Thousands of people lined up in Port Sudan at dawn to try to obtain passports, and Marwa Omar was one of them. She still had nothing to show for it fifteen hours later.
According to the UN, a million people have fled the deadly conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces across the country’s borders since April.
If not for the fact that many people like Omar required passports to be updated or issued from locations that closed their doors upon learning of the initial gunshots on April 15, that number would likely be higher.
Hundreds of people have been waiting in line every day since the government opened a new passport office in the eastern city of Port Sudan in late August.
They are scrambling to acquire documents that will let them flee the horrific war in Sudan.
Omar asked where she was going, and she said, “Anywhere but here. This place is no longer a nation.
In five months of fighting, 7,500 people have died, more than five million have been displaced, and Sudan’s already flimsy infrastructure has deteriorated, leaving millions in desperate need.
“There’s nothing left. We can’t live or put food on the table or educate our children,” the mother of four said.
Like Omar, a lot of people have fled to the seaside city, which has so far escaped the conflict and is now the location of the government, the UN, and Sudan’s sole operational airport.
“I was in Atbara for two months, but when I heard they were issuing passports again I came to Port Sudan,” said Salwa Omar.
Days pass, but as others like her wait outside for their turn, only a lucky handful are able to enter the facility to give in their paperwork.
“If you know someone inside who will get it done for you quickly, come. Otherwise don’t bother,” Marwa Omar said, frustrated by the long wait and poor organization
Those lucky enough to get inside the building have to enter “a cramped room, terrible heat and no chairs”, another applicant, Shehab Mohammed, told AFP.
“You have elderly people leaning on their canes for hours or sitting on the floor. It’s all wrong.”
Over the noise of dozens of people trying to push their paperwork through, Fares Mohammed, who came to get a passport for his child, said: “At this rate, we’ll be here for months.”
“It’s so crowded it’s hard to breathe. Imagine what these children and old people are feeling,” he said.
But they continue to arrive every day, determined to escape Sudan at all costs.
The population of the capital city of Sudan, Khartoum, which was over five million before the war, has increased to over 2.8 million.
Others remained in their homes for months, rationing water and power while hoping that the missiles were not as close as they appeared to be. Some people fled right away for safer locations.
Even before the war started, Sudan was one of the poorest nations in the world, but now it is experiencing a terrible humanitarian crisis.
According to the UN, six million people are on the verge of hunger, and more than half of the nation urgently needs humanitarian relief.
Those who managed to scrape together enough money to travel to Port Sudan must deal with exorbitant lodging and meal prices.
The passport must now be purchased for 120,000 Sudanese pounds ($200), which was the average monthly wage before to the war.
Mother of two Nour Hassan is prepared to spend whatever it costs to secure passports for her kids. She waits every day from 5:00 am to 9:30 pm while holding the documents for her family.
She told AFP that the objective is to reach Cairo, the capital of Egypt, where she has family.
“It’s a terrible choice to leave, but living here has become impossible,” she said.
Like many of the more than 310,000 people who have already crossed Sudan’s northern border into Egypt, Hassan assures herself it’s only “a temporary solution”.
They will only stay until it is secure enough for them to return home.
