Representative testimonials and reportings from victims of sexual violence: As conveyed by the coordinating counselor of Team Zamzam and translated by Gaffar Mohammud Saeneen
[A] Narratives conveying the particular nature and circumstances of sexual assault:
[B] Narratives of recovery
[C] Sexual assaults for which there are eyewitnesses testifying to the command responsibility of Hamdan Dagalo (“Hemeti”)
[A] FEBRUARY 2024
H, A.M., 19 years old. She was subjected to sexual and physical violence in the Wadi Marra reservoir area on Saturday January 11, 2024 while she was on her way to her farm to get some necessary agricultural products. The victim said:
“We were on our way to the farm to bring some supplies for the house; a quarter of an hour after we left the camp, armed men driving a 4×4 military car began to harass us. At first we thought they were joking with us, but after about an hour following us, we realized that they were up to something. After that, we decided to leave our donkeys and run each one of us in a different direction to save herself; but it was too late for two of us.
“They threw me to the ground before they tied my hands and feet. I thought I was going to die but they threw me in their car while I was screaming and hit me in the face and tore my clothes and hit me hard in the head until I lost my consciousness.
“After that, I don’t know what they did to me but when I woke up, my whole body was in pain, blood was pouring from my nose and a sharp pain in my left arm. I tried to regain my energy to return home to the camp, but dizziness overcame me and I fell down where I was, crying until the morning of the next day when people came to take me back to camp. The pain in my body has gone but still I’m suffering from a fracture of my left arm. I thank the Sisters from Team Zamzam for coming to help to overcome my stress.”
DECEMBER 2023
Testimony from a victim of sexual violence—Mecca xxx , 21 years old, from the Tarni area, Dar es Salaam locality in North Darfur. Mecca was subjected to sexual, physical, and verbal violence by Janjaweed militias on December 8, 2023 while she was working on her farm is in the area of Kulqi-Qalab.
Mecca said that while she was on her farm, a group of camel herders deliberately tried to ruin her agricultural crop, and after she refused to allow them, the group called the Rapid Support Forces, who were based nearby. Mecca said:
“Three Rapid Support Forces cars with heavy weapons came immediately and surrounded us from all directions in the farm, and then they fired heavy bullets into the air in order to terrify everyone present with me as well as on a neighbor’s farm. After that, they got out of their cars and came to us with the two of camel herders, pointing their weapons at us and throwing every insulting word at us. They took with them all our personal property, food, and agricultural crops, and told us: “These lands and all of Darfur now belong to the Arab tribes!”
Mecca said: “I tried to resist but they beat me up badly and broke my arm.”
Mecca was subjected to verbal and physical, and sexual violence, along with her cousin Khadija—in front of her mothers’ eyes on their farm by six armed men: the two camel herders and four men belonging to the Rapid Support Forces. She’s now recovering gradually but her cousin Khadija is in shock. Counselors are making every effort to help them to recover from their trauma. For her part, Al-Radiyya Taher, Khadija’s mother, said:
“Every day, more mothers’ hearts are broken because of these brutal and ruthless Janjaweed, and there is no safe place for young girls in the country anymore.” She thanks counselors of team Zamzam for coming to rescue her daughter.
NOVEMBER 2003
[1] The victim said:
“The Rapid Support Forces stormed my house and started asking me where the money is, which tribe I belong to, where my husband is, whether he was affiliated with the Sudanese army or the armed movements, and many other questions—all the while my children and I were shaking with fear.”
“The four RSF men searched every corner of my house for an hour and they did not find anything. One of them said to me: ‘Get ready—you will pay a heavy price, you vile black woman!’ And he hit me in the face until I fell to the ground and lost consciousness. And then, two of them took turns sexually assaulting me while the third one was insulting my children with degrading words.”
After her ordeal of four hours in her house, she pleaded to them to leave her, but they gave her twenty-four hours to leave her house or otherwise she would suffer the same fate in the morning.
The victim said,
“The RSF men said to me that Nyala had become a city of a noble race of Arabs and there was no place for you, you black Jews.”
