STORY: Residents sustain livelihood in primitive means amid war in Sudan
SHOOTING TIME: April 17, 2024
DATELINE: April 18, 2024
LENGTH: 00:03:11
LOCATION: Khartoum
CATEGORY: SOCIETY/MILITARY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of a woman setting up a fire on the ground using firewood
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): ALIYA KHALIL, Resident in Khartoum
3. various of a man ironing clothes using an old charcoal iron
4. various of the traditional lantern
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): RUAA MUDAWE, Resident in Khartoum
6. various of a donkey-pulled water cart
7. SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): NAJLA AL-SANOUSI, Resident in Khartoum

STORYLINE:

One year into the war in Sudan, residents of the Sudanese capital of Khartoum have been enduring extremely difficult living conditions, resorting to primitive means to secure their everyday necessities.

Since the war broke out on April 15, 2023, local residents have faced power outages, scarcity of water, lack of transportation, and disruption of communication networks.

Without a reliable supply of resources to sustain their basic livelihoods, residents have been forced to use backward ways to obtain necessities.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): ALIYA KHALIL, Resident in Khartoum
"We have returned to the means that our fathers and mothers were using for cooking 30 years ago. Now, we set up the fire on the ground using firewood, a way locally known as Al-Adaya. This is because of the high prices of charcoal. We also have a cash problem."

Traditional lanterns have appeared in many Khartoum households during prolonged outages.

Amidst the high temperatures and repeated power outages, families in Khartoum now keep cold water in earthenware pots called Zirs.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): RUAA MUDAWE, Resident in Khartoum
"There is no electricity or water supply. We have to buy water. Now we use firewood to set up a fire and use the Zir to cool the water."

SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): NAJLA AL-SANOUSI, Resident in Khartoum
"There is no electricity and we have a water problem. We fetch water from areas far away."

The fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces shows no sign of ending.

Since the armed conflict broke out, 14,790 fatalities have been recorded in Sudan, according to the latest report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The number of people displaced has now reached 8.2 million.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Khartoum.
(XHTV)