New York, Khartoum: Europe and the Arabs

On the outskirts of the Ugandan town of Biyale, where tents are scattered and dirt roads meet open green spaces, the Kryandungo camp appears as a space between a shattered past and a life being rewritten. In this remote corner of refuge, the story doesn't end with fleeing war; it begins a new phase, one where days are measured not in minutes and hours, but in the immense tragedies and challenges they hold.

Since the outbreak of war in Sudan in April 2023, local officials have reported the arrival of some 600,000 Sudanese refugees at the camp, some after long and arduous journeys through multiple countries. They carried few belongings but many memories, and are now trying to piece together the details of their lives, which have been turned upside down. According to a report published in the UN Daily News on Monday, refugees from various countries—Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Rwanda—live in the Kryandungu camp, located about 275 kilometers from Kampala, alongside the host community. But what unites them is greater than their differences: the experience of loss and the attempt to start anew.

In an effort to bring the situation closer and convey the reality on the ground, UN News visited the camp to observe the details of their daily lives and to learn about the most significant challenges they have faced since fleeing the war.

From Engineering Halls to a Refugee Tent
Hussein Hashim Taiman lives a life he never imagined. A civil engineer with a master's degree, he used to work in the civil engineering department of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). Today, however, he sits inside a tent, leading the Sudanese refugee community in Kryandungu camp, one of the largest refugee camps in Uganda. Hussein Taiman lived in Omdurman before he was forced to flee with his children in May 2023, first to South Sudan and then to Uganda, a journey he described as fraught with fear, harassment, and abuse.

He told UN News that he was deeply disappointed and disillusioned because the war had taken everything from him. “Here, when you complain, you find that someone else’s suffering is even greater, so you try to forget your own to ease theirs,” he said. “We draw strength from each other. Sometimes we sit together as professionals and talk about our past and our achievements. We are living in a situation now that is the opposite of what we lived in before. I am living in a tent now, but this is the language of war and these are its consequences.”

As time passed, the situation did not improve as many had hoped. On the contrary, the challenges seem to be increasing. Hussein speaks of dwindling aid and of tents that were supposed to last six months but have remained the only shelter for more than three years.

Services are limited, if not virtually nonexistent. There is no adequate healthcare, no regular education, and even water and food have become a shared responsibility among the refugees themselves.

Hussein Timan warns that the future of an entire generation is at stake, expressing his hope that the situation of Sudanese refugees in Uganda will receive greater attention from the United Nations and the international community.

When food becomes a matter of life and death

Faced with this harsh reality, simple initiatives have emerged, yet profoundly impactful. Among them are the community kitchens, which began as a response to an urgent need before gradually becoming a lifeline that helps save the refugees of Kryandungo from starvation.

There are 20 community kitchens within the camp, and they have contributed to reducing hunger among the Sudanese refugees and have created social cohesion among them.

Mutasim Mohamed Ahmed, originally from Nyala in South Darfur State, used to live in Khartoum and work in trade between Sudan, China, and Dubai before the war completely changed the course of his life. He has been a refugee in Uganda since 2023 and now serves as the secretary of the community kitchens within the camp. He recounts how the idea began: “These kitchens were established after the World Food Programme reduced food rations. We noticed cases of malnutrition among the camp residents, and there were deaths and miscarriages due to hunger.”

Mutasim says he learned a lot through his work in these kitchens: “Working in community kitchens taught me to be human. You see people hungry and naked here, and if you don’t have humanity inside you, you can’t feel this. I feel this way about my Sudanese people; they are my blood and flesh.”

“We survived… to help others.” From the capital, Kampala, where she now lives, Dr. Widad Makki makes a point of traveling long distances to reach the Kryandungo camp, not because she lives there, but because she has chosen to stand with those who live there.

Widad was a university professor and former director of the Special Education Department in Khartoum State, but the war completely changed the course of her life. She recalls the moment she left her home amidst the shelling: "It was difficult for me to risk my children amidst the gunfire, the smoke rising everywhere, the burning cars, and the bodies lying in the streets. My children suffered greatly from these sights. I used to ask them to cover their faces so they wouldn't see these sights."   