After that the victim immediately ran with her young children to seek help from her neighbours who were leaving the city in a rush. Eventually she left with them to reach El Fasher after six days of a difficult trip. Counselors from team Zamzam visited her to provide her with intensive psychological counseling and now she is recovering gradually, but her children are still deeply traumatised by the events.
[2] Testimony from Aziza
Aziza recently moved from Nyala to reach Zamzam camp. Aziza said that she was subjected to sexual, physical and verbal violence on the seventeenth of November while she was leaving her home in a state of panic and terror that has gripped the entire city of Nyala. Aziza said:
“After we spent the night terrified by the sounds of the gunshots, the screaming, and the crying in the Al-Jir neighborhood, early in the morning, I and some of my neighbors decided to leave the city as quickly as possible. While on our way, the RSF men stopped us and asked us where we were going, and we told them that we were looking for food, and indeed some of us were suffering from hunger since everything had run out after a few days.
“After they stopped us, they divided us into tribes and then young girls were put in a group; this is when I felt something sinister was about to happen. I screamed loudly, telling the young girls who were with us to run, but one of the men hit me with the back of his firearm and broke my nose and two upper teeth. I fell to the ground and they started kicking me with their dirty boots until I fainted. We were then moved from the side of the road to a house near Nyala airport where we remained isolated from each other for three days—and we suffered further humiliation, beatings, and sexual assaults.
“The next day, they brought us near the side of the road where they stopped us on the first day, and they fired their rifles in the air and said, ‘Run toward El Fasher, you slaves.’ After suffering and walking for five days, finally a few people rescued us in an area near Kazan-Jadid and brought us to Zamzam camp. Upon our arrival at Zamzam, no humanitarian organization reached us to help except the Sisters from Team Zamzam and volunteers, and thank God they brought us some basic necessities and painkillers.”
OCTOBER 2023
Among the latest four victims, there is a child who does not exceed the age of eleven years, and one of the victims is Habiba Ibrahim xxx is 21 years old:
At six o’clock in the morning, Habiba left Zamzam camp, where she has lived with her family for several years, accompanying her little sister on their way to the city of El Fasher to work there as a cleaner. They left the camp and. within half a kilometer, a car with Rapid Support Forces license plates approached them on the roadside and offered them free ride to downtown El Fasher, but they refused their offer saying they were not heading to El-Fasher:
Habiba said:
“They immediately left us and headed towards El Fasher, but after about three minutes, we were surprised from behind. Two of them got out of their car and pointed their guns at us and said ‘jump on the car you little dirty black beasts.’ My sister screamed as loud as she could while shivering from fear but there was no one around to help us. Then they drove us for about an hour in the area west of camp. Then they began their sexual assaults: two of them took turns on me while the third one assaulted my sister.”
The two victims were sexually assaulted for nearly three hours before their attackers left them in place in very difficult circumstances. After the assault, the younger girl couldn’t walk because of the intensity of pain and the older sister had to carry her on back for three hours before being helped by passers-by to reach the camp. The two victims have been taken to hospital in El Fasher for treatment and doctor confirmed that they have been sexually assaulted by force. Since the events, the two sisters got into a deep depression and seemed on the verge of self-harm but for a quick intervention by counselors from Team Zamzam; the counselors are helping them to recover gradually.
Another victim, Samira Hassan Yaqoub, is 20 years old and from Zamzam. The location of the incident involving her was west of Zamzam camp. The date of the sexual assault was this month (October 2023), and it has resulted in severe depression.
SEPTEMBER 2023
Hadiya, 57 years old, from the Kulgai area [southwest of Zamzam] in the village of Al-Tayyara, which is about 5 kilometers away from Kulgai Qalab. She is the mother of eight children, three boys and five girls, and all the boys are younger than the girls. Hadiya lost her husband in the events of Kulgai Qalab, which was attacked by Janjaweed militias on the of March 6, 2022. Hadiya said that her husband left the village on his way to the nearby farm. He was hit by a bullet in the chest and died instantly. Afterwards there was a panic to bring the dead man’s body home; but instead, two other people in her family died from violent injuries.
