Ammar Abdalla Osman

Before the outbreak of the war in Sudan, Ammar Abdalla Osman worked in the textile trade in Egypt. His Sudanese family depended on his income from Egypt, but because of the war he could no longer travel between the two countries as he used to. Months went by with no prospect of peace. Driven by financial hardship, Osman decided to make a risky journey through the desert. Throughout the whole journey, one question kept running through his mind: “Will I arrive safely?” After arriving, that question changed to: “When will I ever be able to go home again?” 

When the war reached his city, networks went down. For over a month, contact with his family was impossible, until his mother was able to call to say they were safe. Five months later, after a week-long journey, Osman managed to return to his family, in the countryside. He swapped his work in the textile trade for herding cattle. 

A further four months later, the city where he lived was liberated. He returned immediately, but no longer recognised the city, nor the people. The war had destroyed everything beautiful about it, and he holds no hope of it ever recovering. The meaning of “home” has changed for Osman. “For me, home is now my family: wherever they go, my sense of ‘home’ goes with them.”