“No Shelters, No Solutions”: Sudanese Asylum Seekers Call for Urgent UN Support
On Monday morning, dozens of Sudanese women — some of whom are recognized by the UNHCR as refugees — protested in front of the agency’s headquarters in Jnah, Beirut, demanding safe evacuation to an intermediary or host country.
Nearly 100 people from Sudan, Ethiopia, and Cameroon protested outside of the UN ESCWA headquarters in downtown Beirut just over two weeks prior, on October 18, with similar demands: to be recognized as refugees and to be granted safe passage to a third country.
“We ask the UN and the international community to see us, consider us, and evacuate us from Lebanon, even if only temporarily,” Kolshi Angilma, 21-year-old co-organizer of Monday’s protest, told The Public Source. “In the current context of war, it’s well-known that if there are attacks on the places we live, we have nowhere else to go.”
Angilma said shelters, including schools across the country that opened their doors to the displaced, have been turning her and other Sudanese migrants away.
Zamzam Adam Abdallah Yaacoub, 24, who participated in the UNHCR protest on Monday, echoed Angilma’s concerns: “We were forcibly displaced from the South and came here, and we have nowhere to stay. We have nothing. We don’t have shelter.”
Yaacoub said Sudanese migrants were shocked to find themselves in this situation — homes demolished, forcibly displaced, and left with no alternative. “Our homes were destroyed before our eyes. We have been made houseless over and over again. We have no idea what we’re going to do.”
Some Sudanese migrants, like 30-year-old Sayda al-Mahdi, sought refuge in Beirut, hoping the UNHCR would come to their aid — but so far, to no avail, al-Mahdi says. “We have children. We left with only the clothes on our backs. We found no shelter, no home, no water, not even a mattress,” she told The Public Source. “I have three children, and they’re sick and terrified of the situation. There’s nowhere safe for them. I want the UNHCR to find solutions for us as soon as possible, and to help us and take our cases to any country.”
The UNHCR defines asylum seekers as people “seeking international protection. Their request for refugee status, or complementary protection status, has yet to be processed, or they may not yet have requested asylum but they intend to do so. War, persecution and human rights violations force people to flee their homes.”
The UNHCR also notes that all refugees were once asylum seekers, and clarifies that not all asylum seekers will attain refugee status. Several individuals at the protest are, in fact, officially recognized as refugees by the UNHCR, and have the paperwork to prove it.
Some protestors expressed disappointment over what they perceived as a lack of initiative from UN agencies and NGOs.
“All we get from them are false promises: ‘We’ll call you back. We’ll get back to you. We’ll see what we can do.’ But in reality, on the ground, we haven’t seen anything,” 31-year-old Khalida al-Tayyib told us. “If the war in Lebanon ends today, or right now, where will the Sudanese go? Sudan is currently also war-torn. So where are we going to go?”
“We are here today — and more people are on their way — to reject the systematic practices against us, as African refugees in general and as Sudanese in particular.”
Sudanese protest organizers and participants met in front of the UNHCR headquarters in Jnah to demand recognition as asylum seekers and safe evacuation to a third country. Jnah, Lebanon. November 4, 2024. (Zeina Hariri/The Public Source)
Protestors carried signs that read, "Help us," "Save us, we are tired," "We are dying," and "Rescue us," as they chanted "Where, where is your humanity?" in front of the UNHCR headquarters on Monday. Jnah, Lebanon. November 4, 2024. (Zeina Hariri/The Public Source)
An open letter, penned by protest co-organizer Kolshi Angilma, describing the living conditions of the Sudanese community during this war, and asking to be evacuated. Jnah, Lebanon. November 4, 2024. (Zeina Hariri/The Public Source)
A child holds up a sign in Arabic that reads: "Save us, we are tired." Jnah, Lebanon. November 4, 2024. (Zeina Hariri/The Public Source)
A woman holds up her UNHCR Refugee Certificate — official UNHCR paperwork that verifies she is legally recognized as a refugee. Next to her, a protestor's sign reads: "We are dying." Jnah, Lebanon. November 4, 2024. (Zeina Hariri/The Public Source)
Tens of Sudanese women marched in front of the UNHCR headquarters in Jnah, Lebanon to demand evacuation to a safe country. Jnah, Lebanon. November 4, 2024. (Zeina Hariri/The Public Source)