After that, the Janjaweed took complete control of the village, and they began to round up all the inhabitants and then began to loot all their livestock, sheep, family property, food, mattresses and blankets. After that the whole house was burned, and they started beating and torturing the women and children.
Hadiya said:
“After two days of physical torture, verbal insults, and sexual violence, we managed to escape from them and ran barefoot to Zamzam camp. In the attack, I lost my eye and life has become very difficult for us. My children are young and now I have had three days without food in my house: we have no money to buy food.”
AUGUST 2023
[1] A brutal attack took place two days before the displacement. Five victims left Rwanda camp to fetch basic necessities from the market which was about six kilometers from the camp. They were attacked and kidnapped by the Janjaweed militias/Rapid Support Forces in vehicles armed with heavy weapons. After the kidnapping, they were transferred on their vehicles to the Koldi Qalb station; there followed a fierce competition between militiamen in choosing and distributing the five victims between them fairly; this resulted in a quarrel and gun fighting.
One of the victims of this brutal assault said:
“There was a quarrel and fighting within the Janjaweed/RSF; we were tied to a tree until after the quarrel ended. The one of them came to me and he appeared to be the leader of the group and took me with him into the private tent; then he asked me to take off my clothes, but when I refused, he hit me in the face and tore off my clothes with a knife and began to beat me until I fainted. After this, other Janjaweed began to take turns on me. It was hurting too much, but the more I screamed for help the more they beat me and threw humiliating insults on me.”
The victims said that other four girls have suffered the same fate in five different tents.
[2] Another victim of the same incident said:
“The Janjaweed militiaman grabbed me by the hand and took me inside his tent. I was afraid to death and trembling from fear. When I entered I saw there were a few other men sitting and drinking alcohol together and all of them wearing the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) uniform. After that, one of them asked me which tribe I belong to, and I told them that I am from the Tunjur tribe. After that, he laughed sarcastically and said to me, “You are lucky.” He then asked me ‘Why are you lucky…don’t you know?’ and I told him, ‘I don’t know.’
“He replied, ‘If you were from the Fur, the Zaghawa, or from those rotten ones, we would have treated you with anger, revenge and rabid hatred.’ I do not remember their number, but they took turns with me for three consecutive periods before they released me with the others on the outskirts of Zamzam camp in the middle of the night.”
After their ordeals at the hands of Janjaweed, the five victims were visited by the counselors of Team Zamzam, who have provided continuous psychological and moral support. After preliminary recovery, one of the victims said:
“We were raped and yet we thought that it’s our fault and shameful; but now, thanks to the sisters from Zamzam, we have overcome this old negative attitude—because the silence of the victims that causes many other diseases, and we need intensive training courses and advice to avoid any harm to us in the future.”
Thankfully, two of them have fully recovered but the rest are still attending counseling season on regular basis and the Zamzam team will exert all its energies to help them until they fully recover. Because the determination of these girls is what drives team Zamzam counselors with powerful motivation, more energy, a sense of purpose to their mission, and a steadfastness before any challenges.
MARCH 2023
This month 22-year-old Awatif Mohamed Arga and 27-year-old Shadia Hassan Ibrahim were accompanied to the hospital for surgical treatment, and both patients are experiencing continuous improvement in their physical and psychological conditions.
Awatif, before she felt the effects of her traumatic urinary fistula, had a life that was full of joys, optimism, vitality; she loved her life, loved people, and she aspired to become a nurse. But two years ago, when her fistula was diagnosed, her life changed completely. She lost more than fifty percent of her body weight, lost her hair, and psychological depression forced her to isolate herself from all contact with people. This remained the case until she was rescued by the sisters of Team Zamzam. She said:
“The fistula not only prevented me from continuing my studies, but forced me to become an exile in a world of depression. Deeply negative thoughts and feelings kept me hostage for a very long time, but now I thank God for giving me a second chance.”
