The Sons of Don Bosco 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 Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, several kilometres away. “The bullets came into the rooms and we were asked to leave, so we just took some clothes and left” explains the Rector 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 metres from the house. Many people have come with their children to take refuge with the FMA. 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 to say.
The conflict in the capital, which began on 15 April, has forced more than 1.5 million people to flee their homes. Many of them have become refugees in neighbouring 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 death toll, 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 centre. “We are in Shajara, 7 kilometres 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 Salesian says.
Electricity is only available 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.
