Darfur War Child raised in Abu Shouk IDP camp: Abdoalnaser Ibrahim, Businessman (Boy) by 11!

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: I received an astonishing email last Monday from a stranger, Mr Abdoalnaser Ibrahim in Canada. Here is a copy, reprinted in full with permission, followed by my reply and Abdoalnaser's story of his childhood in Abu Shouk IDP camp, North Darfur circa 2004.

Email from Abdoalnaser Ibrahim 

Dated Monday, 11 March 2024

Photo: Abdoalnaser Ibrahim, Aspiring Data Analyst | Certified in Data Analytics | Petroleum Engineer

I am a survivor of the 2003 Darfur genocide, spent most of my life in Abushock IDP camp - my Mom wnated for us to get educated and have better life after my father's passing away in the war - I worked hard both in education and in supporting my family. In 2013 I was amongst Sudanese top students and joined University of Khartoum and studied engineering and been volunteering since for the cause of no other child should live what I have been through.

In 2022 I joined UN Youth Delegate program sponsored by Germany for Sudanese youth and attended the UN General Assembly of Sep 2022.

After that I came to Canada, applied for asylum and currently living in a refugees shelter - all excited to enjoy my new life, support family, contribute to Darfur betterment as well as inspire youth around the world in IDP camps and Refugee camps.

Going through your profile was such a delight as you were one of those who have worked hard so that kids like me and all war victims (I was 7 at 2003) can have a better life, heal from what they have lived and get justice.

Also, I witnessed the visit of Koffi Annan, Colin Powell, condoleezza rice and the accompanying delegates to our IDP camps.

Thank you from my bottom of heart for the good that you did to us 🙏

Please let me know if by any chance you would be available for a quick virtual meeting - I would love to know you, the work you did and still doing.

Stay safe and sound !

__________________________________

HERE is a copy of my reply to Abdoalnaser, sent a few days later:

Dear Abdoalnaser, 

Greetings from England UK and thank you for connecting and for your wonderful messages, gratefully received and much appreciated. 

Your news and words brought me to tears. Over the years, I've often wondered what became of all the babies, children and youngsters in Darfur from 2003-4 onwards. Now through the wonders of the internet I have, for the first time in 20 years, heard from one of those children with some feedback. 

You write beautifully with interest, warmth and humour. Your English is very good. I liked your story (boy to man) and wanted to ask you for your permission to publish it and its photos at Sudan Watch. 

Your story is a truly inspiring. What strikes me about your writings and that of some of the Lost Boys [and Girls] of (South) Sudan - some of whom became child soldiers - is that your extraordinary experiences, hard work, resilience, tenacity and persistence have made you incredibly strong clever people with charming manners and personalities. 

I must stop now or another day will pass without you receiving my gratitude and thanks from the bottom of my heart. 

I'm thrilled you got through it all. 

Extremely well done, I look forward to keeping in touch. 

Warm regards, 

Ingrid.

_____________________________

THIS is Abdoalnaser's story of his childhood living in Abu Shouk camp, North Darfur, one of the largest camps for internally displaced persons in Sudan, written in his own words.

Businessman (Boy) by 11!

By Abdoalnaser Ibrahim

Dated February 14, 2024

Story about a business idea in my childhood and a message to internally displace persons and refugees around the world

Photo: Myself after a hectic business day in 2010 taking a photograph for high school application.

Post Darfur 2003 conflict at which I lost my father, and after which me, the rest of my family and many others were forced by war to leave our homes and settle into IDP camps — all have lost loved ones and property, I was 7 years old by then. The situation in our IDP camp was very challenging — but luckily humanitarian organizations generously provided us with the needed aids to survive.

That situation tasked me in a very early age with big questions about life and the future, by the age of 10 years old — I asked my mother to allow me work and share with her the financial responsibilities she was desperately trying to meet – selling her valuables and doing tough labor, she agreed after negotiations — with the condition of not defaulting on my education.

