Many years of conflict have resulted in the proliferation of camps for internally displaced persons and an education system that lacks basic services. Against this backdrop, Darfur is struggling to meet the needs of its children.

By Sharon Lukunka

Like thousands of other children in Darfur, 11-year-old Faiha Abdulgader and two of her siblings were born in a camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Her parents, along with innumerable other families, fled the Tawila area in North Darfur following the outbreak of the conflict in 2003 and they setteled in Abu Shouk camp, located on the outskirts of El Fasher town in North Darfur. 
 

Mohammed Tayeb, 14, and Mahir Ahmed, 13, students at the Al Salaam Primary School for Boys narrate a similar story. Mohammed and his family moved from Tawila to the Al Salam camp when he was just two years old, while Mahir, also accompanied by his family, arrived at the camp from Korma, North Darfur. Like most children caught in the epicenter of the conflict here, they have no recollection of the events leading to the displacement; their knowledge is based on stories narrated by parents and elders. “My mother told me that there was a war going on so we had to leave our real home,” says Mohammed.
 

Accounts like these are not unusual in Darfur, where more than 10 years of conflict have taken a heavy toll on the lives of the children caught in the crossfire, robbing them of a healthy, secure existence. While attempting to escape from recurring violence in their villages of origin, families and children are often exposed to great physical danger. Gunfire and unexploded ordnance pose direct threats, and they often have to walk across great distances for days on end with limited quantities of food and water. Children typically are the worst sufferers in such circumstances, at times becoming acutely malnourished, prone to illness, and even death. Girls, especially, are vulnerable to sexual abuse during displacement. 
Download the magazine (PDF) here.