As for Shadia, life was not that easy for her either: her condition and suffering may have been worse than Awatif’s, but she resisted with will, perseverance and determination as long as possible. But eventually, she said:
“The fistula had destroyed and broken my life into small pieces—and only those who suffer from such pain and harm can understand. Indeed, the worst of it all wasn’t the pain itself but the bullying from the closest of relatives of my ex-husband, and the stigma has forced me to feel ashamed and guilty for something that I didn’t have any control over.”
Shadia continued:
“We were about to get married, and at the time everything looked fine; but I felt severe pain and went to the doctor for a consultation and check-up; it was at that time that I learned I had a traumatic fistula.” She continued: “My husband was in love with me, and I am sure he still loves me; but his family forced us to divorce, and this is what shattered my spirit and broke my heart for a year and a half.”
Awatif concluded by saying: “I now feel grateful and happy, and this is all thanks to the sisters of Team Zamzam, who supported me throughout difficult times and provided me with everything from health guidance, moral uplift, to valuable counseling.”
FEBRUARY 2023
On February 20, 2023, at exactly seven o’clock in the morning, Nadia Abdullah went out with three of her cousins two kilometers west of Zamzam camp to gather straw for their livestock.
When the girls reached their destination, four armed Janjaweed men on camels appeared and began to ask the girls questions such as, “where do you come from? why are you here? which tribes do you belong to?” The girls became frightened, and Nadia replied that they were from Zamzam camp. After this, one of the militiamen pulled out his weapon and demanded that the girls lie down. One of the assault victims said that the attackers demanded they throw their phones on the ground; but when they refused, they were beaten until they lost consciousness.
“Why did you leave your dirty camp that is full of harmful black beasts? You are worth nothing to us Arabs except as pleasurable objects!” These words terrified the girls even more as they endured the following humiliation. Nadia said: “I screamed and begged them to stop, but they continued to beat us very violently. They put a weapon to my head and told me ‘to shut up or we will finish you.’ The Janjaweed then said that no one should move from her place, and then asked all of us to take off our clothes.” Another of the victims said: “After that each one of them seized one of us and then carried out their heinous crimes [i.e., rape—ER] while one of them stood guard with a weapon on top of a camel.”
During all this, however, Nadia resisted and managed to escape her ordeal. But the attackers chased her, and when they realised they couldn’t catch her, they fired at her, wounding her in the arm and stomach.
As for the other three victims, they continued to be insulted and humiliated by the aggressors for several hours until people who heard screaming while they were passing by an area close to the scene of the assaults. They told the people of the camp that they heard the girls’ screams and gunfire. After that, people from the victims’ families rushed to the scene and found them in terrible psychological condition, their clothes torn, and their bodies covered with beatings and scratches.
The victims were taken to the hospital first, and then procedures began with the police to make a formal complaint. And after that, some of the victims’ families followed the trail of the aggressors until they reached the Qilaab area, and there they found one of the perpetrators, but they could do nothing.
[B] TESTIMONIALS OF RECOVERY
From Mahasin, 16 years old:
“My name is Mahasin, and I am 16 years old. Two years ago, I was beaten severely with my mother while we were working on our farm; afterwards, the men did very bad things to us [the most common euphemism for sexual assault in this culturally conservative society—ER]. My family took me home in a cart because I couldn’t walk for a very long period because I’m suffering from pain. All this time I have not been able to go out of the house because I was afraid of all the men and overcrowded places. Until recently I didn’t want to go outdoors to talk with other people because of what everyone thinks and talks about us. But after seeing sisters from Team Zamzam, who treated me like their own sister, I feel much better. I’m very happy for their support and for listening to me. I thank you for this nice gift.”
From Rouwida Muktar, 23 years old:
“After a long, agonising wait—after almost two and a half years in pain—the end of last year I was happy to start my new life. My new life is free of pain, free of depression, free of long irritating nights, free of worries, more friends and plenty of happiness. Two weeks after the surgery, I felt as if I was given new life in paradise and from that moment onwards everything has changed for the better for me. Fistula had almost destroyed my entire life, but thank God but for me it’s over now and I only pray for those who haven’t had the chance to go through surgery. I wish them speedy recovery and I thank all those who helped me to get through this.”