I started working as a plastic containers distributor by carrying a big package on my shoulders containing many of them, going to shops across Abushock and Abuja IDP camps block by block — and asking them if they wanted some. But the tremendous effort exerted in distributing / selling never corresponded with the income gained — average of 3 SDGs (SDG: Sudanese Pounds / currency, I SDG = 3.34USD back then) per day at best with scanning the whole two camps walking, after doing that for a year -I started thinking about alternative ways to do a business that rewards better and pays off, that is when I got into Amir Alpha product selling (a glue- adhesive for many surface materials).

Image: Amir Alpha product carton.

The inspiration stemmed from the fact that shop owners in the two camps when bringing products for final selling, they usually go to a specific side of the market (Food and utilities), but the Amir Alpha product was in another side of the market, so after shop owners are loaded with lots of goods from the first side, it becomes harder for them to go to the other side with the amount of goods they bought, and for just one product, but they often do not even remember it. The reliability of a shop owner in Sudan is in part influenced by whether they have all necessities available for customer buyers, that keep customers returning to same shop — so many shop owners ask me a lot about whether I have it or can provide it — for they get asked about the Amir Alpha product a lot by many loyal customers wanting to fix their broken items, I also asked many others whether they have it and would buy if I were to provide it — and a sizable number of them responded positively.

That is when I got a penalty at the 90th minute, and charged myself with providing it for the shop owners, I would buy a carton and divide the Amir Alpha products inside into dozens a pack, a carton like the one attached above in green makes 21 dozens — the whole carton cost around 30 SDGs back then and I would sell a dozen pack for 2.5 SDGs — making around 22.5 SDGs pure profit, and I am the boss of myself — so with this amount of income I turned into only working on weekends to focus on school — and would use half of it and contribute the rest to family welfare, as time goes by — I have scaled up my business and continued profiting until other competitors appeared in the market, but by then I have already built personal connections with my customers and gained their loyalty.

That window of freedom to work in early childhood taught me valuable life lessons and skilled me in many areas of life, which shaped my resilience and creativity of today.

Back then — I would just look at a shop owner and know whether they were going to buy or not, and was resilient enough to rarely skip a prospect buyer in my scanning of the two camp shops.

So this is a message to all struggling youths around the world including those in refugee and IDP camps, experiencing sheer poverty, balancing education and labor — maybe you were not born into the right context you wish have happened, your thinking power, resourcefulness, and grit are priceless if projected and replicated into businesses, tech, and many other walks of life — your minds are capable as much as MIT and Harvard graduates, if not more - provided with an opportunity to grow, be restless in seeking opportunities and learning new tools to gain more flexibility and ease carrying out your day to day affairs, 

(For example; just today as I was applying to a range of jobs - I discovered a setting in windows that enables you to access any item you have copied before, it indeed increased my productivity afterwards).

END

WFP: ‘Grain from Ukraine’ docks in Port Sudan. 7,600 tonnes of flour on trucks for emergency distribution

THIS report brought tears to my eyes. Congrats to all involved. Great work.

World Food Programme (WFP) is working around the clock to urgently deliver critical food assistance to families in Sudan who are struggling with skyrocketing food insecurity, the WFP said in a statement yesterday.

WFP has been warning of a looming hunger catastrophe as the lean season approaches if civilians do not receive food assistance. Currently nearly 18 million people face acute food insecurity in Sudan, of which nearly five million are in emergency levels of hunger (IPC4). Read more.

From Radio Dabanga English
Dated Thursday, 29 February 2024 - here is a copy in full:

WFP: ‘Grain from Ukraine’ docks in Port Sudan

A shipment of 7,600 tonnes of wheat flour, donated by Ukraine to the United Nations World Food Programme’s (WFP) Sudan operation, has arrived in Port Sudan and is being loaded onto WFP trucks, for emergency food distribution (Photo: WFP / Abubaker Garelnabei)

Assigned to be a core part of food rations for one million conflict-affected people in Sudan for one month, a shipment of 7,600 tonnes of emergency food aid donated by Ukraine to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) Sudan operation, has arrived in Port Sudan, WFP says. The wheat flour is being loaded onto WFP trucks for emergency food distribution.

