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Trust Freddy–Herald Reporter
“PLEASE look after your sister, I won’t survive,” Ms Pauline Hungwe, a Zimbabwean teacher working in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, whispered down the phone as she spoke to her son in Harare.
A fierce gunfight was unfolding just outside her home in the war-torn city as Sudanese army forces battled the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
“I thought there was a knock at the door, but realised we were under attack, bullets pelting our windows and doors,” Ms Hungwe told The Herald yesterday soon after touching down at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare.
She was among the first batch of 42 Zimbabwean nationals evacuated from Sudan as the fighting escalates.
A second group of 21 is expected tomorrow.
As she recounted the horror that she went through on the first day of fighting between the army and RSF militants, Ms Hungwe said bodies littered the streets outside her home.
“Unfortunately, my school is like two blocks away from the Presidential palace which was one of the focal points of their fights. We lived on our tummies for about four days and we thought it was over for us”.
She said her own house endured a barrage of gunfire.
Fortunately, she lived to tell the tale after officials from the Zimbabwean Embassy in Sudan arranged transport and she eventually boarded a ship to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia before taking a flight to Zimbabwe.
Yesterday, an Emirates plane touched down in Harare at 5:10PM carrying the Zimbabwean evacuees. Relief was written all over their faces as they left the airport to be welcomed by their families and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
The Zimbabweans had to be evacuated after other countries started airlifting their diplomatic staff and nationals from Sudan as heavy fighting escalated.
Among those who arrived yesterday were teachers and staff members from the Zimbabwean Embassy in Khartoum.
Most of them were exhausted from the long journey, as they had to board a bus, a ship and a plane, a trip that took them days to arrive home.
Speaking to The Herald, another evacuee, Mr Nyakutira Watson, said they lived indoors in fear of death.
Some of the 42 Zimbabweans returning from Sudan arrive at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in Harare yesterday. The Embassy of Zimbabwe in Sudan is expected to facilitate the evacuation from the war torn North African country of the remaining 21 tomorrow. — Picture: Edward Zvemisha.
“We were indoors for eight days, we ran out of food and water. There was disruption of electricity because same day the war began, on April 15, everything went down,” he said.
Mr Asafa Chande expressed gratitude to embassy officials and President Mnangagwa in particular for evacuating them.
“We feel grateful especially for the kind gesture from his Excellency Dr Emmerson Mnangagwa,” he said.
Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Sudan, Dr Emmanuel Runganga Gumbo, said: It was a harrowing experience, that’s how best I can describe it.
“What we did is informed and motivated by philosophy that has been articulated by his Excellency, Dr E.D Mngangwa, that you leave no one and no place behind.
“I took it upon myself that they must launch this operation called ‘leaving no one and no place behind’ so we kept in touch with each other throughout.
“Today we have 42 here and another group which is coming tomorrow has 21 people. So in total we have 63 nationals we have moved from Sudan.
“Most of our people went through Chad because they were far from the capital. Others went through Egypt while another group went through Addis Ababa where they are in touch with the Ambassador in Ethopia.”
Online Reporter