Widad lives in Kampala today, but her connection to the camp remains strong. She visits regularly to contribute to supporting refugees, particularly through her work with the Darfur Peace and Development Organization.

She says the war not only destroyed cities but also tore families apart. Despite everything she has endured, she chose not to stand idly by. She explained to UN News, "We survived and arrived safely in Uganda, and now we are helping our Sudanese brothers and sisters in the refugee camps here. We support community kitchens and provide complete meals for refugees here in Kryandungu."

Widad doesn't hide her concern about the prolonged crisis, pointing to the increasing challenges refugees face in Uganda. She says, "Our biggest fear is that this war will continue because there are so many challenges here in Uganda, from education to living expenses and rent. There are no sources of income or job opportunities. We dream every day that the war will end so we can return to Sudan." Refugee Doctors Support Uganda's Health Sector

Away from the camps, the picture is slightly different in the capital, Kampala, where some Sudanese have managed to rebuild their lives and careers despite the devastation of war.

In one of the city's hospitals, Dr. Abdul Jabbar Ahmed Adam, wearing his white coat, treats wounds and alleviates pain. The internist, who previously worked at Ibn Sina Gastroenterology Hospital in the Sudanese capital, found himself on a new path after arriving in Uganda in 2023, following the outbreak of war.

"I arrived in Kampala after the war broke out and started working at Gombe Hospital," he told UN News, where he continues to provide medical care to patients of various nationalities, not just Sudanese. He noted that he found a welcoming and supportive environment: "Uganda received us warmly, the work here is good, and there is no discrimination… We haven't experienced any hardship; we feel just like we are in Sudan." Abdul Jabbar wasn't alone in this experience. He was joined by a number of Sudanese medical professionals who found in Uganda an opportunity to continue working. "There are many Sudanese doctors here, and some have opened medical centers offering services," he says, noting that their presence wasn't just an attempt to adapt, but rather a genuine contribution to the health sector.

He adds, "Uganda has good hospitals, but the challenge lies in the shortage of staff, and this is where the Sudanese doctors came in, contributing to the improvement of medical services. Patients come to us from various nationalities."

While some refugees rely on aid, Abdul Jabbar is keen to emphasize that the picture is broader: "Not everyone who comes depends on aid… There are professionals, traders, and experts in various fields."

"The White Heart": A Story Beyond War
Ibrahim Zakaria Yahya, another Sudanese refugee who settled in the town of Biali, near the Kryandungu camp, recounts the chapters of a long journey spanning years of displacement and attempts to find stability. He left Sudan in late 2007, coming from the Qureida area of ​​South Darfur State. He first headed to South Sudan before reaching Uganda in 2008, where he began a new life that was far from easy.

He says he was "the first Sudanese to arrive with his family in Pyali," after spending about five years in the capital, Kampala, before moving to this region some 12 years ago. There, he faced numerous challenges in his early days, especially the language barrier and limited resources. Recalling that period, he says, "I suffered a lot when I first arrived."

But over time, he gradually began to make his way. He worked in trade and agriculture, then later ventured into real estate investment, until he was able to establish his own business.

Three years ago, he opened a hotel called "The White Heart," a name he explained to UN News, saying, "I named the hotel 'The White Heart' as a call for purifying consciences and hearts, to overcome the bitterness that Sudanese people have experienced during the repeated wars." He continues, "Anyone who wants to visit me here should come with a pure and clean heart… We, as refugees, fled the war, and we need to coexist here so that we can return to our country safely."

Despite the relative stability he has achieved, Ibrahim doesn't fail to express his gratitude to Uganda, both its government and people: "They welcomed me with open arms, and I never felt like a refugee. I'm only a refugee on paper, but I enjoy all the rights of citizens; I even own a piece of land that I couldn't own in Sudan."

Despite the warm welcome he has received here, Ibrahim doesn't hide his longing for Sudan, expressing his hope that peace will prevail soon so that he and other refugees in Kryandungu can return home.

However, this hope clashes with the complex daily reality in the camp, where the future remains uncertain, services are limited, opportunities are scarce, and anxiety is ever-present, especially among children and young people.

Nevertheless, people cling to a glimmer of hope that the war will one day end and that they will be able to return home. Until that happens, life continues here… between its simplicity and its harshness, laden with endless stories.