As the war raging across the country enters its 10th month, WFP is working around the clock to urgently deliver critical food assistance to families in Sudan who are struggling with skyrocketing food insecurity, the WFP says in a statement issued yesterday.

WFP says that the shipment – part of Ukraine’s humanitarian ‘Grain from Ukraine’ initiative launched by President Zelensky – was made possible by the German Federal Foreign Office, which covered the operating costs of €15 million, including the transportation costs from Ukraine to Sudan, and the implementation and distribution within the country to people in need.

Bags of Wheat flour donated by Ukraine to the United Nations WFP Sudan that have arrived in Port Sudan (Photo: WFP / Abubaker Garelnabei)

“The humanitarian situation in Sudan is catastrophic but we need to act now to stop it from spiralling further out of control,” says Eddie Rowe, WFP’s country director in Sudan. “WFP is working at pace to get food assistance into the hands of families that need it as quickly as possible.”

The 7,600 tonnes of wheat flour will be provided to families, many of whom have fled their homes due to the fighting and are struggling every day to meet their food needs. “This donation has arrived at a critical time in Sudan’s hunger crisis as fighting continues to spread ahead of the lean season in May, when food typically becomes scarcer, and hunger rises,” WFP says.

“This donation will enable WFP to support people whose lives have been completely upended by the war. We are deeply grateful to the Ukraine and Germany for supporting the Sudanese people in their greatest hour of need,” says Rowe.

During a press conference held in the Belgian capital Brussels last week, Rowe pointed out that that “five million people in Sudan cannot afford a square meal a day”.

WFP has been warning of a looming hunger catastrophe as the lean season approaches if civilians do not receive food assistance. Currently nearly 18 million people face acute food insecurity in Sudan, of which nearly five million are in emergency levels of hunger (IPC4). WFP has already provided around seven million people with emergency food and nutrition support since the conflict began last April, yet needs continue to grow.

Logistical challenges

The ongoing humanitarian catastrophe across Sudan is exacerbated by logistical challenges faced by organisations in delivering food and medical aid to those most in need, in light of the conflict, breakdown in security, banditry, and communications blackouts.

New reports suggest that the disruptions to shipping in the Red Sea due to escalating security concerns and attacks on commercial vessels has increased the cost of delivering vital supplies to Sudan by 40 per cent.

As reported by Radio Dabanga yesterday, The Darfur Joint Forces, which withdrew from El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur in November, have now completely stopped securing aid convoys from Port Sudan to El Fasher, due to renewed clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the North Darfur capital.

On February 22, the Darfur Network for Human Rights (DNHR) warned that El Fasher is witnessing “an intricate and dire humanitarian crisis as a violent conflict tightly grips the region”.

International law expert Motasim Ali has commented that “denying the right to humanitarian aid to civilians is considered a crime against humanity”.

Click for video

Bags of Wheat flour donated by Ukraine to the United Nations WFP Sudan offloaded in Port Sudan (Photo: WFP / Abubaker Garelnabei)

Source: https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/wfp-grain-from-ukraine-docks-in-port-sudan

END

'There's a 1939 feel to the world right now'. Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: We (UK, Europe, NATO) could be at war within the next sixty months. Here are some snippets from a few news reports by British journalists published towards the end of last month.

• 'There's a 1939 feel to the world right now'. 

• 'We are in a pre-war era’. 

• Russia could attack NATO 'within five years', German defence minister warns. 

• NATO now sees its chief adversaries as Russia and terrorist organisations. 

• World War Three could be on the cards if global conflicts continue to escalate.

