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Relief, jubilation as Sudan evacuees return home
A group of 360 Indians evacuated from Sudan to Saudi Arabia amid fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces were flown to India on Wednesday
When fighting erupted between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan on April 15, Pramod Mishra was among over 300 Indian expatriates who took refuge at a school in the northeast African nation’s capital Khartoum. Over the next week, they spent sleepless nights stranded losing hope as the intensification of air strikes and artillery left hundreds dead and wounded.
“[We thought]...we would never be able to return home. I was robbed of all my belongings...,” said Mishra after he landed at the Delhi airport late on Wednesday. Mishra, who is from Uttar Pradesh’s Sultanpur, was part of a group of 360 Indians evacuated from Sudan to Saudi Arabia before they were flown to India.
Carrying just a paper bag and a pair of torn jeans, Mishra said he never felt so relieved as he did when they landed in Delhi amid chants of “long live Indian Army” and Bharat Mata Ki Jai.
Mishra, who worked at a steel factory in Khartoum for 11 years, added they remained stranded at the school as bombings and firing continued in the vicinity after a weeks-long power struggle between the forces of two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup degenerated into the intense fighting.
He said they survived on rice and lentils amid a power outage while water too was scarce. “With the constant shelling outside, we hardly slept...the only thought was how to somehow get out...we knew we could [also] get shot.”
He said the Indian embassy officials eventually came to their rescue and guided them on how to leave the country.
Another evacuee Amit Kumar Prasad, 32, a Bihar native, echoed Mishra. He said they rationed food and hoped the embassy reached out to them. “We could not step out as there was constant firing and even civilians were not being spared. Luckily, during one of the ceasefire spells, we were able to get to a rescue point for evacuation.”
Prasad, who worked in Khartoum since 2019, said Indian evacuees were unlikely to return to Sudan even if the situation stabilises there.
Nishant Singhania, a third evacuee from Ludhiana, said he ran a travel management company in Sudan since 2014 without any issues. He added while protests started there in 2019 over a series of issues including judicial appointments, the situation was nowhere close to what is happening now. “There was constant firing outside and a rocket exploded barely 500 metres from where I was residing,” he said. Singhania said he feels lucky to be still alive.
He said the escape was more challenging for Indians residing in Sudan with their families, especially children.
For Sidharth Rai, 37, and Neha Rai, 34, taking their four-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son out of harm’s way was the priority. They remained stranded for a week before gathering the courage to step out to hire a private bus for their evacuation. “In the absence of electricity or even water, it was like a nightmare. Our children would keep asking what is happening outside and we did not know what to tell them. There was hardly enough food left. So we fed the children most of the food, but as the fighting escalated and jets flew over our house, we knew we needed to somehow escape,” said Sidharth Rai.
Many left behind all their belongings as exiting the country safely was their main objective. “We are glad these flights are being run and efforts are being made to rescue all Indians stuck in Sudan,” said Sidharth Rai.
