Khartoum: Jasour – News Desk
The British newspaper, The Telegraph, shed light on the war in Sudan and the suffering of individuals with special needs and patients fleeing the genocide perpetrated by the Rapid Support Forces militia. More than 740,000 refugees have fled to Chad to escape the war in Sudan, living in crowded camps under harsh humanitarian conditions, especially for individuals with special needs.
According to the newspaper, among the refugees, individuals with special needs find themselves in an extremely difficult situation. They lack basic assistance and face daily challenges in mobility and accessing medical services. In refugee camps, they depend on humanitarian organizations, which are themselves experiencing severe funding shortages, rendering the support provided insufficient.
In this context, many were forced to flee under harsh conditions, as was the case with Kaltouma Ismail Abdullah and her sister Hasnia, who were left “like luggage” during their escape after their father’s murder. They were placed on the roof of a truck with the luggage, and their belongings were looted at a checkpoint. Upon arriving in Chad, they had no means of movement other than crawling until one of them received a wheelchair from a humanitarian organization.
In the Farchana camp, Mokhtar Idris Mohamed Abbas is receiving physical therapy sessions to help him adapt to his prosthetic leg after losing it in an armed attack that killed all eight of his children. Despite improvements in his health, his mobility remains limited, preventing him from realizing his dream of continuing to learn languages.
The report concluded that in these conditions, humanitarian organizations face significant challenges in meeting the growing needs of refugees. The organization “Humanity & Inclusion,” the only entity providing rehabilitation services for individuals with special needs in eastern Chad, suffers from funding shortages at a time when relief efforts urgently require international support.
According to the United Nations, the humanitarian response plan to assist refugees in Chad is only 30% funded, leaving a deficit exceeding $440 million. This makes the crisis more complex as the influx of refugees continues and violence in Sudan escalates.
