Transcription
The United Nations says children in Sudan are facing unimaginable suffering in the ongoing civil war between the army and the paramilitary rapid support forces. The UN says close to 4 million children are acutely malnourished across the country. Around 730,000 are suffering life-threatening severe acute malnutrition.
The BBC's Muhammad Hashim gained rare access to a children's refuge in the city of Abdurman and saw firsthand how young people are being affected by the conflict. Sudan is facing the world's largest child displacement crisis. Since independence from Britain in the 1950s, generations of children have been scarred by violence and suffering. These boys and girls are no exception.
Of the 15 million people who have been displaced during the current civil war, more than half of them are children like those at the school-come-housing shelter. The walls here still bear the scars of a rocket attack by the rapid support forces last year. Children were playing football and preparing for a dance festival that fateful Saturday morning.
“I looked, and there was a lot of dust. Something had hit me here. I ran inside. There was blood coming from my head, on my arms, and everywhere. When I wanted to move, I touched my leg and found my hand full of blood. I touched it again and found a deep wound. Then I did not feel anything. I don't know if I was conscious or not. I didn't even realize I was hit.”
Amna, the shelter supervisor, lost one of her sons, 12-year-old Ahmed. “My son died in the evening, and another boy died the next morning. My son, he was a kind boy. He was good to everyone, to his friends, to elderly women.”
What are the children here who survived that attack feeling? How are they today? Most of the kids are terrorized. “We used to have a vibrant yard with kids, men, women all together. Now since the strike, no one leaves their room. If they hear a gunshot, the kids will run.”
It's an all-too-familiar story for the millions of children caught up in this conflict. The scars of this war have disrupted their education. They have all been displaced from other parts of the city to come here for safety. According to their mothers and parents, many of these children suffer from nightmares and post-traumatic stress.
In addition, the United Nations Children's Agency, UNICEF, says even the most basic needs are not being met. It's called the situation across Sudan a children's crisis.
At the shelter, some of the children chat about their favorite football teams. Despite everything they've been through, they still have hopes and dreams. But if Sudan is to heal, this generation needs peace.