John,

I don’t think we’ve spoken before – but my name’s Omer Elnaiem and right now, armed clashes are raging in my country, Sudan.

It breaks my heart to see my people suffering like this. I work with UNHCR in Nairobi, and have been speaking with my family and friends in Sudan over the last few days - they tell me the situation on the ground is dire.

What’s even worse is that the conflict is hindering the humanitarian response to those in need across the country. A de-escalation of the situation is urgently needed: we call on all parties to protect civilians, including refugees and displaced people, and to respect the safety of humanitarian staff so that critical aid can be delivered.

My country has always welcomed refugees during times of conflict. Sudan currently hosts over 1.13 million refugees, mainly from South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Syria.

PLEASE DONATE NOW AND HELP THESE FAMILIES FORCED TO FLEE THEIR HOMES

UNHCR has already observed as many as 20,000 new arrivals from Sudan's Darfur region into Chad. People are also escaping to South Sudan and Egypt. We thank neighbouring countries for keeping their borders open for those in need of international protection.

I wanted to personally reach out to say thank you for keeping the people of Sudan in your thoughts. The situation is escalating, but UNHCR has teams on the ground at the borders and together with partners is ramping up operations to respond to people uprooted by the conflict in Sudan. With your help, we can do so much more.

All my best,

Omer Elnaiem
Head of Global Communications Service Nairobi Hub
UNHCR