New York - Khartoum: Europe and the Arabs

The head of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, Saleh Abdul Majeed Al-Doma, said that the humanitarian crisis in his country has become forgotten, as funding and humanitarian aid do not match the enormous needs witnessed by the country after more than 20 months of continuous war.
This came during an interview conducted by the United Nations News Team with Mr. Al-Doma while he was at the organization's permanent headquarters in New York, where he came to shed light on the plight of his people. However, he sent a message through our platform to the Sudanese parties stating that resolving the crisis among themselves is "better than waiting for a solution or external mediation." He stressed that "the Sudanese are able to sit among themselves and agree instead of waiting for the international community to solve our problem," calling on the Sudanese people to preserve the unity of the country.
During his answers, Engineer Saleh Abdul Majeed Al-Doma, head of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, said. On the reason for his presence here at the UN headquarters: “I came as the President of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society in cooperation with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The main goal is to draw attention to the disaster in Sudan, especially the humanitarian aspect of it, because we need support from different parties to relieve the needy in Sudan who have been affected by the war. This is the main reason, and I met many parties and explained to them what is happening on the ground and the required needs. And about Sudan, which has been stuck in a cycle of ongoing conflict for more than twenty months now. Talk about the main efforts that are being made, and what are the obstacles? Abdul Majeed Al-Doma said: We, as the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, are a national society and depend on people in any part of Sudan, and accordingly we have 18 branches in the eighteen states of Sudan, and we have 9,000 volunteers - in addition to the employees. We have mobilized them all and they have been ready since the beginning of the war, and they provide aid in different aspects, including health, distribution of relief, and management of corpses. We are present in all states of Sudan and provide services to everyone, because our main goal is humanitarian and we work for the citizen, and we do not have any political interference in Any side.

Regarding the existence of many needs in Sudan. What are the most important needs now, and what is the form of your cooperation with international organizations? Abdul Majeed Al-Doma said: The needs are very great. Because of the war, the Sudanese citizen has lost many service institutions, especially health institutions, 70 to 80 percent of which are out of service. We, as the Red Crescent Society - with our volunteers specializing in first aid and health fields - have tried as much as possible to provide services in the form of mobile clinics, and to try to clean and restart some hospitals that have stopped working. In addition, there is a great need for food, especially among the displaced who fled their homes - and their numbers are very large inside Sudan - in addition to those who left Sudan. The most important needs today in Sudan are food, health and water.

We have made great efforts through our presence on the ground in the eighteen Sudanese states. As a national society, our role is to be ready and prepared to provide services on the ground to the citizen in cooperation with the United Nations organizations and international organizations that may bring services from abroad. We are ready, but the quantities of relief reaching the areas are less than the needs, and we ask the humanitarian community to increase funding.

Currently, we are cooperating with about five UN agencies, including the World Food Program, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration, and the High Commissioner for Refugees. We are cooperating with them to deliver aid to those in need, but the quantities are not enough.

UN News: You lost many of your colleagues in this war. What can you tell us about them?

Abdul Majeed Al-Doma: We, as volunteers and employees, are present among the Sudanese citizens, providing services. Through this presence, we lost 18 employees and volunteers. These people lost their lives and were dear to us. They gave their lives in service to the Sudanese citizen, and so I demand from here the protection of humanitarian workers and volunteers, and civilians in general. We have the logo of the Red Crescent and the international movement - and other organizations do as well - so we demand respect for the logo and the protection of humanitarian workers.
Regarding reaching out to the parties regarding this protection, and the measures taken to protect employees, Abdul Majeed Al-Doma said: We have internal procedures to protect employees, including adhering to the association’s slogan, and being careful in dealing with people on the ground so that they appear in war zones as volunteers for the Sudanese Red Crescent. Despite our application of this, it did not protect us. We have now contacted the parties and started organizing workshops to educate soldiers and the army about international humanitarian law, and this is going well. We have also contacted the other party. It may be difficult for us as an association, but the International Committee of the Red Cross can do this work and try to train people in protecting civilians by introducing them to and respecting international humanitarian law. Regarding the shift in attention to other crises such as the crisis in Palestine, then Lebanon and Syria now, international attention has largely declined from Sudan. And whether he feels that his country has become a forgotten crisis? Abdul Majeed Al-Doma said: From the humanitarian side, and from the circle of support for funding for humanitarian services, it is indeed forgotten. Funding is very weak. We launched an appeal through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies last year, and we only received 34 percent. But the international community can consider our situation in Sudan as an internal situation. And here I also appeal to the Sudanese parties that solving the crisis among themselves is better than waiting for a solution or external mediation. We Sudanese are one unit, and we must preserve the unity of Sudan and help solve the problem.