Desperate Sudanese face endless wait for passports so they can flee
- Hundreds of people have lined up daily outside a new passport office in Port Sudan since it was inaugurated in late August
- In five months of war, the violence has killed 7,500 people, displaced more than five million and eroded Sudan’s already fragile infrastructure
Marwa Omar was one of hundreds who lined up at dawn to try and get passports in Port Sudan. Fifteen hours later, she still had nothing to show for it.
A million people have crossed Sudan’s borders since April, fleeing the devastating war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, according to the United Nations.
That figure would probably be higher, were it not for the fact that many like Omar needed passports renewed or issued from offices that shuttered their doors at news of the first gunshots on April 15.
Since the authorities inaugurated a new passport office in the eastern city of Port Sudan in late August, hundreds of people have lined up all day, every day.
They are desperate to obtain paperwork that will allow them to leave Sudan’s deadly war behind.
Asked where she intended to go, Omar replied: “Anywhere but here. This isn’t a country any more.”
In five months of war, the violence has killed 7,500 people, displaced more than five million and eroded Sudan’s already fragile infrastructure, plunging millions into dire need.
