Northern Ontario woman lashes out at feds' 'ineffective' rescue effort in Sudan

A Sudanese-Canadian in Sault Ste. Marie says the federal government is not doing enough to help people trapped in Sudan, as a wave of violence sweeps across the African country.

Rimaz Abakar, who still has intermittent contact with relatives attempting to escape Sudan, says Canada's communication strategy with people on the ground has failed, stranding hundreds of Canadian passport holders.

"The response has been ineffective," Abakar told CBC's Up North.

Fighting erupted in Sudan's capital Khartoum and at other sites across the country on April 15 as powerful rival military factions – the Sudanese army and rival paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – battle for control of the city. 

More than 420 people, including 264 civilians, have been killed and more than 3,700 have been wounded in the fighting.

Global Affairs Canada says that up to 1,800 Canadians are trapped between the warring parties in Sudan and roughly 700 of them have indicated they want out.

That includes Abakar's cousin, who is currently stuck near the country's border, on a bus that was chartered to carry people away from the fighting. 

"I'm very disheartened with the response, the Canadian response, to this crisis in comparison to other crises as recent as Ukraine, Afghanistan and Syria," Abakar said. 

Between March 17 and May 4, 2022, Canada approved 91,500 Ukrainians and their relatives' applications under the Canada-Ukraine Emergency Travel Authorization (AVUCU). 

"I would like to see the Canadian government respond in a way that says we value the people of Sudan, we see them as human beings and their lives matter, too."

"We're all people. These people deserve the same support and love and concern that people had for blue-eyed blondes, as some [news] anchors referred to the Ukrainians."

"We're no different than them. A crisis is a crisis," she said.

First two evacuation flights en route

Canada has conducted its first two evacuation flights to get Canadians and other foreign nationals out of Sudan.

At an event in Nova Scotia on Thursday, Defence Minister Anita Anand announced the first flight but offered few details. Senior officials at the Department of National Defence and Global Affairs Canada, speaking at a technical briefing later in Ottawa, confirmed the second flight had left Khartoum.

The first evacuation flight had 45 people aboard; the second took 73 out of the war-torn country. Officials could not say how many of the evacuees on both flights were Canadian.

Global Affairs Canada advises Canadians who want to leave Sudan to call a toll-free hotline or email the Emergency Watch Response Centre.

But that's not going to help many Sudanese and Sudanese-Canadians already on the move, Abakar said.

"The [government] is asking people to check their emails. But there is no internet. There's no power," she said.

"What emails are they talking about? There are no services, families can't get through."

Abakar said she has taken matters into her own hands, calling the centre and attempting to relay that information back to her relatives. A process that has involved 30-40 minute waits over the phone with the centre, countless delays and more than a few sleepless nights since the fighting broke out.

"This is a very western-centric way of doing the work that's being done and unfortunately it's not effective," she said.

"For a government that is liberal and that is willing to put millions and billions of dollars into  LGBTQ issues, into inclusion and diversity and all of that stuff, they really fell short in tackling this in an appropriate, culturally-anchored way," Abakar said.
 

I want the same consideration. They're all human beings. Just as equal. Just as valuable.- Rimaz Abakar

Abakar said she's also hoping that the media turns more attention to the crisis.

"How many stories has [the CBC] broadcast about this? How many have you reported on? Not many. Not even written articles. How many people have you interviewed?"

Akbar said she wants journalists, and the media in general, to hold themselves more accountable.

"Has this response matched other responses?" she said. "Even today we're talking about Ukrainian stories, Ukrainian refugees."

"I want that same consideration. We're all human beings. Just as equal, just as valuable."