photo credit © Renaud Masbeye/MSF
In the vast and unforgiving deserts of eastern Sudan, in a place that few in the world have ever heard of, a humanitarian catastrophe is reportedly unfolding. In the refugee camp of Umm Gurgur, former Tigrayan United Nations peacekeepers, men and women who once stood as protectors of global security, are now on the brink of death—starving, sick, and abandoned. These individuals, who once donned the helmets of the United Nations and served in some of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones, now find themselves forgotten, deprived of food, medical care, and even the most basic human dignity.
For over three years, they have been trapped in a limbo of suffering, caught between the Sudanese government, which refuses to recognize their plight, the Ethiopian government, which has criminalized them,and the international community, which has turned its backon them. Their situation is growing worse by the day, and as hunger tightens its grip on their bodies, the only certainty they face is the slow and agonizing prospect of death. Read more…