From Kalida Soubor Ahmed, 25 years old:
“My name is Kalida Soubor Ahmed; I am 25 years old. For me last month was the end of the long pain that kept me in the house like a prisoner; the pain had deprived me of the enjoyment of a normal life and stopped me from doing beautiful things. The pain was so severe that I often lost consciousness and had fever. During the last three years, I have always been living between regret, frustration, and despair, and I thought my life would end like this.
“But in the end hope came back into my life and today I feel more confident than ever. Before I received fistula surgery, I was working in the market and had experience in trading women’s clothes and artifacts. Now I am hoping to return to work immediately.
“Nothing is easy here in Darfur, but my confidence is very high. I can’t find words or terms to thank my Sisters from Team Zamzam for reviving hopes; but I will remain true to their friendship forever.”
From Rawida Khalil, years old 22:
Rawida Khalil xxx is 22 years old and currently lives in Zamzam with her family. Ruwaida was diagnosed with fistula in 2021, but she hid her illness for a year, fearing the stigma she would endure. Finally her condition became intolerably painful and disabling. She said: “I was scared that people would find out what I was suffering from, but finally my friend convinced me to approach the Sisters of team Zamzam to reveal what I was going through.
“After waiting in an agony of pain for some time, I was taken to the hospital for treatment; there the doctor told me that the fistula was in an early stage and could be treated with a light surgical procedure and medicines. Thanks to the Sisters and God, thank God, I was treated within two months and now the pain has completely disappeared.”
Rawida said by way of conclusion: “Thank you Sisters for saving my life, and I wish speedy recovery for those who are still suffering.”
From Touma Ibrahim Muhammad, 46 years old, mother of four girls and one boy, and the mother of a fistula patient:
“For two years and a half years, I could not sleep normally as others do. This was because my daughter suffered a great deal from a fistula resulting from rape. During her illness, every moment of my life I was in complete anxiety—because we did not know what she was suffering from. As a mother, I tried everything possible to find something that would cure her. We thought that she was suffering from insanity or malignant diseases that could not be cured. For over two years, every day she would stay awake until midnight, and cried from pain until the morning.
“But praise be to God and thanks be to God, after a long patience, she was rescued with the help of team Zamzam [i.e., received fistula surgical repair in El Fasher—ER]. I have nothing to offer or repay you—please accept my prayers through my words and heart. I pray to Allah to bless you all here in life and hereafter for your good deeds.”
Kalida Soubor Ahmed, 25 years old:
“My name is Kalida Soubor Ahmed; I am 25 years old. For me last month was the end of the long pain that kept me in the house like a prisoner; the pain had deprived me of enjoyment normal life and stopped me from doing beautiful things. The pain was so severe that I often lost consciousness and had fever. During the last three years, I have always been living between regret, frustration, and despair, and I thought my life would end like this.
“But in the end hope came back into my life and today I feel more confident than ever. Before I received fistula surgery, I was working in the market and had experience in trading women’s clothes and artifacts. Now I am hoping to return to work immediately.
Nothing is easy here in Darfur, but my confidence is very high. I can’t find words or terms to thank my Sisters from Team Zamzam for reviving hopes; but I will remain true to their friendship forever.”
Hawa Galle Manies, 19 years old:
“My name is Hawa Galle Manies. I am 19 years old. I have been suffering from fistula for the last three years. Last year, I stayed for 4 months in Nabd Al Hayat Hospital in El Fasher, but my family was unable to pay for my treatment and I left the hospital. When they told to leave hospital without a treatment I cried a lot, but nobody was there to help me and my father, who is blind and suffering from many illnesses. Today, praise be to God, sisters from the Team Zamzam came to surprise me with good news.
They told me that I would go with them to the hospital for [fistula surgery], and I am very happy for this good news. I have been in so much pain for a period of three years, and I cried til my tears dried. This illness stopped me from having a normal life like others, and I lost hope in many things that I was optimistic about in the past. But today I am very hopeful despite the difficulty of movement. I feel very happy today and I want to say thank you to everyone who helped me.”
