Salesians Leave Khartoum Technical School
“Bullets came into the rooms”
Photo: Misiones
Salesianas
(ANS – Khartoum, Sudan – June 14, 2023) – For 60 days now, Sudan has been experiencing
its third internal war. Despite the numerous ceasefires, mostly not respected,
the situation worsens day by day. More than 1.5 million people have fled their
homes, thousands have died, electricity is intermittent, and food is still
scarce. No one leaves the house for fear of being shot, and clashes between
army and paramilitary forces continue to spread throughout the country. The
Salesians and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (Salesian Sisters) are
the only religious still in the capital, Khartoum, and are seeking to start an
emergency aid project to help 300 families in dire need.
Don Bosco’s sons were forced to abandon the St.
Joseph's Technical School due to the advance of the paramilitaries and the
insecurity of the area. They took refuge, together with the sisters, several
kilometers away. “The bullets came into the rooms, and we were asked to
leave, so we just took some clothes and left,” explains the director of the
community.
But the situation has worsened: “We are
experiencing the worst moments of the war. These days there has been heavy
gunfire, artillery fire, and the noise of explosions about 100 meters from the
house. Many people have come with their children to take refuge with the FMAs.
We went to the chapel with the sisters and said the Rosary,” says the Salesian.
“When one of the nearest fuel stations was hit, black smoke darkened the sky,”
he went on.
The conflict in the capital, which began on April
15, has forced more than 1.5 million people to flee their homes. Many of them
have become refugees in neighboring countries such as Chad, Egypt, South Sudan,
and Ethiopia. So far there have been more than 40 attacks on health facilities,
and as a result more than 20,000 pregnant women are unable to access prenatal
care.
The official toll of casualties, which is
recorded in hospitals, is about 1,200 dead and more than 6,000 wounded, but it
is certainly incomplete.
The difficulty in communication and the
impossibility of leaving home due to the fighting make it impossible to know
the situation of the Salesian center. “We are in Shajara, 7 kilometers from Khartoum,
and since the telephone networks and internet are not stable, we cannot get in
touch with our colleagues at the technical school,” the director says.
Electricity is available only on alternate
days, there is no transport, and 90% of religious have left the capital. “We
Salesians and the Salesian Sisters are the only representatives of the Church
left around the capital of Sudan, but it is difficult to know what is happening
and how the war is going. The fighting now seems to be heading south, which is
where we are,” he adds.
Misiones Salesianas, the Salesian mission office
in Madrid, has launched an emergency project to help 300 families in vulnerable
situations due to the conflict in Sudan. The project will provide immediate
assistance to those most affected by the conflict and will continue to work
with the displaced population. The aid will go to students and staff from
Salesian schools, parishioners of Salesian parishes, and their families. A
first shipment of more than €93,000 has been put toward this project, which
will consist of food assistance, access to drinking water, medical care, and
protection.
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