time came to give birth. My little boy is now two months old. It is hard, unbelievably hard, but there is nothing we can do about it. We have accepted our fate and are simply trying to move forward.
Today, Hanane and her baby—a child she never chose to have—live in the Daguessa camp, a refuge for Chadians who had been living in Sudan and were driven back across the border by the war, just a few kilometers from home.
With the support of the European Union, INTERSOS can help people like Hanane in Daguessa camp, providing vital assistance to those who have lost everything to war and are trying to rebuild their lives.