From a mother assisted by Team Zamzam:
A resident of Zamzam camp approached the Counselors today and said to them, “You have saved my daughter’s life from contemplation of suicidal thoughts, depression, and the frustration that has been haunting her since such a long time ago, when she was just a child.” And he continued by saying, “My daughter has never recovered since that day when she and her mother were tied up on our farm by the devilish camel herders, whom I will never be able to forgive, even on the day of judgment.” And then he broke in tears. And he finished by saying, ” I have nothing to offer you as reward for helping my daughter but
I have asked her to come here every day to help you, and to help herself to be strong.
Khatira Ibrahim Ahmed, 46 years old and the mother of Hawa Galle Manis:
“My name Khatira Ibrahim Ahmed, I’m 46 years old and the mother of Hawa Galle Manis. Today I have come to congratulate you [Team Zamzam] on the noble work that you are doing here, and I am carrying with me a warm message of appreciation and huge thanks from my family as well. If not for your programs, today my daughter would not be able to get up from her bed, in which she stayed for two years. But thank God, today, after two years of depression, pain, and isolation, she is now back to her normal self.” Last month when she was taken to the clinic in El Fasher [for fistula surgery], I was deeply relieved and felt she would recover; thank God, she returned well, and with high confidence.
“What destroyed our confidence and emotion was not the ‘illness’ itself but people around us in the neighbourhood who whispered constantly about my daughter’s well-being. But now, after talking to the Sisters for two months, I feel quite relieved and happy, and so does my daughter. Here in Darfur, and especially in this camp, people are too ignorant about the reality of life. People here don’t understand that in life one can gets sick; one can get killed, and my daughter is not any different from those many young girls who were raped by Janjaweed in their early teens.
“My daughter got sexually violated at the age of fifteen by a group of armed Janjaweed and ever since she has been carrying that pain in silence—more than three years now. If you, the sisters from Team Zamzam, weren’t here to encourage her to speak, she would have kept her ordeals in silence for the rest of her life. This attitude of silence is what is destroying the lives of many young girls in the camps. I want you to go around to see other victims in their homes in the same way you came to see us, because there are so many victims in many houses in every neighbourhood.
“The other day when people heard about my daughter’s well-being, two families from my neighbourhood came to share with me the ordeals of their adolescent girls. The main problem here is that most of the time people feel ashamed and embarrassed to talk about something of which they are not guilty; people must speak now if they want to find a solution for the stress. I thank you sisters for helping my daughter.”
Kaltoum Youssif, 25 years old:
“My name is Kaltoum Youssif; I’m 25 years old now. I’m from Deriba village in Tawila locality. I have lived here in Zamzam for years. I want to thank the Sisters of Team Zamzam for helping me to gain my well-being. I was diagnosed with fistula three years ago and at first I thought that the pain would go away within a few weeks. This is why I didn’t think to tell my family about my condition until my health became very complicated last year.
“When my family learned about my health condition, I was subjected to psychological trauma and isolation from my friends, relatives and family, and this worsened my psychological condition to the point of total breakdown. In addition to this, my husband divorced me without reason and went away. The divorce has destroyed my entire life, as I spent six months crying day and night. I didn’t know what I was suffering from until last year when I was taken to clinic with the help of relatives.
“The doctor said that it’s fistula at an early stage and it can be cured; but we didn’t have enough money to pay fees for the clinic. After that, I went back to the camp and continued my miserable life in pain and depression. The intensity of the pain forced me to think of suicide, because I hated living in pain and isolation.
“During my pain, all I wished that one day I could be able to find a way to heal myself so that I could prove to my husband who left me without saying good-bye. Four months ago my life changed for the better when the Sisters from Team Zamzam put my name on a list for clinic. From the beginning I felt assured by their magical words and I knew my day would come.
“My treatment went well, as I expected, and today for the first time in three years I sleep well, for hours. Physically, I now feel very satisfied, relieved, and psychologically very confident in myself. I just want hug every one of the Sisters. They have not only helped me with their assuring words and the expenses of a clinic, but they have managed to contact my husband who me left two years ago. He is working in South Sudan, and I don’t know how they have managed to find his contact information.
