Voluntary Repatriation

Colors of Life

Salah Omar Al-Sheikh

White: The pace of voluntary return to Sudan from Egypt has increased after the victories achieved by the armed forces on all fronts, which raised their hope for stability, the return of life to normal, and the restoration of security.

Initial information about the returnees in August is that they were about 8,000, while in September it jumped to 13,000 through the Argeen crossing.

The reality is that the repatriation movement has never stopped in the past months, and the reasons are many, but the return is one; as the dream of backing home has never left the displaced and refugees, as its pace has increased after the decline in the value of the Sudanese pound against foreign currencies and the lack of a fixed income for families who sought refuge in Egypt and depend on remittances from sons and relatives from the Gulf States and Europe, which have become insufficient to meet their needs, with the lack of job opportunities in Egypt except for some small investments for some of them.

This hardship in living has forced several families to return to Sudan.

The second reason was the stability of some cities in the triangular capital such as Omdurman and Khartoum Bahri, which encouraged lots of families to return and check on their homes that were plundered in an attempt to rebuild them. The recent victories increased the desire to return for many citizens, and this was clearly evident in the joy that spread among the displaced and Sudanese refugees in their places of residence such as Faisal neighborhood in Egypt, which was also reflected in the increase in the number of returnees during the month of September.

This increasing return forces us to ask: Is there sufficient preparation in Khartoum State to accommodate the coming numbers, in terms of the restoring services, environmental cleanliness, and preparing these areas from the effects of the devastating war? Environmental experts warn against returning before preparing the climate for it, urging the return be preceded by treatments for the serious environmental effects that occurred due to the war.
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