"Humanitarian crisis" in Sudan What did Japan people see in their own evacuation? May 5 at 9:19

Sudan in Africa is still fighting and concerns about a humanitarian crisis are rising. At the end of last month, the Japan government dispatched Self-Defense Force aircraft and other aircraft to complete the evacuation of Japan people in the area.

Under these circumstances, there are Japan people who have been forced to evacuate through their own routes. He is a man who has continued to provide medical support as the local director of the international NGO Médecins Sans Frontières.

What do you think now that you have left Sudan?
He also talked about the role expected of Japan in the future.

(Social Affairs Department, Takehiro Kamino)

Local Managers of Medical Support

The person who spoke to NHK this time was Atsuhiko Ochiai, 61, of the international NGO Médecins Sans Frontières.

Dr. Ochiai has been in charge of local activities in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, providing medical support such as infectious disease prevention.

I went to Sudan for the third time since 2017, and since June last year I have been in charge of three teams with about 3 people.

Sudden crisis

In the middle of last month, an armed conflict suddenly struck Mr. Ochiai.

The photo he showed me showed me one bullet. It is said that it had fallen on the grounds of the dormitory where Mr. Ochiai and others worked.

The photographs taken by Mr. Ochiai from the roof of his dormitory also recorded the pitch-black smoke rising from the urban area where many residents live.

At first, Mr. Ochiai hoped that the situation would end as soon as possible, and he was watching the situation.

However, the situation worsened day by day, and Ochiai and others often took refuge in basements to avoid shooting. Under minimal light, I continued to live in the basement with my colleagues.

Government agencies with which we had been negotiating have also been suspended, and we have become virtually unable to carry out our activities.

Mr. Ochiai: "At about 4:15 in the morning of April 8, I heard the sound of shelling and gunfire, and when I looked at the city from the rooftop, black smoke was rising, so I thought this was a big problem.

Fascinated by Sudan's "kindness"

However, in the past, Sudan was not as dangerous as it is now reported.

When Mr. Ochiai visited for the first time in 2017, what impressed him the most was the kindness of the Sudanese people.

Mr. Ochiai: "Khartoum is a place where even if you drop your wallet somewhere, someone will deliver it, and it was said to be the safest city in Africa, completely different from the image of conflict conveyed in Japan.
The actual Sudanese people are really kind-hearted, even having eaten food to strangers I met at restaurants."

Mr. Ochiai was originally a director who produced radio programs in Japan.

However, he was impressed by the enthusiasm of the people he felt when he traveled to Africa when he was in college, and he grew his desire to work in Africa someday.
Fifteen years ago (40), when he was in his mid-15s, he joined Médecins Sans Frontières. He says that he could no longer suppress his desire not only to disseminate information but also to be involved in local support activities.

I was assigned to Africa of my dreams.

Even as endemic diseases spread, I felt a great sense of satisfaction in providing support while sleeping and eating with local people.

Ms
. Ochiai: "At that time, security in Sudan was relatively stable compared to now, but medical resources were not plentiful.

What is the relationship between Sudan and Japan?

Sudan is known as a country rich in natural resources such as crude oil and minerals, but the long-standing dictatorial regime and subsequent political turmoil have limited the expansion of private companies into the Japan.

Nevertheless, Japan has been importing crude oil and sesame seeds from Sudan and exporting automobiles and their parts to Sudan.

In addition, the Japan JICA = Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has been providing support in the agricultural field for many years, and Tottori University and other institutions are contributing to the improvement of Sudan's food self-sufficiency rate by conducting local research on wheat breeding that can withstand hot climates.

Médecins Sans Frontières has also been active in Sudan since 1978.

We have continued to provide support to residents and refugees in areas where access to medical care is difficult, such as by providing malnutrition measures and vaccinations.

Until just before the outbreak, approximately 10,1200 people, including local staff, had been involved in assistance activities in <> provinces in Japan.

