I go back to Port Sudan afta months wey I comot. Na last September I visit am. many tins don change for di coastal city wey di goment dey use as alternative capital afta di Rapid Support Forces gbab di capital Khartoum since di beginning of di war last April till now.
Di city airport wey be di only one wey dey work for di whole kontri don become more active bicos of more air traffic from local companies and di Egyptian and African airlines wey dey linked to di Libyan goment.
Di small arrivals hall full wit pipo wey dey come from regions around di Arab world. Most of dem na Sudanese and some of dem come to spend Eid wit dia families even wit di war wey still dey go on.
I notice say di entry process don tight by di security pipo wey wear civillian cloth, especially for young pipo.
Di annoying sound of generator don reduce and light condition don improve and di queue of cars for fuel station don drop.
Goods dey ground, on di oda hand, food price don increase times two sake of as di value of di local currency don drop to record lows against di US dollar.
‘Anxiety and fear’
Di air for outside di airport dey cold early in di morning. Di weather almost dey cloudy and give di feeling of comfort. E release me from di need to cry sake of sadness, fear and anxiety, say I dey come back my kontri for di second time and di war don reach one year.
Military appearances no plenti like previous months. We only face one checkpoint from airport to di city centre wey dey ova 30 kilometres away.
Di restrictions on movement don drop well-well. No heavy military appearance.
Shop owners wey dey for Corniche area fit now operate wia dem bin ban dem to work bifor. Di number of pipo and families don also increase for dis place, wey dey seen as one of di outlets for di pipo of Port Sudan.
But worry dey say di city go dey targeted wit drones, mostly bicos di city of Gedaref wey no too far from Port Sudan, na im be di target of drones, one day bifor Eid.
Ibrahim Onur, wey be one of di pipo wey dey sell coffee for di city, tell me say e no feel safe. E say, “Afta we hear about di fall of drones for Gedaref, I start to fear say drone go fall on us for Port Sudan. I no want make e happun. Di city dey calm and get plenti pipo. If sometin happun, we no get wia to go apart from di sea.”
I bin dey plan to see one woman wey dem dey call Hawaa wey I visit for one of di shelters di last time I come. She get terrible tori. She no fit contact her husband since di war start and she cari her five pikin come Port Sudan from Omdurman. But, unfortunately, I no fit see am. I discover say authorities scata wia she bin dey stay, turn am to goment headquarters.
Pesin no fit look comot eye ova di fact say, di number of shelters for displaced pipo don increase as plenti pipo dey run comot di city of Wad Madani for central Sudan enta, afta di Rapid Support Forces take control of am last December.
Almost all di schools and housing for university students plus including some goment institutions for Port Sudan don full wit newly displaced pipo.
I visit one di centres wey dey keep female university students. Most of di pipo wey dey dia na women and pikin. Di situation dey very sad. Plenti pipo dey live inside small spaces and scarce services.
I meet Zainab Al-Samani wey be about 50 years old housewife. She dey try feed her grandpikin dem wit bread wey she soak for water and small sugar.
She say her and seven members of her families suffer from lack of food throughout wen she dey stay for di home wey don almost reach one year.
“We lose dear pipo, evritin. Our shop for Nyala, dem loot am. We lose or house and our papa, wey be one of di most ogbonge businessmen for Nyala. As we comot, di Rapid Support Forces enta di house and loot evritin.”
She run comot di war from her home city, Nyala for South Darfur wen fight-fight start between di army and di Rapid Support Forces. Now, afta one year of bombing, she no wan go back sake of air bombing.
“We hope say di war go stop and peace go reign. Even if I no go back, pesin go go back im house bicos dis place wey I dey stay no be for pesin to live and no be wia dem go fit raise pikin.”
‘Di worst crisis for world’
Concerned organisations reveal almost 20 million pipo, about one for every two Sundanese, dey face ogbonge food insecurity. Warning dey say famine no dey far if di fight-fight no stop and aid no reach di places wey hook inside di kasala.
Mohammed Jamal al-Din wey be tok-tok pesin for di World Food Programme tell BBC say need dey to stop di fight one time.
“We dey very worried about di humanitarian situation wey just dey spoil dey go, wey don reach point of hunger. We only fit reach 10% of di pipo wey dey in need. Di warring parties need to stop to dey fight immediately and allow aid to enta.”
Di war wey start between di army and di Rapid Support Forces for April last year don dey called di worst, most complex and cruel cases for world.
E don cause di killing of ova fourteen thousand pipo and cause about one million to find refuge for neighbouring kontris. Dis na plus di ogbonge damage for infrastructure.
Plenti violations some wey don even reach di level of war crimes don follow, according to many international and regional human rights organizations.
Pikin dem na im don suffer pass for dis war, Save the Children organization tok say millions of children dey under fire for kasala areas. To add, four million of dem dey face risk of famine.
‘Eid phobia’
Since di popular protest start against di rule of deposed President Omar al-Bashir, and wit di way dem don dey block protesters, I don dey fear Eid!
I start to dey fear as di holidays dey near, sake of say, kasala and wahala don dey follow am for di past five years. Di most popular na wen dem scata sit-in by protesters for front of army command for 2019 wey kill dozens of pipo, afta security forces scata di peaceful gathering two days to Eid, Everi oda Eid, tins like dat just dey happun.
Wen I enta Port Sudan, few days to Eid al-Fitr, I get di same worry. Wetin dey interesting be say no be only me dey worry. But thankfully dis holiday come and go and ogbonge kasala no burst like dat. Eid prayers happun for di city main stadium. For di first time, di place host not only di city pipo as usual but also worshippers from most of di kontri.
Di wish na to end di war so dem go fit go back wia dem from come.
Many say, “we wish say di war go stop and we go go back house and dey safe”.
But dat one no be like e go soon happun.
As di war dey waka enta year two, e no be like say e go soon end, as both sides dey ginger to end am for battle ground and no be for negotiating table.
Di army oga, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan wey base for Port Sudan say dem go fight till dem win.
For di Eid holiday, e enta areas wey di army dey control for Gedaref and Kassala wia e continue to hala say victory dey come through weapons, E no mention negotiating or say dem go stop fight.
E tok for Gedaref say, “We all as Sudanese wan see di end to di enemy… and we dey determined to conquer di enemy… no wan dey wey go conquer us, and we no go give our affairs to anybodi and no one go force dia opinion for us.”
Di commander for di Rapid Support Forces wey don dey outside di kontri for months say di only option to end di war na to fight.
Di only choice na victory or victory na wetin e tok for recorded speech.
“We go win for di victims of wars, for di oppressed and marginalized, and for di victims of systematic air bombing for Khartoum, Al-Jazira, Darfur, and Kordofan.”
As di war dey enta di second year, millions of Sudanese dey fear say dia worst fear go come true, say di war go dey for years and years, as e don happun for plenti kontris for di region.
