Welland, Ont., man recounts 'dangerous' journey to Egypt as he flees fighting in Sudan
CBC
Hisham Mohamed was in Sudan visiting relatives when fighting broke out between the Sudanese armed forces and the powerful Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group (RSF).
The Welland, Ont., resident is currently in Cairo, Egypt, hoping family members left behind will make it safely across the border so that they can travel with him to Canada.
Speaking on CBC Radio's The Current and Metro Morning on Tuesday, Mohamed recalled his treacherous journey to get away from the fighting.
"It was quite [the] journey. I took cars, I took motorcycles [and] buses until I finally made it to the border," he said.
"It is very dangerous and it's challenging. You go from a checkpoint to another checkpoint and between, you know, you're hoping nothing will erupt or no fight is going to go until you reach to the next step. And you take it from there step by step."
Mohamed said it took him about three days to reach the border.
Fighting erupted in Sudan's capital Khartoum and at other sites across the country on April 15 as the powerful rival military factions battled for control. More than 420 people, including 264 civilians, have been killed and more than 3,700 have been wounded in the fighting.
Mohamed, who had a scheduled flight back home on April 18, remembered the moment when he knew he had to get out of Sudan after the fighting started.
"The day before I decided to make a move … [there was] no water, no power, nothing. We were trying to get from the neighborhood … to look for water and get water," he said.
He said they were stopped by "military people" who were talking to them and the occupants of another car.
"And they just shot [the] other guy in a car. I will never forget that incident," he said.
"That's when I realized, you know, just for water that's happening. I said there is no way I can stay here and wait. That's when I decided I'm going to take this dangerous journey and hopefully I will make it."
Mohamed said he reached out to Global Affairs "from the first day."
"I talked to them [and] they said, 'just register your name, we're aware of the situation and we don't have any plan yet for evacuation or anything. Just take shelter and stay safe,'" he recalled.
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