In the scorching heat of eastern Chad, desperation is mounting among Sudanese refugees who have fled the escalating violence and hunger in their war-torn homeland. According to sources on the ground, a staggering 25,000 people, mostly women and children, crossed the border in just the first week of October 2024 – a record-breaking influx that has pushed Chad’s refugee camps to the brink.
Deteriorating Conditions in Overcrowded Camps
The surge in arrivals has exacerbated already dire conditions in the Adré and Farchana camps, where refugees struggle with severe overcrowding, inadequate funding, and limited access to basic necessities. Aid workers paint a grim picture:
Many people here have had to sell their possessions to make a living. I really don’t know how they can continue to survive like this.
Hatim Abdallah El-Fadil, Farchana camp chief
Some refugees have even resorted to begging in local markets to feed their families. The lack of work opportunities has driven many who were transferred to Farchana back to the border camp of Adré, despite the risks.
A Lost Generation
For the children and teenagers in these camps, the future looks increasingly bleak. With sporadic lessons from fellow refugees and smuggled books, younger children are barely receiving an education. Teenagers not in school are at risk of becoming a “lost generation,” refugees warn.
I’ve lost everything you can imagine. I am here without hope.
Hassan Ibrahim Yahiya, former businessman from Geneina
Intensifying Violence and Hunger Crisis
The exodus to Chad reflects the rapidly deteriorating situation in Sudan’s Darfur region, where the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary now controls nearly all major population centers. The group has been accused of war crimes alongside the Sudanese army, including targeting civilians and blocking humanitarian aid.
Experts warn that Sudan is facing its worst hunger crisis in modern history, with a staggering 97% of the population experiencing severe food insecurity. Famine has already been declared in one displacement camp, and starvation tactics are reportedly being used against millions of civilians.
Severe Funding Shortfalls
Despite hosting the world’s largest population of Sudanese refugees at nearly 682,000, Chad remains one of the poorest nations globally. Aid agencies are sounding the alarm over massive funding gaps, with a UN appeal for refugee support only 27% funded.
Funding is inadequate… The number of people crossing into the country is likely to rise.
Alexandre Le Cuziat, UN World Food Programme Chad
As the crisis deepens, many refugees see leaving Chad as their only hope. Agencies predict growing numbers will attempt dangerous journeys to Europe, southern Africa, and the Gulf in search of a better life.
For those left behind, like former government adviser El-Tayeb Zakria, the camps offer little solace. “Living here feels like a gradual death,” he laments, capturing the despair engulfing refugees caught between the horrors of war and the hardships of displacement.
As violence rages in Darfur and hunger tightens its grip on Sudan, the world faces an urgent moral imperative to respond to the plight of these refugees. Without swift action to bolster aid and humanitarian access, the crisis in Chad’s camps risks becoming a tragic harbinger of even greater suffering to come.
