Durban teacher reflects on Sudan civil war one year after fleeing
Monday marked a year since the Sudanese capital
Khartoum was rocked by heavy gunfire and explosions.
It was the start of a war that has killed thousands and continues to displace many more.
A fight broke out between forces loyal to two army generals who seized power in a 2021 coup.
Durbanite Danielle Boyle was teaching in the northeast African country at the start of the conflict.
READ: Relief as Durban woman starts journey out of Sudan
At the time, she and her flat mates were stuck in their flat for days, as gunfire rang out outside.
The group and other South Africans were eventually evacuated with the help of Pietermaritzburg-based relief group, Gift of the Givers. But it was not a smooth exit.
They were stuck on the Sudan side of the border without passports and living under a makeshift shelter while they waited to enter Egypt.
They eventually made their way to South Africa from Egypt.
READ: New truce between Sudan's warring generals takes effect
Boyles says the experience has left her with some trauma. "For me, I felt like I was fine, I didn't need to go and speak to somebody, but moving forward I would sometimes have dreams of what happened and small flashbacks but nothing traumatic. But when I do feel scared I speak to my family and friends who are around me."
She says she has maintained contact with her friends who stayed in Sudan. "One of my friends, she moved to Egypt with her family just before the war could take place and then I do have another friend in Sudan who stayed there the whole year and they are out in Omdurman, she says it has quietened down now."
Last week, the United Nations said thousands of desperate people were still fleeing the country daily "as if the emergency had started yesterday" and warned of a humanitarian crisis.
More than 8.5 million people have fled their homes since the fighting broke out, with nearly 1.8 million having escaped across the country's borders.
The UN's refugee agency UNHCR says those fleeing the country, mostly women and children, are arriving in remote areas across the borders "with little to nothing and in desperate need of food, water, shelter and medical care".
