SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
In Sudan, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces now control the western region of Darfur. That's after the RSF finally took the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, after laying siege for over 500 days. The RSF has been fighting the Sudanese military for control of the entire country. Human rights groups now warn the violence and civilian suffering echo the Darfur genocide of two decades ago. The Sudanese journalist Nadia Taha is now based in Virginia. She has been closely watching the latest developments in Sudan's civil war. Her family has lived in El Fasher for generations. Thanks for joining us.
NADIA TAHA: Thank you, Scott.
DETROW: Let's start with what's happening now. What have you been hearing from the city since the RSF takeover in late October?
TAHA: El Fasher in a very bad situation right now, since October 27 and 28. A lot of civilians are trying to flee the city, some of them to reach Tawila in North Darfur. Some of them, they left to Northern Sudan, and some civilians, they're still stuck in the middle, in a place called Garni. And a lot of civilians, especially the men, they are arrested by Rapid Support Force, and they're asking for money to release them. I have three of my family members still now, we don't know where are they. The situation is really difficult and a lot of people have seen what happened in El Fasher, how they've been massacring, killing a lot of people, and it was being documented by Rapid Support Force armies 'cause civilian, they are not having way to document everything.
But we've seen people we know, people we grew up with them, in El Fasher being killed. And what I've seen in my life, I've never seen in Sudan, how people are killed. And the hospital of El Fasher, a Saudi hospital, we've seen how they massacred the hospital, including the patient. And I have one of our neighbor. He died in that hospital, and still his kid they want. They didn't find his body, and they are not able to even have a funeral because they don't know where their dad is. The situation is really difficult. I lost my brother Mohammed on September 21.
DETROW: Can you tell me about him?
TAHA: He's older than me, three years older than me, and he's one of the nicest people in El Fasher. He's well known in El Fasher. We always - this is what we say in Arabic, that nice people, they don't live long. He's refusing to leave El Fasher. He was helping people to escape El Fasher. He was also one of the people who, like, tried to find food to the people who are dying from hunger. And most of us, when we do, like, some fundraising or when I collect money from my colleague, I send it to him to help neighbors and stuff. He was - died in a drone bomb in 24 of September with seven of his colleague. It was heartbreaking for me.
DETROW: Yeah.
TAHA: I never had a pain like this in my life since my mom passed away in 2003 - also part of Darfur war.
DETROW: It's probably a difficult thing to think about, but can you tell us about the city, what the city was like before this violence, before the siege? What do you remember about growing up and living in El Fasher?
TAHA: For me, growing up and living in El Fasher and going to the school and kindergarten, everyone in school, what I know is the people of El Fasher, they are really nice. When you walk in the street, everyone knows you - a city where it's very safe. I remember I traveled to Nairobi my first time leaving Sudan, and the landlord gave me a key. I was like, what is this thing? 'Cause I don't - I never experienced a key for a house. In El Fasher, that's all the city. We don't have keys for a house. We trust everyone to our houses.
DETROW: It's brutally hard to be living in the city in this environment, but it's a different kind of hard to have this happening to your home and to be so far away. What has the last year been like for you being in the U.S. and seeing this, reading news about it and getting whatever information as you can from your family and friends who are living in it?
TAHA: Scott, when the war started there, I have a show, early morning show. Because of the time difference, I don't sleep and I come back to work. I'd not sleep a whole night. And I used to tell all American who was my friend, I never drank coffee until the war started in El Fasher. Now every morning, I can't open my eyes (ph) without having coffee. I am not sleeping, and actually, some people who they know me, when I open my hair, it's turned gray.
DETROW: From your perspective, what do you want to see from the international community?
TAHA: I need to have peace. The city has to be back. And also, what I need - a justice for African people who are dying since 2003 until now. And what happening is for me is this is like ethnic cleansing. I don't think I'll ever go back to El Fasher because they would never allow me to go back to El Fasher. That's one of the things I really scared of because my city is not there anymore.
DETROW: That is journalist Nadia Taha, who lives in the U.S. now but is a native and spent much of her life in the city of El Fasher. Thank you so much for talking to us.
TAHA: Thank you for having me, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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