International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor was at O.R. Tambo International Airport on Sunday, along with families and loved ones, to welcome South Africans home after their arduous evacuation from war-torn Sudan, coordinated by the South African government, neighbouring countries and Gift of the Givers.
These were thought to be the last remaining evacuees from Sudan, but Gift of the Givers received a distress call on Monday morning informing them that 22 South Africans were still trapped on a boat at Safaga Port in Egypt.
The group explained to Gift of the Givers Foundation that they had been waiting on the boat for three days for clearance to fly home from Cairo. They finally received the release from Egyptian authorities late on Monday night.
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On Sunday afternoon, South African citizens who had been stuck in Sudan arrived at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport. Some of the returning South Africans spoke to the Cape Argus, expressing gratitude for the tremendous effort made in getting them out of Sudan’s civil war, as well as a deep sense of relief to be back on home soil with their loved ones.
Conflict erupted between rival military factions in Sudan on 15 April as a result of a power struggle within the country’s military leadership.
Birgitte Davy, who worked as a human resources specialist in Khartoum for four years, told the Cape Times, ‘My message to the people of Sudan is that we continue to hold you in our prayers and we urge the world to intervene to bring about peace.’
Davy and several others were stuck at the Egyptian border for two days and nights without food or shelter because their passports were with the Sudan Department of Labour and the Egyptian authorities refused to let them through.
‘Thousands of people were in the same boat. I saw Sudanese families trying to cross the border into Egypt with old, frail family members on beds, on stretchers and in wheelchairs. What is playing out in Sudan is a humanitarian disaster and the world has fled, instead of standing by to assist,’ Davy said.
These were thought to be the last remaining South Africans from Sudan, but Gift of the Givers received a distress call on Monday morning informing them that 22 South Africans were still trapped on a boat at Safaga Port in Egypt.
Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, the founder of The Gift of the Givers, said that the South Africans have been waiting in the boat for three days for clearance to board the flight from Cairo to South Africa.
According to Dirco spokesperson Clayson Monyela, the company’s team in Cairo will intervene and assist in obtaining the necessary clearances.
Monyela went on to say that their employer has been responsive thus far, covering all costs and ensuring that their employees are taken care of.
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Picture: Department of International Relations and Cooperation, SA / Facebook