The sound of gunfire forced 50-year-old Aisha Adam to flee her home in the al-Kalakla neighbourhood of Khartoum days after war erupted in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 15, 2023.
asserted
war → force → April
She went to the neighbouring city of Omdurman, but fighting followed her and in May 2023, Adam had to find a new refuge.
uncertain
Adam → go → refuge
It brought her to a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Port Sudan, on the country’s Red Sea coast, where she lives with her orphaned grandson and nephew.
asserted
she → bring → grandson
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commander → kill → nepotism
“Amid the clashes, I left with my grandson for the bus station, intending to travel to Wad Madani in Gezira state, south of Khartoum.
asserted
I → leave → Khartoum
But I found a bus heading to Port Sudan and boarded it, even though all I knew about the city was that it was safe,” she told Al Jazeera.
asserted
she → find → Jazeera
The fighting between the SAF and the RSF has killed as many as 200,000 people, according to aid workers.
uncertain
fighting → kill → workers
The war has also displaced 13 million people and led to famine in parts of the country.
asserted
war → displace → country
After Adam was forced to move to Port Sudan, she initially stayed at a shelter for IDPs in the centre of the city.
asserted
she → force → city
In June, she and others were relocated to a displacement centre on the outskirts of the city.
asserted
she → relocate → city
Accommodation was allocated according to household size.
uncertain
Accommodation → allocate → size
Adam was given a tent to share with the two children under her care, and shared a boundary with two other families.
asserted
Adam → give → families
“At the first shelter, I received some assistance from organisations, other agencies and even ordinary people.
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I → receive → organisations
The aid we receive has decreased significantly, so I had to try to find work to avoid starving to death,” she said.
asserted
she → receive → death
Adam’s struggle to feed the two children comes as Sudan faces deepening food shortages.
asserted
Sudan → feed → shortages
In a joint statement released on October 27, the United States Department of State warned of the deterioration in food availability and the risk of famine in the coming months.
asserted
Department → release → months
“Sudan is experiencing an alarming deterioration in its food security.
asserted
Sudan → experience → security
The risk of famine in the coming months, as warned by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, needs urgent action,” the statement said.
asserted
statement → come → action
Fatima is experiencing the real-life consequences highlighted in the report, as finding food becomes a daily struggle.
asserted
finding → experience → food
Humanitarian assistance over the past six months has been limited, and she recalls receiving aid on only three occasions.
asserted
she → limit → occasions
Once, she received 550,000 Sudanese pounds ($59.13) in cash.
asserted
she → receive → cash
Another time, she was given 12kg of flour.
asserted
she → give → flour
At the last distribution, she received personal hygiene supplies for women.
asserted
she → receive → women
“I have no choice but to work.
asserted
I → have → choice
There is no one I can rely on.
asserted
I → be → ?
My two sons are missing, and I do not know where they are, while my other son died before the war began,” she said.
asserted
she → miss → ?
Adam leaves her accommodation early in the morning and heads to a nearby market, where she makes and sells zalabia, a traditional Sudanese fried pastry, alongside tea and coffee.
asserted
she → leave → tea
Some days she makes a profit; on others, she loses money.
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she → make → money
“I do not know how to calculate my profit.
asserted
I → know → profit
But as soon as I finish selling the zalabia, I go to buy the ingredients … for the next day: 3kg of flour for 21,000 pounds ($2.25), 2 litres of oil for 22,000 pounds ($2.36) and three bags of charcoal for 9,000 pounds ($0.97),” she told Al Jazeera.
asserted
she → finish → Jazeera
Adam says the money left after buying these supplies is often insufficient to provide a meal for herself and the two children in her care.
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money → say → care
A kilogramme of lentils, one of the cheapest food items available to her, costs 16,000 pounds ($1.72).
asserted
kilogramme → cost → pounds
Meat is no longer on her shopping list, and her diet now consists mainly of lentils and rice.
asserted
diet → consist → lentils
“Fortunately, aid organisations have been providing water for the past five days.
asserted
organisations → provide → days
Before that, I used to buy 18 litres for 1,500 pounds ($0.16).
asserted
I → use → pounds
Sometimes I did not have the money and had to borrow it,” she said.
asserted
she → have → it
Adam says her priority is to keep her small business running.
asserted
priority → say → business
It helps her put food on the table while helping her cope with the pain of not knowing what happened to her two missing sons.
asserted
what → help → sons
“The important thing is that we eat, even if it is only lentils and water, with nothing else.
asserted
it → eat → nothing
But my greatest fear is that we will fall ill, because we have no money for treatment,” she said.
asserted
she → fall → treatment
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
