African Migrants and refugees: Balancing legal status and humanitarian needs
Khaled Mohamed Taha: Wad Madani
A large number of African migrants and refugees have arrived in Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira State, as part of the war-displaced population. Dealing with individuals from Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Somalia, and Uganda posed a unique challenge in how to handle this diverse group with various characteristics, reasons, and methods of presence in Sudan during the period preceding the war events that turned them into displaced persons within other groups of Sudanese families and individuals. Temporary shelter centers in Gezira State are crowded with these populations.
While part of the issue of citizens of South Sudan was resolved by organizing convoys that helped some of them return to their country through purely popular efforts, others remain in the shelter centers that are also managed with the assistance of local residents in various parts of Wad Madani. The issue of citizens from other countries, however, remains unresolved.
Three classifications and one problem
Foreigners displaced from Khartoum to the cities and villages of Gezira State due to the war can be divided into three categories. The first category includes individuals with official residency permits registered in the foreigners departments. They can be considered migrants for various reasons and have spent most of their years in Sudan. They possess businesses, properties, and known economic activities. Most of them are also registered within the registered communities that used to conduct their activities under normal circumstances without any obstacles.
The second category consists of holders of refugee cards, who happen to be present outside the refugee camps designated for their accommodation in the states of Kassala, Gedaref, Sinnar, Gezira, Red Sea, and White Nile. They may have left those camps with or without permission for reasons specific to them.
As for the third category, they do not possess any refugee or residency status. This group usually arrived in the capital, Khartoum, and Sudan as a whole through illegal infiltration, which, under normal circumstances, requires regularization and regularization of their status through the relevant authorities responsible for foreign affairs.
Faces from those groups
Almayo, an Ethiopian citizen, says that he has been present in Sudan for a quarter of a century with legal status and a renewed official residence. He and his family - seven children and his wife - enjoy the same rights and obligations as other residents of Khartoum. Additionally, they abide by the specific conditions and requirements for foreigners residency that must be adhered to in all cases. This applies to his situation and the situation of other Ethiopian and Eritrean families currently present in the shelter camps in Gezira State.
Almayo added, We are grateful to the people of Wad Madani without limits. They have provided assistance to everyone without discrimination. Our interaction with the authorities is not direct, except in an attempt to deport everyone to refugee camps. It seems that they have recently abandoned or have made other arrangements regarding these camps. However, the refugee status does not apply to everyone here, and this should be taken into consideration. There are indeed refugees, and there are others who do not fall under that category. There is no objection to whatever measures the authorities deem suitable in such an emergency situation.
Tsefa Alm, a citizen of Eritrea, says, Our presence in Khartoum was officially authorized by the responsible authorities for refugee camps, and returning to those camps in this situation does not create any problem for those who were already in them until the conditions return to their previous stability. However, this requires first that the procedure be carried out by the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and ensuring that the routes and means of transportation are safe. It also requires that every refugee, male or female, be returned to the camp where their family, relatives, and other aspects of their lives are located. In other words, they should not be relocated to a new place or deported to their countries of origin, as that is linked to the disappearance of the reasons for seeking refuge and falls under another category related to the voluntary repatriation program. Treating registered refugees as fugitives from the camps is a misleading generalization. While there may be cases like that, it is best to conduct accurate classification and strive to understand the reasons, motives, and appropriate solutions for each case, whether they are related to protection, reuniting with family, obtaining medical treatment, improving living conditions, or any other motive. There are refugees whose temporary residencies have been registered in Khartoum State, most of whom are students or awaiting travel. They are now among the displaced due to the war.
Tsefa Alm emphasizes, The option of relocating to a third country is not a practical choice at the moment, but it is a right for refugees as long as the first country of asylum is in a state of war. It is a right for citizens of any country that has suffered from wars.
As for Abadit, a young woman from the Tigray region in Ethiopia, she says, Many of us arrived in Sudan and Khartoum through various unofficial means. The reality is that our departure from our homeland was also under war or special circumstances, without any official procedures or transactions. This also applies to many of our Eritrean brothers and sisters. The reason for not heading to refugee camps is that they are not safe. Many of us have decided to stay in Sudan despite any emergencies because it is safer for us. We hope these circumstances contribute to resolving our situations. Returning us to any of the countries we left in search of safety will only cause further suffering and put everyones lives at risk.
Abadit further explains, We have not been asked to leave Sudan yet. Only the number and names were recorded, and we were transferred to multiple shelter locations within three days. The crucial point is that those who were returned to their countries during the crisis facing Sudan were placed in detention camps, and that is not the fate we want for ourselves. We learned about the suspension of receiving foreigners in the shelter centers, which we understood to be an order from the official authorities. However, the centers are still receiving and hosting everyone, both Sudanese and non-Sudanese, and we are grateful for this treatment from the Sudanese people.
On the other hand, Yasser Al-Rayeh, a lawyer and volunteer involved in sheltering war-displaced individuals in Khartoum state, states, The humanitarian stance is indivisible, and the decision to discriminate in the treatment between Sudanese and non-Sudanese war-affected individuals is not advisable. According to humanitarian customs and international conventions, everyone should be treated in a manner that ensures safety, provides protection, preserves dignity, and enables necessary assistance. Al-Rayeh emphasized that it is the authorities duty to provide all those entitlements to both citizens and foreigners, while completing all the relevant procedures related to registering foreigners or categorizing them according to the established process and connecting them with the appropriate authorities. However, deportation to their home countries, which they left for various reasons, is not among those measures, given the impossibility of a safe life there.
Al-Rayeh stressed that there is no difference between the official view concerned with registering displaced foreigners from Khartoum and the popular opinion emphasizing the need to treat them well. This is not a point of disagreement by any means, but rather a matter of agreement among all Sudanese without a doubt. This sentiment has been expressed by Sudanese families providing daily meals and shelter materials, contributing without any external assistance in providing food, medicine, and clothing.
Lawyer Yasser Al-Rayeh added, Certainly, considering all foreigners coming from Khartoum in this difficult situation (those fleeing camps or violating residency laws) as a generalization is unacceptable. Additionally, it is not the appropriate time to differentiate between these groups or provide humanitarian aid based on those criteria. The affliction has affected everyone.
