‘We are the lost generation of Sudan’: Students in exile | Story

Birao, Central African Republic – When Islam Ibrahim fled Sudan after his father was killed during the siege of El-Fasher, he thought he had escaped the worst of the war.

A 20-year-old girl, who was a pharmacy student, fled with her mother and six sisters to the neighboring Central African Republic (CAR), abandoning her pharmacy studies.

Now in the Korsi refugee camp, she spends her days helping newly arrived Sudanese women and girls. Drawing on the medical knowledge he acquired before the war interrupted his studies, he volunteers to help refugees who arrive exhausted after dangerous journeys from Darfur.

But even in exile, Islam says it cannot escape the problems that follow it from its homeland.

His uncle has gone to a refugee camp to encourage the family to return to Sudan, so that his mother can dispose of his late father’s wealth. Islam fears that a return would not only bring them back to the conflict zone, but also put her and her sisters to be forced to marry their relatives against their wishes.

“I only want to go back to Sudan if I continue my studies,” Islam told Al Jazeera. “I don’t want to go back to Darfur to share my father’s legacy.”

The story of Islam also appears in the Korsi refugee camp, where a whole generation of Sudanese students are trying to save a future torn apart by war.

More than 30 Sudanese university students who were interviewed over the course of several days describe their lives disrupted by the conflict that has uprooted families, disrupted ambitions and left many wondering if they will ever return home. Most are in their 20s and come from Amdafock, a border town in Darfur that served as a refuge and later a staging post where families fled the escalating violence.

Many believe that their migration will be temporary. They thought they would return home to finish their degrees after the war ended.

In fact, that hope has only grown.

Their experiences reflect the deep educational divide that has resulted from the Sudanese war. Millions of school children and university students in Darfur and other areas under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have now spent more than three years without regular education or taking nationally recognized exams. On the contrary, despite the repeated interruptions caused by the conflict, many students in areas where the Sudanese army has gradually returned to classes and take exams, widening the gap in educational opportunities between the youth of the opposing sides of the war.

The lost years

Amdafock was recently captured by Seleka rebels operating across the CAR border, dimming hopes that many of the town’s original families would return.

With support from UNHCR, many Sudanese refugees have secured a place at the University of Bangui, providing a fragile way back to education after years of turmoil.

But returning to university was not easy.

After completing their studies in Arabic, they now have to learn French, learning a new language while trying to adapt to the demands of the university. Many say the extra years required, along with financial and immigration problems, make them feel like they’re wasting time they can never recover from.

“We have already lost many years,” several students told Al Jazeera.

Among them is Gamar el-Shaikh, a sociologist at the University of Bangui.

“We left the Birao refugee camp, promising our loved ones that we would return with university degrees,” Gamar told Al Jazeera. “But because of the education we live in, and all the challenges we face, it seems impossible to fulfill that promise.”

Another student, Baderelddian Issa, said his family fled after his father, an imam in Amdafock, was persecuted by the RSF for criticizing him during a sermon at the mosque.

Badereddian told Al Jazeera that his father’s position made the family a target, forcing them to flee Sudan to CAR, where he is trying to continue his education, noting that the possibility of returning remains remote.

Painful choices

For some students, their transfer has required painful decisions.

Intisar el-Sadig lost her husband during the war before fleeing to CAR with her young son. After UNHCR found her a place at the University of Bangui, she made the difficult decision to leave her three-year-old son in the Korsi refugee camp with his mother to continue his education in the capital.

She goes back whenever she can, but says every breakup is painful.

“I’m learning because I don’t want this war to take away everything,” Intisar told Al Jazeera. “If I quit now, then we won’t be losing our house and my husband, and our future.”

Ahmed knows how quickly those expectations can be dashed.

Before the war, he studied law and dreamed of becoming a judge. His father, who is a commander in the Sudanese army, was killed in the fighting in El-Fasher. The family fled to Nyala, thinking they had reached safety, but Ahmed says RSF fighters attacked them there. While he was being beaten, his mother was beaten so badly that her arm was broken.

The family arrived in CAR.

Now in exile, Ahmed’s education has been halted, and his ambitions to survive have dwindled.

A lasting hope

Throughout Korsi, feelings of loss are shared in different ways.

Students who once thought of a future as doctors, judges, engineers, teachers and students now spend their days wandering through life in exile, learning a new language and trying to rebuild their education in an unfamiliar system while worrying about relatives still in Sudan.

For girls like Islam, displacement has also brought pressure on inheritance and marriage. For others, the loss is measured in years of interrupted education that can never be recovered.

Islam continues to devote himself to the camp, while Gamar, Badereldian and Intisar persevere in their studies despite facing great obstacles. Ahmed is still clinging to his dream of becoming a judge.

For these young Sudanese, education has become both a refuge and a resistance, a fragile attempt to restore meaning in lives torn apart by war.

“We are the lost generation of Sudan,” Ahmed told Al Jazeera through tears. “We have lost everything in this war.”