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Mariam Noor fled from Western Darfur with her five young children to Adre, Chad, in April following an attack on her house (which led to the killing of her husband) in Morni by gunmen in Rapid Support Forces uniforms, riding motorcycles and military vehicles. Morni, 83 kilometers from El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur was the site of massive arson of houses by gunmen, resulting in the killing of many residents.

The route to Chad was extremely difficult for Maryam, not only because of the presence of armed gangs on the road, but because she fled to Chad after giving birth just two days before the attack. Maryam managed to reach the Chadian city of Adre laboriously, where she built a house of straw and a tent in the camp and resided in it with her children. She receives monthly support from the World Food Program in the form of corn, lentils, and oil, but it is barely enough for the first week of the month, leaving her empty-handed for the remainder of it. She states that she had to work in food making and do laundry in Adre to meet the demands of her children, noting that the aid organizations' support is not enough and that she is the sole breadwinner for her five children after her husband was killed during the war. 

Sudanese women refugees at Tulum Camp during a psychological support session. Source: Fatma Fadol 

Dire Humanitarian Situation‌‌ ‌ 

Sudanese refugee women in Chadian camps live in extremely challenging humanitarian conditions after fleeing fighting in West Darfur state, where the camps suffer from the lack of basic services. According to the World Food Program, 40% of Sudanese refugee children under the age of five suffer from severe malnutrition due to a lack of food consumption. Many refugees cross the border suffer from trauma and hunger, and hepatitis E is widespread in refugee camps in eastern Chad due to the shortage of clean water.

In March 2024, MSF recorded 954 cases of epidemiological infection among refugees, four of whom died in three refugee camps in eastern Chad: 469 in Adre, 292 in Aboutengue, 132 in Metche, and 41 in Al-Acha camps. Erneau Mondesir, MSF's medical coordinator in Adre, warned of a widespread outbreak of disease in refugee camps in eastern Chad, stating: “Without swift action to improve sanitation infrastructure and enhance people’s access to clean water, we risk witnessing a surge in preventable illnesses and unnecessary loss of life.”  ‌ 

Strong in the Face of a Dire Situation

Despite the dire situation in the camps, Sudanese women refugees are not giving up, but instead they're demonstrating resilience. Israa, a mother of three, fled from her neighborhood of Arda Mata area after her husband was killed. She arrived in Adre after a long trip. She is struggling to feed her children through working at traditional brick-making facilities (Kamayen) and gets about (2,000) Sudanese pounds in compensation for working for 7 hours. “The work is difficult but I have to do it to raise my children after my husband died," said Israa. Adding “we have to be strong in this time of difficulties”, and points out that she still hopes the situation will get better very soon. 

A side from Adre camp for refugees in Chad

Azza Ahmed also fled to Chad with her five children, following the war in El Geneina. She now relies on her sister who came years earlier to Adre at the beginning of the Darfur war of 2003, besides the support of humanitarian aid distribution‌.‌ She expressed her hope that the situation in Sudan would stabilize so that she could return again to her home in El Geneina, which is now under the control of the Rapid Support Forces. She recalls that the city is now almost empty, as many houses were destroyed, and banks and government institutions were completely disrupted at a time while RSF and loyal militants were deployed in most parts of the city. ‌‌    ‌ 

Ninety percent (90%‌‌) ‌‌of Sudanese Refugees Crossing to Chad are Women and Children‌‌ ‌

Between 10,000 to 15,000 persons were killed in West Darfur alone since the beginning of war started between SAF and RSF on 15 April 2024‌, most of them by the Rapid Support Forces and militia allied with them, according to a UN  report.

More than 719,123 Sudanese crossed to Chad with 90% of them being women and children. Chad is already hosting about one million and 100,000 refugees from neighboring countries including Sudanese who fled the earlier war in Darfur‌.‌ 

Part of the Adre refugee camp in Chad

Healthcare and Insecurity in Camps Near the Borders with Sudan

“‌The general situation is very bad for many women in camps here in Chad”, says Ilham, a former staff of an aid organization and currently a refugee in Adre camp. “There are women with chronic disease cases that need special healthcare and they are suffering a lot at the camps due to lack of medical care for them”, she added‌‌. ‌She also pointed out that food assistance provided by humanitarian aid is not enough for many families. Besides that, there is a lack of security in camps, especially the camps bordering West Darfur. There are recorded cases of women refugees raped and looted by gunmen who snuck in from West Darfur”, Ilham added‌‌.‌

The year, the UNHCR moved about 260,000 refugees to other camps for safety measures while there are 160,000 other refugees currently waiting to be moved to new sites for the same reasons, according to a statement from the UN agency‌‌.‌‌

Sudanese girls discussing at Tulum Camp for refugees in Chad, picture: Fatma Fadol 

Lack of Work Opportunities at the Camps‌‌.‌

The lack of sufficient job opportunities and income represents a major problem for refugee women, especially with the fact that many of them are the only providers for their families. However, some refugees started small businesses, such as selling vegetables, while others are working at local brick-making facilities and construction sites. “Refugee Sudanese women have set an example of resilience" Ilham said, pointing out that they are not giving up in these extremely complex circumstances.

"What they have done in refugee and displacement camps are great examples and reveal their resilience." She called on organizations to work on projects to empower women in refugee camps in the Eastern part of Chad, especially in the fields of agriculture, handicrafts and small businesses, and added that “there are many refugee women who have higher educational degrees in the camps".

“Because of the insufficient assistance provided to them, many of them took up the available small jobs", says Jihad, a young refugee woman in the camp of Adre. “Some of them risked their lives and returned to El Geneina in order to seek work opportunities, while others went back and even sold windows and doors of their houses, especially the ones whose houses were not destroyed during the war”, she added. She also pointed out the importance of having a source of income and developing careers for the women in the camps saying that “the Sudanese refugee is very strong and able to overcome this stage, but she needs sufficient support‌‌.”‌‌ 

An Initiative for Psychological Support 

An initiative for social support in Tulum Kamp, picture: Fatma Fadol‌‌ ‌ 

A group of women in the Tulum camp are trying to get out of the trauma of the war by using entertainment programs including discussion sessions and meetings in the camp to support of initiatives including “the Janadriyat Initiative for Peace and Nonviolence”. The initiative is to provide psychological and moral support for women and girls in the camp through mentors. Specialists and non-specialists, in addition to entertainment programs, extract the negative energy and trauma that women go through as a result of their exposure to the atrocities of war.

“As many women are suffering from the trauma of the war, the goal of the initiative is to offer psychological and moral support for women and girls in the camp through mentors" Fatima Jassar, the spokeswoman for the Tulum camp told Andariya. The groups of women meet weekly in a coffee session to discuss the camp’s conditions under the slogan “Be a human who has value.” The Tulum camp includes thousands of refugees, including those fleeing the Darfur war of 2003, as well as new refugees who fled the current war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.

Adapting to the environment in the camp was difficult for many women, according to the Tulum camp spokeswoman Fatima Jassar, who points out that the task of finding job opportunities is very difficult, especially for new refugees. "However, women in the camp strive to support their families through small jobs such as collecting firewood, raising livestock, and working in construction as well as trade" said Fatima. She added that some degree holders also spend their days in the camp finding employment advertisements of humanitarian organizations and applying for the scarce jobs advertised by some organizations.

While women and children represent the vast majority of Sudanese who fled to Chad recently because of the war in Sudan, finding job opportunities and income represent the biggest challenges for them despite battling other issues such as shortage of aid, insecurity and lack of key services. Many believe that empowering them through training and creating job opportunities represents a lifeline for many who have shown resilience despite dire circumstances.