‘A huge sense of relief’ : Derry man describes family's evacuation amid war in Sudan

Brian McDaid also spoke of the terrifying ordeal people in Sudan have been facing since the sudden eruption of violence almost a fortnight ago.

Brian, his wife and their two children were among the Irish citizens evacuated through a co-ordinated European Union effort involving the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and consulate and other EU countries.

“It’s an experience I’m never going to forget in a hurry,” Brian, who has been working as a teacher in Khartoum, told the Journal after returning in Derry this week.

“The most stressful part was getting to the airfield, where people were being evacuated from, because you are snaking your way through both sides in a convoy of vehicles being escorted by a group of soldiers from one of those two warring sides, the RSF [Rapid Support Forces]. That felt surreal, and then going through areas that you are familiar with that are now completely transformed, deserted, soldiers running around.

"There was an eerie silence. I saw vehicles either hit by air strike or mortar and saw a couple of dead bodies. One of them was loosely covered by a mat or tarpaulin of some sort, I could see the feet sticking out, and I saw another one bundled away to the side. The smell was in the air."

The family had earlier made the difficult decision to try to escape overland and were moments from journeying into the unknown when the call came through on Sunday morning.

"It’s worth pointing out the decisions you have to make very quickly in a rapidly unfolding situation. We got a call to go to the Spanish ambassador’s residence to prepare for evacuation," Brian said.

"We spent the day in his basement. We tried to set off at 3pm but that was an aborted mission because the fighting was a little bit heavy and we finally got going at 6pm. It was a 20 mile journey but it took us a couple of hours because of all the checkpoints.

"We had barely left our neighbourhood when a mortar round fell not too far away from one of the vehicles in our convoy. One of the most interesting features was being escorted by a pick-up truck full of RSF guys. One of them was filming the whole time, either as proof that they were complying with whatever arrangement they made, or for their own propaganda.

"Then it was lots of checkpoints, and it was a heart in mouth moment every time. With each checkpoint you were thinking: are we going to have to get out here? Are we going to be robbed? You hear the horror stories of people being robbed of all their possessions. I had some money rolled up in a sock and an old phone with me. A lot of strange decisions and preparations for a journey you never thought to make and never want to make again.”

Brian said that the suddeness and the ferocity of the violence took people by surprise and left them trapped in their homes.

“People had been optimistic up to that point, they were sitting down, negotating how the Rapid Support Force could be absorbed into the army, looking at the pathway to elections and civilian rule.”

Like many others, the family spent every day before being evacuated sheltering in their basement with dwindling supplies of food and water.

“If you went up from the basement to go to the toilet, to have something to eat, change clothes and you heard any bombs landing or gun exchanges you really got a good idea of how frightening it was – it felt as if it was happening in your garden. It was frightening, a very unpredictable situation.

"The value of having a passport and being a citizen of an EU member state was that that offers you the possibility of them working with other EU member states. Since day one I have had so many emails and communcations from the Irish consular services in Kenya advising us, telling us of evacuations happening, times and dates. I felt very fortunate.

"One of the reasons we were so fortunate was we didn’t have to drive to the airbase ourselves, we got taken in a convoy. That was no mean feat getting that together, and those at the Spanish embassy trying to get vehicles to transport those of us in their basement.”

Reaching the airfield and boarding the Spanish military plane, Brian said, brought a collective sigh of relief “but I wasn’t celebrating until we were completely gone because at the back of my mind was the thought that there is nothing to stop this plane being shot down.”

After arriving at Djibouti, the evacuees boarded planes bound for Spain or Italy and Brian and his family arrived at Madrid on Monday, before arriving back to Derry on Tuesday for an emotional reunion with relatives.

"It was a massive relief seeing everyone,” he said. “Everyone had been glued to Al Jazeera which has been covering it very well. I know there were candles lit and seeing family again was amazing. It was the longest hugs in a long time and a huge sense of relief.”

Brian said their thoughts remained with all of those still living in Sudan. “You have people like shopkeepers, rickshaw drivers who don’t have that choice. Again it is the people of Sudan who suffer from the unpredictability, the inability to sit down and agree a pathway to a fairer, better society,” he said.