If we don't continue to help... Declined to evacuate Self-Defense Force aircraft

If medical assistance is suspended after an armed conflict only in Sudan, the still fragile medical system will collapse.

With this in mind, Mr. Ochiai declined to evacuate on a Self-Defense Force aircraft in Japan and decided to continue his activities.

Mr
. Ochiai: "Improving the situation is a big challenge, but we just want to continue to support those who need it right in front of us, and it was an urgent task to provide it Japan.

Still evacuated... Tense situation

However, the situation continues to deteriorate.

Many civilians, including children caught in the fighting, were brought to hospitals in the western Darfur region supported by the doctors.

People who do not have enough beds and put the injured on the floor in the hallway to receive treatment. As of March 3, 427 people have been brought in, of which 89 have died.

In addition, there were reports that armed groups broke into another hospital supported by Ochiai's team and looted medicines and other items.

With no prospect of improvement in the situation, Mr. Ochiai decided to evacuate the country on the 24th of last month.

Mr. Ochiai: "There was a clash between the two groups, but crime was rampant and offices and shops were attacked.

Mr. Ochiai kept in touch with the team in another location, arranged his own car, and carefully considered the evacuation route.

There were many military bases where fierce fighting took place for about one and a half hours before leaving Khartoum, and cars were sometimes stopped at paramilitary checkpoints, and tense scenes continued.

In addition, not only support groups like Mr. Ochiai, but also many people tried to evacuate the country, and cars flooded the border and it took three days to leave neighboring Ethiopia.

Mr.
Ochiai: "There were burning tanks scattered along the way, and I didn't know because I had been in the dormitory before, but it wasn't until I went outside that I realized that this was an area where the fighting was fierce. Everyone was evacuating, praying that the fighting would not escalate again."

I feel guilty

At the end of last month, Ochiai arrived in Switzerland, where the NGO is based. What I have in my heart now is a sense of relief that I was able to evacuate the staff safely.

On the other hand, he says that he cannot shake off his regret for not being able to continue his support for Sudan and for leaving his staff in Sudan and evacuating himself.

Ms
. Ochiai: "As medical needs increase, we should have increased supplies and people, but we have not been able to do so.

The crisis that Sudan faces ahead

There are situations where the support we have provided so far has had to be suspended.

Mr. Ochiai is concerned that the longer the fighting continues, the more serious the lives of the people of Sudan will face.

Ms
. Ochiai: "Even before the conflict, we were close to the collapse of medical care, but now logistics are delayed, there is a shortage of medicines, and there is no way to compensate for it. Infrastructure in the country is also being destroyed, and the lives of ordinary citizens are becoming difficult. Unless there is a ceasefire, no support group can work, so I think it's important to realize a ceasefire first."

What can we do?

Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Kishida visited Africa late last month and held talks with the presidents of Egypt and Kenya. The two leaders shared the view that they would work closely together on the situation in Sudan.

In addition, Japan will hold a summit in Hiroshima from 7 this month as the chair of the G19.

Mr. Ochiai hopes that Sudan will take advantage of its politically unclusive Japan position and take the initiative to provide assistance.

Mr
. Ochiai: "In recent years, there have been humanitarian crises in Ukraine and Afghanistan, and there Japan are not enough resources to meet the needs of assistance. I think we should provide aid that is not in line with political needs, but in line with humanitarian needs."

Mr. Ochiai will begin his term in June and will return to Japan in a few weeks.

Even so, he would like to continue to convey that it is important for us in Japan to continue to be interested in the situation surrounding Sudan.

Mr. Ochiai: "I am worried that the completion of the evacuation of Japan people will diminish attention.
I think we are in an era where once a conflict breaks out, including in Ukraine, the Japan will be affected. I want Japan people to think of it as their own thing, not as something happening in some distant country."

Social Affairs Reporter
Takehiro KaminoJoined the Bureau in 2012 After working at the Kushiro
Bureau, Okinawa Bureau, and International Department, the
Social Affairs Department from 2022