STORY: Sudanese children exposed to violence, psychological harm amid conflict
SHOOTING TIME: May 28, 2024
DATELINE: May 29, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:45
LOCATION: Khartoum
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of children playing on a street in Omdurman city
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): AHMED ADAM, Sudanese citizen
3. various of children inside a school in Omdurman city
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): SADIYA AL-RASHEED, Sudanese activist
5. various of children inside a school
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): KHALID MOMEN, Sudanese citizen
7. various of children inside a school
8. SOUNDBITE 4 (Arabic): EHAB HASHIM, Sudanese social researcher
9. various of children inside a school

STORYLINE:

The fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has not only exposed Sudanese children to violence resulting in death, injury, displacement, deprivation of education, and forced recruitment, but also caused psychological disorders and behaviors associated with fear and anxiety.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): AHMED ADAM, Sudanese citizen
"I wish I could go back to school, live a happy life, and play with my friends at school."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): SADIYA AL-RASHEED, Sudanese activist
"These children have left the environment where they used to be, their safe homes, their schools, and their normal lives. They left under war conditions. They were exposed to very strong psychological shocks. The circumstances of the war itself, the woes which they have seen and the massacres which took place, all together have psychologically affected them as well as their health."

SOUNDBITE 3 (Arabic): KHALID MOMEN, Sudanese citizen
"I have children at home. They have not been to school for more than a year because of the war. They live under very difficult psychological circumstances."

Ehab Hashim, a 38-year-old Sudanese social researcher, said that he felt signs of psychological disturbances beginning to appear in his children due to the continued sounds of shelling, cannons, and aerial bombardment.

SOUNDBITE 4 (Arabic): EHAB HASHIM, Sudanese social researcher
"This girl witnessed the killing of our neighbor. She saw the horrific, bloody scenes. The incident was late at night. She woke up to the screams of the neighbors. Now, whenever she sees someone carrying a gun, she gets scared."

According to UN estimates, Sudan is facing the largest child displacement crisis in the world, with nearly 4 million displaced children.

Sudanese authorities say that the conflict has affected nearly 8 million children in the states of Khartoum and Gezira, as well as in western Sudan's Kordofan and Darfur regions.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Khartoum.
(XHTV)