“It was a remarkable effort by the Sisters and this has brought plenty of happiness to me. Since the divorce two years ago, I went through hell and all I wanted ever since he left was to have him give me a chance to explain my health situation. Today, I thank God, I heard his voice on the telephone after such a long time and now there is a possibility to resolve our misunderstanding for good.
“I thank everyone who contributed to my well-being. I thank the Sisters for rescuing me from hell of depression and mental distress. I thank them for mediating between me and my husband.”
Aisha Ibrahim, 27 years old:
“My name is Aisha, and I am originally from Tawila but now I live in Zamzam. I work in El Fasher city as cleaner for small daily salary, but in the future I want to be a trader in artifacts.
“I can’t believe five months have passed since I had my treatment. It was in December last year and ever since my pain has gone and many positive things have happened.
“Remembering those years of pain, depression, and isolation, I can say it wasn’t easy, though I must share with you women my debt of gratitude for your help. Because if you weren’t here to help me, I still could have been in my bed. But now I’m working like others to earn a living and, Alhamdulillahi—healthy, happy, and giggling with friends.
“I must say that fistula pain is very agonising physically and mentally and especially irritating when the temperature is humid. It’s just one of those things that makes you lose control of yourself which often leads to negative things like thinking of ending one’s life.
“A few years ago, a relative I know took her own life because she couldn’t bear it anymore and there are still many like her who are suffering silently.
“The pain of fistula is very nasty, but it’s the stigma that destroys the strength of a person. Because when people find out that you have this thing, everyone runs away as if you have some incurable disease and this is what pushes people into the corners of isolation.
“But now things are slowly changing here because of this initiative, which has immensely helped many people to stand on their feet—and perceptions of many neighborhoods and people are changing gradually too. The other day at work, I met a girl and after working together for weeks she revealed to me what she had gone through with fistula. I told her that I myself went through the same agony and immediately we both looked at each other and laughed.
“A few years ago, these things one couldn’t be shared even with the dearest in one’s the family; but there is big hope many people will come through. Now, Alhamdulillahi, things are going well here and the positive thing is that people are beginning to understand about this issue much better. But there are still places where people are too ignorant about it; especially in the other camps like Abu Shouk.
“There are many young girls who are suffering silently. Because of this, one of the Sheiks in Abu Shouk camp had even thrown out his daughters from his house and accused them of being a whores—and now both are sleeping rough in the streets in El Fasher.
“These two girls now depend on begging on the streets. This is how bad it is when people don’t understand that it’s not your fault”
[C] Testimonials from eyewitnesses to the barbarism of Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) and that of the Rapid Support Forces he commands
Hemedti’s Rapid Support Forces have been wreaking genocidal havoc in Darfur for over a decade now–and yet the international community has created of him an “indispensable” interlocutor for peace talks and humanitarian access. But the scale and cruelty of the RSF’s actions, including sexual violence on a massive scale, was fully exposed my Human Rights Watch in 2015.
[received from and translated by an extremely reliable Sudanese source / July 18, 2023]
• My name is Zahra —. I’m 37 years old and I have lived in an IDP camp since I was displaced from my village in 2015. I am a widow, mother of three daughters and five sons, and my husband was killed by the Janjaweed militia in that attack on our village in 2015. Besides my husband, I also have lost many relatives and friends in that attack. The attack on our village was carried out by large Janjaweed militias and a commander who goes by name of Wad Hamdan, but now I know is Hemedti.
In the attack, we were rounded up by his militias after some of us had managed to escape, and the commander Wad Hamdan (Hemedti) got out of his car and came to us and asked us about our rebel men; we told him we are only farmers, we do not know anything about rebel people. After this he ordered to his men to beat us until we admit we helped the rebels, while he screamed out to other militias to hurry up in searching every house and kill every man they find in it. At a distance of only two meters from where we were surrounded, Wad Hamdan (Hemedti) shouted and told his militia, “Clean the land of these black insects if you want to get fine agricultural lands for your wandering people.”
