Ethiopian refugee Sejamara and her husband had no plan when they left for Sudan after conflict hit the Tigray region, but they have been welcomed by residents across the border.
Hungry, thirsty, and fatigued, they arrived at the Sudanese border town of Hamdayit after walking several hours and wading through the Setit river in the early days of the conflict.
To their surprise, they got a warm reception from a local who even offered them a place to stay.
"We first asked them to help us find a place to sleep. They told us we could sleep and live with them here. We asked them for a house we could rent, but they informed us that there weren't any available at the moment. We're still living with them until now," Sejamara said.
Despite the language barrier, their Sudanese host Araby Hassan Mohamed said he couldn’t abandon them. His utter generosity became a relief to both Sejamara and her husband.
"We are hosting our Ethiopian brothers after they fled the fighting and arrived at the (Um Rakuba refugee) camp. However, they could not find shelter in the camp and the living situation was difficult there. So they came to us and we welcomed them in our homes," Eissa Hassan, Sudanese farmer living in Hamdayit said.
Sudan now hosts about 36000 Ethiopian refugees with many in transit camps near the border, according to Sudan’s refugee commission.
More than 25,000 refugees have now fled from the #Tigray region of Ethiopia to Sudan.
— Filippo Grandi (@FilippoGrandi) November 16, 2020
UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations are supporting the Government of Sudan’s response to this growing crisis.
Resources are urgently needed to meet the basic needs of the refugees. pic.twitter.com/S8KLt2L4hv
Ethiopia's northern Tigray region has been rocked by bloody fighting since November 4, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the launch of military operations there.
The ongoing conflict is reported to have killed hundreds of people and forced thousands more to flee into neighboring Sudan.
*Additional sources • AFP*