• British citizens should be "trained and equipped" to fight in a potential war with Russia - as Moscow plans on "defeating our system and way of life", the head of the British Army has said. UK General Sir Patrick Sanders, the outgoing Chief of the General Staff (CGS), said increasing army numbers in preparation for a potential conflict would need to be a "whole-of-nation undertaking". The comments, first reported by the UK's Daily Telegraph, are being read as a warning that British men and women should be ready for a call-up to the armed forces if NATO goes to war with Vladimir Putin.

• It comes after UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said in a speech last week that we are "moving from a post-war to pre-war world" and the UK must ensure its "entire defence ecosystem is ready" to defend its homeland.

• Tobias Ellwood, a former UK defence minister who has served alongside Sir Patrick, said the military chief should be "listened to carefully"."What's coming over the horizon should shock us. It should worry us and we are not prepared," he told Sky News. The MP for Bournemouth East said that following decades of post-Cold War peace, there was a growing sense authoritarian states could "exploit our timidity, perhaps our reluctance to really put fires out" - pointing to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "So Patrick Sanders is saying prepare for what's coming over the horizon - there is a 1939 feel to the world right now," he said.

Source: Sky News & Agencies Wed 24 Jan 2024

__________________________

HERE is a reminder of wondrous natural beauty in our fragile world, compared to evil ugliness of man-made wars and man's inhumanity to man.

From BBC News UK
Published Wednesday, 7 February 2024 - here is a copy in full:

Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award winner

IMAGE SOURCE,

NIMA SARIKHANI/WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

A stunning image of a young polar bear drifting to sleep on an iceberg, by British amateur photographer Nima Sarikhani, has won the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award.

"Sarikhani's breathtaking and poignant image allows us to see the beauty and fragility of our planet," Natural History Museum director Dr Douglas Gurr said.

"His thought-provoking image is a stark reminder of the integral bond between an animal and its habitat and serves as a visual representation of the detrimental impacts of climate warming and habitat loss."

Sarikhani made the image after three days searching for polar bears through thick fog off Norway's Svalbard archipelago.

Wildlife photography and nature fans from around the world were invited to vote from a short list of 25 images.

Four other outstanding finalists were "highly commended".

The Happy Turtle, by Tzahi Finkelstein

IMAGE SOURCE,

TZAHI FINKELSTEIN/WPY

Tzahi Finkelstein was in his hide, photographing shore birds, when he spotted a Balkan pond turtle walking in the shallow water.

The dragonfly unexpectedly landed on the turtle's nose.

Starling Murmuration, by Daniel Dencescu

IMAGE SOURCE,

DANIEL DENCESCU/WPY

Daniel Dencescu spent hours following the starlings around the city and suburbs of Rome, Italy.

Finally, on the cloudless winter's day, the flock, swirled into the shape of a giant bird.

Shared Parenting, by Mark Boyd

IMAGE SOURCE,

MARK BOYD/WPY

Two lionesses had gone hunting, leaving the pride's five cubs hidden overnight in dense bushes, in Kenya's Maasai Mara Mara.

Returning from their unsuccessful mission, they called the cubs out on to the open grassland and began grooming.

Aurora Jellies, by Audun Rikardsen

IMAGE SOURCE,

AUDUN RIKARDSEN/WPY

Sheltering his equipment in a self-made waterproof housing, Audun Rikardsen used his own system for adjusting the focus and aperture during a single exposure, as moon jellyfish swarmed in the cool autumnal waters of a fjord outside Tromsø, in northern Norway, illuminated by the aurora borealis.

The five images will be displayed online and at London's Natural History Museum until 30 June.

All photos copyright Wildlife Photographer of the Year

View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-68215592

END

London synagogue rescues Muslim family from Sudan

THANKS to a Sudanese reader, living in England after fleeing war in Sudan 20 years ago, for this heartwarming story about courage, the kindness of strangers and remarkable work done by members of Britain’s oldest progressive shul, alongside others at a local mosque and nearby church.