Hamdan (Hemedti) was a very cruel, racist man and all the militiamen around him were afraid of him. I had never thought or expected that this man would be Hemedti until I saw him on television by accident about three years (even though I had heard of his name so many times). Seeing Hemedti on television has brought me some bad memories and horrible nightmares ever since. Since that day until now, I’m still terrified of going near a television even though in my entire neighbourhood we don’t have one. In that attack, many other people were killed in nearby villages, many women have suffered sexual violence and beaten as well. In the round up, we were more than 70 adults with many children and most of those adults still live in Zamzam; and except for the youngest children, everyone still remembers that horrible day and horrible commander Wad Hamdan (Hemedti).
• My name Radia —, I’m 41 years old from a village in eastern Jebel Marra. I am mother of six children and my husband was killed in 2014. I am currently living in an IDP camp following displacement from our village in 2014 by Janjaweed militias. In 2014, my village was attacked by the Rapid Support militia and in the attack we were besieged from all directions and terrorised by shooting, screaming and fire burning our houses. We were ordered to lie down or else to be shot. After two hours of terror, the Janjaweed told us to get up. Afterwards, they began to ask us questions about where the rebels were; they beat everyone and the men were separated from us immediately.
After a three to four hour ordeal in a hot-sun, their main commander who I now believe was Hemedti appeared before us wearing a green head-turban, carrying an AK 47 on his left shoulder and in his right hand had a beating baton. Hemedti was extremely angry and began to shout to his militias and throw all sorts of indignations and insults. He said to them, “For God’s sake what you are waiting for? why don’t you burn everything down like you were told? how many stinks [?] did you get today?” And then he walked away towards where the men of our village were rounded up. Those men, including my husband, were beaten to death and some were immediately shot by Hemedti and his militia.
After the beatings, sexual assaults, and verbal insults, they let us to flee to an IDP camp. But most of the village men who were arrested, we have not seen them again. The events of day still haunting many of us with horror and flashbacks.
• I am Haroun—. I have been living in an IDP camp since I was displaced in 2014 from a village in east Jebel Marra. On behalf of myself, my family and the people of my village that was burned by the Rapid Support Forces (Janjaweed) in the aforementioned year, I testify that the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, personally supervised the burning, killing, theft, torturing of people, raping girls, and arresting several men from my village and neighboring villages in 2014—all under the pretext of fighting the rebels.
I personally witnessed Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo ordering his militias to burn my village after we were besieged by excessive bullets and terrorism of the RSF. There are hundreds of other witnesses who are still alive and remember every act of the hateful militia of Hemedti. Hemedti is a cruel, merciless, heartless, racist and war criminal—worse than the person who ordered him [Omar al-Bashir], and we are ready to confront him in front of any court of justice anywhere in the world.
• I am Omar from a village in North Darfur, and I have lived in an IDP camp since I was displaced in 2015. My village was burned and its people were displaced to this camp because of the Rapid Support Forces. I and many of the people of my village who still live in Zamzam testify that Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo is the one who directly oversaw the destruction, killings, and burning of our villages that led us to flee.
• I am Ishaq— from a village east of Jebel Marra, and I have been living in an IDP camp since I was displaced in 2020, after my village was burned by the Rapid Support Forces for the second time row in space of four years. The first displacement of my village was in 2017, under the supervision and instructions of Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo personally. I and many of the villagers were witnesses to those horrific events.
The towns and villages that were burned and displaced by the Rapid Support Forces under direct supervision of Hemedti in eastern Jebel Marra are as follows:
Sharafa in 2015
Umm Bouji in 2015
Arashou 2017
Arashou 2020
Umm Zuhur in 2015
Sabreen El-gharb in 2015
Sabreen El-sharq in 2015
Hamida in 2014
Tiarat of 2014
Umm Sameema in 2014
Umm Taytira in 2014
Tabeldina in 2014
Hilla Ahmed in 2014
Umm Hashaba in 2014
Tangara in 2015
