Local newspapers recently reported on a Unicef briefing regarding the dire health and living conditions of children in our sister country, Sudan. Though I am not a political writer, I felt compelled to address this topic from a purely humanitarian standpoint – far from the filth of politics.
In today’s column, I will touch on issues of humanity in the face of war and violence. Innocent people bear the consequences of crimes they played no part in – and pay a heavy price.
It is not politics that strips a person of their humanity, but the willingness to turn a blind eye in the name of politics.
A child is killed here, another kidnapped there, some forced to carry weapons, others lose their eyesight forever... This isn’t a scene from a tragic film – it’s the harsh reality that children in Sudan have been enduring for more than two years.
According to Unicef, grave violations against children in Sudan have surged by 1,000 per cent. That number is not merely statistical; it is a scream of pain the size of a nation.
More than 15 million Sudanese children are currently in need of humanitarian aid, according to UN figures. This is not just a number – it represents millions of heartbreaking stories. Stories of children cut off from school, of those who’ve lost their families, of hundreds of thousands who do not know when – or if – they will have their next meal.
We are talking about children – not parties to a conflict. Innocents – not decision makers. Tiny faces that know nothing of hatred, yet pay the price of wars they neither chose nor understood.
Meanwhile, in Gaza – where children should have been safe – life has become a constant nightmare. Since October 2023, more than 13,000 children have been killed, with thousands more severely injured or having lost limbs. Many have died from starvation or lack of medical care under a suffocating blockade that prevents humanitarian aid from entering. Unicef has described the situation as a ‘war on children’, calling Gaza ‘the most dangerous place in the world to be a child’.
In a world overwhelmed by crises, Sudan and Gaza seem to have been forgotten. But the harder question is: have we lost our sense of compassion too?
When did we stop caring? When did daily tragedies become background noise?
When did pain cease to matter unless it came close to home?
What is happening in Sudan and Gaza is not just a political or military issue – it is, at its core, a humanitarian catastrophe and a moral responsibility for the world.
We do not need more conferences or resolutions as much as we need a collective awakening of conscience – a human voice that places the cry of a child above the noise of gunfire.
Perhaps we cannot change the reality – but we can choose not to ignore it.
We can write, bear witness and remind others that behind each number is a face, and behind every face, a small dream – perhaps of a pill, or just a safe embrace.
Let us remember the children of Sudan and Gaza – not as statistics in reports, but as mirrors of our shared humanity. And if war has extinguished the light in their eyes, then the least we can do is preserve the vision of our hearts.
May God protect our children – our precious sons and daughters – and shield them from all harm and evil.
ztawfeeqi@gmail.com
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