This photo is courtesy of Michelle Mbondo/BBC
In this photo, Mariam talks about losing one son in the Sahara desert and not losing another on the same gruelling journey to Europe. Article information Authors: Paul Njie and Michelle Mbondo, Farchana, BBC
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Searching for a mat in her modest straw kitchen, Mariam Hussein gazes at a photo of her eldest son, Mohammed, whom she has not seen or heard from in seven years.
Through tears, she recounted her desperate efforts to get to Europe, believing that Mohamed could change her family's fortunes.
I leave my home for Sudan's West Darfur state for the perilous journey through the treacherous Sahara desert.
“When I got to Libya, I was kidnapped twice,” Mariam said.
“It was the first time they asked for a ransom and we paid it, with family and neighbours chipping in.”
Her last conversation with her son Na was on December 10, 2017.
“I'll call my friend's mobile phone as a final attempt to cross the border,” Mariam said, recalling how hopeful her son was to enter Europe the next day.
Now she is not sure if I am still alive or dead.
This photo is courtesy of Michelle Mbondo/BBC
The Wetin, or Farchana camp, as we call it in the photo, houses about 42,000 Sudanese fleeing two wars.
In April 2023, war breaks out between rival factions of the Sudanese army, forcing Mariam to flee with her son Ahmed to eastern Chad.
They currently live in the sprawling Farchana refugee camp, which hosts some 42,000 Sudanese civilians who fled two periods of war: the Second Sudanese War in the early 2000s and the April 2023 civil war.
The shiny white tarpaulin huts, built to hug the rocky terrain, offer a welcome refuge from the brutality of war, but the poor living conditions, inadequate food and lack of opportunities have driven young Pipos like Ahmed to despair.
Tired of living under such terrible conditions, she followed in her brother's footsteps.
She plans to leave Farchana with friends and attempt the perilous journey through Libya and Tunisia to Europe.
“In Sudan, I went to university with dreams for the future, but the war took everything away,” he says, recalling his time studying business administration.
A mother's worst nightmare
Miriam now faces a mother's worst nightmare: losing both her sons in the Sahara Desert.
“They begged me not to leave because they saw my son die in the process, so I'm afraid the same thing will happen to me,” Miriam said sadly.
But Ahmed disagrees, saying staying in Chad means bleak prospects for the future.
“Yes, my mother didn't want me to go, but I don't want to stay in Chad. There are no education programmes or anything,” Ahmed told us.
“The war has destroyed all our dreams. When I talk to my friends, we always laugh and play, but when I watch educational programs on TV, Facebook and Instagram, I feel very sick when I see people getting an education to go to university.”
“We compare ourselves to them and see the big difference… I can't be like that,” he said.
My statement emphasizes that Ahmed and my friends are no different from millions of young people around the world, and serves as a stark reminder of the suffering that war inflicts on Sudanese civilians.
This photo is courtesy of Michelle Mbondo/BBC
The author of this photo is Ahmed, a former business major who has now lost everything in the war.
Failed attempts
Ahmed's frustration resonated deeply with eight-year-old Siddiq, one of the Sudanese refugees who has lived in Farchana for 20 years.
I tried three times to cross into Europe from Libya and Tunisia but failed.
“The situation here is really tough. I don't have a fixed job. That's why I try to travel to Libya many times,” he said.
I fled to Chad with my family when I was only seven years old, but dropped out of school due to limited funds. Like Ahmed and many of the Odas in Farchana, I believe it is worth risking my life so my daughter and son can have a better life.
“The plan is going well and I have no intention of stopping because I can't continue living like this,” he revealed.
The Sahara Desert is considered one of the most dangerous migration routes in the world.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 161 migrants will die attempting to reach Europe along this route in 2023 alone.
IOM and international partners are implementing a legal resettlement programme for refugees in Chad.
Between 2017 and 2019, we helped relocate around 2,000 refugees from Chad to France.
Ying Hu, deputy rapporteur at UNHCR's Farchana office, said several resettlement programmes for refugees may be made available depending on the availability of resources.
“We also have regular programmes such as humanitarian visas, family reunification and scholarship programmes for children to continue their university education abroad,” she revealed.
However, limited resources are available for relocation programmes, with most funding earmarked for providing life-saving assistance to people displaced by ongoing fighting.
Uncertain about how long they will have to wait until a legal road opens, Ahmed and my friends are sticking to the dangerous Saharan route.
“Let's go!” Rockwith finality.
