ALBAWABA - Hundreds of Sudanese refugees found themselves stuck in a town in Tunisia, afraid of local outrage and asking for aid from the United Nations.
The town in question is Zarzis, a small tourist and fishing town located near the border with Libya. It's where the Sudanese refugees are residing around its edges and tourist zone.
Tunisian people are angry with the Sudanese refugees
Tunisian shopkeeper and businessman Lofti Gheriani said, "They're everywhere." He was one of the first people to rally against the Sudanese refugees, as stated by an Al Jazeera translator.
He pointed at a number of hotels where the Sudanese refugees are residing and said:
“They’d sleep around here, on the sides of the road. Everywhere. It was putting the tourists off.”
He also stated to Al Jazeera that he is not a racist but that this is unacceptable and cannot continue.
Additionally, he said that the Sudanese refugees are making tourists in Zarzis uncomfortable since they stripped off their clothes next to the Mediterranean Sea as the young girl looked through a window and found them peering down at her from it.
The Sudanese refugees want the protection of the United Nations
Sudanese patients wait under a makeshift shelter to be seen by medics at a refugee camp near Adre town in eastern Chad on August 14, 2023. (Photo by Mohaned BELAL / AFP)
The story of Farah Mahmoud: A refugee currently residing in Zarzis, Tunisia
Farah Mahmoud, a 23-year-old Sudanese man, also found himself in Tunisia as a refugee after escaping from Libya's prison camp at Al Dara. He now awaits protection from the United Nations.
Mahmoud added:
“I’ve been here for more than two months,” he says. “I have no idea how my family is. I haven’t heard from them since I lost my phone on the way here. I worry.”
“To get this card, you need to register your name and you stay for [several] months to get the card.”
“I’m just looking for a safe life, for security. As you see, we are living under the trees. We have nothing. I don’t know about going to Europe, but right now, I just want my UNHCR card.”
What is happening in Sudan?
The Sudanese War started on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese Army Forces (SAF) and The Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The SAF is led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan while the RSF is headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly referred to as Hemetti.
Amnesty International reported that the conflict between the SAF and RSF has resulted in the death of 5,000 Sudanese civilians, more than 12,000 injured, and over 5.7 million people forcibly displaced.
