By : Ibrahim Nduka (bari.slami@gmail.com)
In the heart of West Darfur, El Geneina has always been a vibrant city, founded by early fathers, blending the beauty of nature with the diversity of its inhabitants who lived together in harmony for decades, before all those ties and relationships became a thing of the past. The city was subjected to a series of successive attacks that culminated after the war of April 15, 2023, which turned everything upside down, more specifically for the people of El Geneina, a city that witnessed a series of violations and imbalances at a more dramatic pace after the revolution that allowed the 2019 Salvation Regime, where the camps of Krindig 1 and 2, Krink, Mistri, Krink, and large parts of the regions of the state of Abu Dhar were exposed,However, the April 15 war was the culmination of its climax, as it had great effects on the lives of civilians who became subject to grave atrocities and violations, and it took a dangerous turn because its nature represented an explicit ethnic targeting of specific entities and tribes, and the Masalit tribe is the most targeted, which was confirmed by facts and evidence and by the recognition and documentation of competent regional or international bodies.
These atrocities forced hundreds of thousands of displaced people to leave their homes and cross the border into Chad, which has always been a destination for all those devastated by wars since 2003, and where a new story full of challenges and deferred dreams began. The refugees’ journey to Chad was not an easy one, as they were forced to leave their memories, homes and dreams shattered before their eyes. Thousands of lives were lost in the distance between El Geneina and the crossing points to Chad, and the roads were filled with corpses whose families were unable to bury them in a manner worthy of human dignity.
One survivor sadly recounted to me the loss of 11 members of his close family, including sons, brothers and cousins, emphasizing that men were the most targeted: “Some of them could have been saved as they were bleeding from the relentless waves of gunfire, but I stood helpless. I felt like we were on marching day, fleeing from mother and father.” In the camps, refugees found themselves facing a new reality as harsh as the catastrophe they had left behind. One refugee described life there as a “prison without locks,” with overcrowding, limited services, and daily struggles to obtain the necessities of life: water, food, and health care. Despite the efforts of humanitarian organizations to provide aid, the needs far outweigh what is provided. Food rations are barely enough, water is scarce, and the camps suffer from a severe lack of services.
Despite all this, the refugees maintain their right to return. In every corner of the camps, you hear the same phrase: “We want to go back.” They look forward to paradise, to the land they know, to the places where they lived their best moments. But going back is not a simple matter. The war is not over, and Geneina itself has changed a lot. Houses have been destroyed, looted, and even the bricks of the earth have not been spared. Inevitably, one day the war will end and the guns will stop, but even if the war stopped tomorrow, rebuilding would require enormous efforts and a long time. One refugee said sadly: “What happened was not just a war, but a systematic plan to uproot hope from our souls.”
And yet, hope remains in their hearts! For them, Geneina is not just a city, but a home that is waiting for its children to return one day. The big question remains: When can we go back? Every day that passes in the refugee camp makes the dream seem more distant, but the people of El Geneina have not lost faith. “We may be here now, but our hearts will always be there,” says one refugee, looking at the horizon as if she could see Geneina from afar.
Returning to El Geneina is not just a political decision or a humanitarian plan, it is the inherent right of everyone who was forced to migrate. While we wait for the war to end and the peace process to begin, the hope of return remains the light that illuminates the path of refugees in their darkest circumstances. El Geneina has never left the minds and hearts of its people, even in the darkest conditions of refugeehood. It is a dream and reality, pain and hope, but above all, it is a home, waiting for its children to return to it one day, no matter how long the estrangement lasts.
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