| 60-year-old Fatima is a widow and lives in El Geneina town in a small shelter next to her two daughters and five grandchildren. She fled from her home village of Abudrub, ten kilometres away in 2004 when it was attacked and her three sons were killed. She does not know why her village was targeted but managed to flee to El Geneina with no possessions and no one to protect her. Fatima and her daughters have built their own shelters and are living in the Sultan House settlement while her daughters-in-law and third daughter have managed to settle in various nearby camps for internally displaced people.
The area of the town where Fatima is living does not have access to clean water and she is not strong enough to walk the distance to the nearest water point. Her grandchildren have to collect water for her every day. Fatima has very few possessions and no source of income. Sometimes her daughters are able to find work making bricks or collecting mud which means they can afford to buy firewood, otherwise they have to prepare food that does not require heating. There is no money left over to pay for her grandchildren’s school fees so they are not able to get an education.
One of Fatima’s biggest priorities is to buy medicine for herself as she suffers from rheumatism and headaches. She goes to the nearby clinic for check ups however she only receives some of the medicines she needs free of charge and has to buy the rest from the pharmacy. When she does not have the money she simply has to do without.
Fatima is registered with the United Nations World Food Programme which means that she receives a monthly food ration. However, her two daughters and grandchildren are not registered which means that the one food parcel has to be shared between eight people. With no regular source of income, buying extra food for the family is a great struggle.
Like many other internally displaced people Fatima has not been accepted by the host community of El Geneina who resent the presence of displaced people in a town whose resources are already severely stretched. She lives with many other IDPs on land that is little more than a slum but since 2006 the owner of the land has made repeated efforts to try and get her to move. He does not want displaced people on his land as he is scared they will try to build a permanent homes there.
Thankfully Fatima and her family are part of the project being carried out by Islamic Relief in partnership with IDRF and CIDA, to relocate 5,000 internally displaced people who are living in El Geneina town to the Kerinding II camp. Although what Fatima really wants is to be able to return to her home village, living in the camp will mean that she is more safe, will have access to food, clean water and healthcare and her grandchildren will be able to go to school, things that aren’t possible where she is living now.
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