Hommam Al Nassim 
More than 6,000 Sudanese refugees are living in tragic conditions in the “Olala” forests in the Amhara region, western Ethiopia, after fleeing the war in their country.
Eyewitnesses confirmed in video clips spread on social media that they had not received any aid from humanitarian organizations or responsible authorities for 47 days, leaving them facing hunger, thirst and fear.
One of the preachers said in an emotional video that spread among Sudanese on social media: “For 47 days, no organization or responsible party came to us, and we live in the forest, and our number is no less than 6 thousand men, women, and children, without food or drinking water. We ask the world: Is there a difference between black and white and between colors and races? You should not differentiate between colors and races, because we are human beings.”
خطيب وإمام اللاجئين السودانيين في غابات أولالا بإثيوبيا: 47 يومًا لم تأتي إلينا منظمة أو جهة مسؤولة ونحن نعيش في غابة وعددنا لايقل عن 6 آلاف رجل وامرأة وأطفال من غير طعام ولا ماء صالح للشرب، نسأل العالم هل هناك فرق بين أسود وأبيض وبين الألوان الأجناس؟
ولا ينبغي عليكم أن تفرقوا… pic.twitter.com/eqKUaQBXgn— واكب | Wakeep (@WakeepAr) June 21, 2024
For her part, engineer Amira Othman, head of the “No to the Oppression of Sudanese Women” initiative, described the situation inside the “Ullala” forests as very dangerous.
She stressed that refugees face real hell and constant fear as a result of the presence of armed militias in the region and added that these people are still exposed to various types of crimes, including murder, looting, theft and kidnapping, since they were in the “Comer” and “Ullala” camps, and currently in the forest.
Amira strongly criticized the international and local community’s neglect of the human suffering of more than 6,000 Sudanese, including 2,000 children, in the “Ullala” forests, where they face a mysterious fate in those jungles full of snakes, scorpions, and deadly insects.
She stressed that the health and security conditions herald the occurrence of a humanitarian catastrophe, and explained, based on reliable sources inside the camp, that there are 5,000 young refugees, 625 of whom suffer from psychological disorders, including 300 who suffer from severe depression, while the rest have lost their minds.
In addition, refugees suffer from a severe shortage of potable water, as they depend on polluted rainwater, which exposes them to intestinal diseases, and refugees are forced to defecate in the open due to the lack of bathrooms, which has led to the spread of cholera among them.
In light of this tragedy, social media sites in Sudan launched a solidarity campaign with the refugees under the hashtag “Sudanese Stranded in Ethiopia,” where they broadcast pictures, video clips, appeals and calls for help revealing the suffering of Sudanese refugees in “Ullala,” who are living amidst death and under bullets, fear, and disease.
UNICEF warns of “massive loss of children’s lives in Sudan”