North Darfur siege leaves children blinded, families shattered by violence
Faces marked by terror and torment fill North Darfur’s displacement camps. Their eyes fill with despair as they describe what they have survived during a 16-month siege on one of Sudan ‘s oldest cities. It has entrapped their loved ones and spread armed violence, leaving village after village burnt to the ground. Extreme cases of torture, rape, and forced starvation are shared again and again in horrifying detail. Women collapse into sobs as they contemplate the future, and the elderly raise their hands to the sky, trembling and empty, to pray for overdue relief. In shelters that have seen little to no humanitarian aid, camp directors hand us lists showing requests for clean water, medical supplies, and food. Even the trademark white United Nations tarp is scarce. Some frayed tent material is used to close the gaps in the stick-lined walls that surround the traditional huts displaced families have built for themselves. They use them as a temporary refuge from the battles th...