My first memory was a very happy time in Darfur. It was the holiday Eid. I remember the girls – 15, 16, 17-year-old girls – put money in their hair and dressed in pretty clothes and eye makeup. There was dancing and food everywhere. When the rain came, we would go outside and dance in it. There was fruit everywhere and as a child my mother and I planted mango trees. My father was a hard worker. He used to work in our farms and drove his truck to the neighboring markets full of fruit and vegetables, and then would bring back groceries. I would spend weekends with my grandfather. Never before did people fight in the street.

 

I was 7 years old when the war started. It was a Thursday after school and my parents were not at home. There were government soldiers bombing. There were soldiers on horses with swords. One of My aunts was home – she had just had a baby the week before and she was still recovering. She told us to leave with only the clothes we were wearing. We rode a donkey and headed towards the mountain. There were gunshots and soldiers raping the women and girls and killing the male babies. If they knew you had a higher education, they would kill you. If you were a man, they would kill you. I saw all of this. When we turned to look back, all you could see was fire.

 

While escaping through the mountains of Darfur with my three brothers, hiding from the government soldiers, we were separated from my parents, and ran into my mother by chance of walking into forests. Government militia had attacked her to rape her, and she had fought back courageously. They caused leg injuries that she is suffering even now and caused her many back and neck injuries. She survived, however it caused her nightmares.  The Red Cross informed us that my father was in Chad after a year later. When the war started, the government accused him of supporting freedom fighters in our region of Darfur. They put he escaped the prison and run to mountains spent weeks without food and unhealthy water, he was shot and the mountain rocks has fall on him then he was not to wake, he was crawled to Delieg, hidden in manos tree for weeks then someone found by accident then rush to take to Garsila refugee camps then his father has to take out of Darfur to Chad because Sudan military wanted him.  However, he had severe injuries all over his body, making him permanently disabled and unable to work. We traveled as refugees to Chad lived in multiples places, Ethiopia, Kenya, France, and then lived in Burkina Faso in apartment buildings with security. From there, the United Nations brought us to Houston in March of 2010.

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I’m determined to fight for hope and peace after surviving the Darfur conflict is truly inspiring. The Darfur conflict has brought immense suffering and instability to the region, affecting countless lives. Our commitment to bringing about positive change and working towards peace shows our resilience and compassion for our people. By advocating for peace, stability, and a better life for Sudanese people, we are contributing to a brighter future and honoring the strength of those who have endured such hardships. Our efforts serve as a beacon of hope for a region that has faced significant challenges.

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My past and present experiences, knowledge of the suffering and the hope and patience in chaotic barbarity upon my people, region have motivated me to start Give Hope To Darfur!  As I was one of the fortunate to have survived,  escaped the atrocities, unbelievable ,unspeakable, overwhelming hardship and suffering, I feel I owe it to my people  and mothers, sisterhoods  to stand up and encourage other survivors to accept their responsibilities and undertake efforts that can contribute to the restoration of our dignity and livelihood to our society and rebuild our home (Darfur).