Qamar

Qamar* is 24 and comes from Darfur, Sudan. In 2023, a civil war erupted in Sudan between the governmental army and the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group known to forcibly enroll people in their troops, killing thousands and using starvation and rape as war weapons. According to the UN, the mass killings have characteristics that point to genocide. 

I come from the countryside of Nyala, in the region of Darfur, in Sudan.  

When war started in 2023, he was studying sociology and economy in the capital, Khartoum. He decided to quit university to be close to his family. 

I am the second son in a family of 11 children and felt like I needed to leave to help them all. 

He left towards Libya, taking cars packed with people for several days across the desert. At one point they lost the car that was carrying the food and water. It was only by luck they found another car in the desert who gave them enough to survive. 

Once in Libya, Qamar worked in the south, in Al Kufra, for a year before earning enough to continue his route. He worked as a plumber. He managed to get all the way to Tripoli. 

I wanted to send money to my family, and at the same time, I needed to save money to try and reach Europe because Libya is not safe at all.

After some time, he saved enough to afford the crossing in a rubber boat. They only had a bit of water, a few jerricans of gasoline, and some snacks. 

After a day, the engine stopped. They were drifting through the high waves.  

When we saw a light in the dark, we tried to make the engine work again and it worked for a bit, so I came towards the light. We didn’t know if it was the Libyan Coast Guards or another boat who could rescue us, so we were really afraid, but at that point it was either that or death. We were so happy when we realised it was a rescue ship, it made us forget everything we went through.

Qamar’s drawing represents Sahar, the intercultural mediator, whose voice appeared from the dark and helped him understand he would finally be rescued, and reach safety.