They're home! Salih Adam with his wife and child at Heathrow on Thurs -JN

Article at Jewish News - jewishnews.co.uk
By LEE HARPIN
Dated Thursday 17 August 2023, 12:20 pm - here is a full copy:

London synagogue helps rescue Muslim family from war-torn Sudan

EXCLUSIVE: The family’s arrival in the UK comes as a result of the remarkable work done on their behalf by members of Britain’s oldest progressive shul.

They're home! Salih Adam with his wife and child at Heathrow on Thursday.

A Sudanese-born Muslim man who fled the war-torn state for a new life in Britain has risked his life for a second time to bring his wife and baby daughter to this country with the help of West London Synagogue.

Salih Adam, 35, who received UK citizenship this year, arrived at Heathrow this morning after completing a dangerous journey back to his homeland to rescue his wife Moram, 35, and 10-month-old Warif from the on-going civil war, which has seen more than one million people flee  the country.

The family’s arrival in the UK comes as a result of the remarkable work done on their behalf by members of Britain’s oldest progressive shul, alongside others at a local mosque and nearby church.

Nic Schlagman, head of social action and interfaith at WLS, who has become friends with Salih since he was directed to the shul’s homeless shelter by a local charity in 2014, praised his “absolute bravery and determination” to be reunited with his family.

He also reflected on the historical fact that help, often from strangers, had saved countless Jewish families from being wiped out during the Holocaust.

Photograph: Salih meeting the King at West London Synagogue in December 2015

Photograph by Elliott Franks

“Family members living in Germany at the time figured they could get my grandmother, who was five-years-old, out of a small town in Poland and onto a train to London to ensure her safety,” said Shlagman. 

“She was taken in and brought up by strangers in London who paid to do this themselves.

“I grew up in a household where we knew that the kindness of strangers was literally the only reason we were alive, when people around us wanted to kill us.

“Helping Salih and his family was not done out of self-interest but a sense that people in the world simply need our help. I feel a tremendous sense of pride that we have been able to complete a circle.”

Alongside other shul members, a group of volunteers had worked tirelessly to organise Salih’s risky route to his family, and their eventual journey back to the UK.

The family reunion was also made possible with the assistance of Rabbi Sybil Sheridan, renowned for her work in providing assistance to the Jews of Ethiopia, who provided a fixer for Salih as he risked his life on the border with Sudan to get passports to his wife and infant child.

Schlagman praised the Home Office, and staff at Labour leader Keir Starmer’s constituency office, near where Salih lives, for their critical help.

Schlagman also confirmed the Saudi Arabian embassy in the UK had also been supportive, as the family escaped the war-ravaged republic by flying out to the city of Jeddah, before catching a final flight to London.

Philanthropist Edwin Shuker, who chairs the Board’s of Deputies’ communities and education division, also had a key role in the mission’s success.

But Schlagman said: “Salih is the real hero in this story, someone who has travelled from Sudan, to Ethiopia, to Saudia Arabia to come home. What he has done is unbelievably brave. He has thrown himself into danger, just to be the best father and husband he could be.”

With his wife living at his mother’s home in Darfur, it took Salih two years to travel, first across Libya, then into Europe, and finally on a boat across the English channel before he would arrive in UK in 2014, with the promise of work through contacts to provide for his family he left behind.

Civil war in Darfur meant his life was at risk if he stayed there. Inside the WLS homeless shelter he was offered vital support, and shul members helped to pay for the doorman’s licence that allowed Salih to work.

At the time WLS shul members were also making monthly trips to Calais to help migrants in the “jungle” camps. Salih offered to volunteer on trips himself.

When Prince Charles visited WLS to celebrate its 175th anniversary in 2015, Salih was one of six people connected to the shul that he spoke with, as the future King praised the social action work of the institution.

Moving to council accommodation in Camden, Salih has continued to do voluntary work for the shul.

View original: https://www.jewishnews.co.uk/shul-rescues-muslim-family-from-sudan/

[Ends]