Sudanese Grave Digger: War Adds Strain

 Babakr Hamidah Al-Tayeb (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Babakr Hamidah Al-Tayeb (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Sudanese Grave Digger: War Adds Strain

 Babakr Hamidah Al-Tayeb (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Babakr Hamidah Al-Tayeb (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Sudanese Babakr Hamidah Al-Tayeb, 73, dedicated his life thirty years ago to volunteering in washing and burying the dead.

He spent his days between hospitals in the city of Wad Madani, approximately 200 kilometers southeast of Khartoum, and its cemeteries.

However, the outbreak of war seven months ago has burdened and increased his responsibilities.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Tayeb says that burying decomposed bodies has intensified his suffering and exhaustion.

He adds that over three decades of burying the dead, he has become immune to the smell of corpses to the extent that he “never wears a mask.”

Since the outbreak of the war in Sudan between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, Al-Tayeb’s responsibilities have increased.

His city has become overcrowded with thousands of displaced people, including a significant percentage of elderly individuals or those suffering from chronic diseases.

In the absence of medication and medical care, the number of deaths among the displaced has risen.

The displaced in Wad Madani face harsh conditions.

According to Al-Tayeb, when someone dies in hospitals or shelters, their relatives struggle with how to bury them. Many cannot even afford the cost of a shroud.

Faced with this dilemma, they are advised to contact Al-Tayeb to take charge, especially since some of the displaced are unaware of burial arrangements due to their young age or the trauma of war.

Millions of Sudanese have fled Khartoum to escape death under the rain of bullets, but many have died either from chronic diseases and the lack of medication or as a result of epidemics stemming from deteriorating living and humanitarian conditions.

“I wash the dead in hospitals, in cemeteries, or even in my home at any time, and my children assist me with this task after obtaining permission from the deceased's relatives,” Al-Tayeb told Asharq Al-Awsat.

There are no companies or entities in Sudan that handle burial services. Typically, the burial task falls on the people of the village, neighborhood, or region, considering it a religious ritual.



Gazans Resort to Turtle Meat in Hunt for Food

The United Nations has warned of a dire humanitarian situation for the 2.4 million inhabitants of the Palestinian territory - AFP
The United Nations has warned of a dire humanitarian situation for the 2.4 million inhabitants of the Palestinian territory - AFP
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Gazans Resort to Turtle Meat in Hunt for Food

The United Nations has warned of a dire humanitarian situation for the 2.4 million inhabitants of the Palestinian territory - AFP
The United Nations has warned of a dire humanitarian situation for the 2.4 million inhabitants of the Palestinian territory - AFP

With food scarce in the besieged and war-battered Gaza Strip, some desperate families have turned to eating sea turtles as a rare source of protein.

Once the shell has been removed, the meat is cut up, boiled and cooked in a mix of onion, pepper, tomato and spices.

"The children were afraid of the turtle, and we told them it tasted as delicious as veal," said Majida Qanan, keeping an eye on the chunks of red meat simmering in a pot over a wood fire.

"Some of them ate it, but others refused."

For lack of a better alternative, this is the third time 61-year-old Qanan has prepared a turtle-based meal for her family who were displaced and now live in a tent in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza largest city.

After 18 months of devastating war and an Israeli blockade on aid since March 2, the United Nations has warned of a dire humanitarian situation for the 2.4 million inhabitants of the Palestinian territory.

Israel has accused Hamas of diverting aid, which the Palestinian militant group denies.

The heads of 12 major aid organizations warned on Thursday that "famine is not just a risk, but likely rapidly unfolding in almost all parts" of the territory, AFP reported.

"There are no open crossings and there is nothing in the market," said Qanan.

"When I buy two small bags (of vegetables) for 80 shekels ($22), there is no meat," she added.

Sea turtles are internationally protected as an endangered species, but those caught in Gaza fishermen's nets are used for food.

Qanan mixes the meat with flour and vinegar to wash it, before rinsing and boiling it in an old metal pot.

- 'Never expected to eat a turtle' -

"We never expected to eat a turtle," fisherman Abdel Halim Qanan said.

"When the war started, there was a food shortage. There is no food. So (turtle meat) is an alternative for other sources of protein. There is no meat, poultry or vegetables."

The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned that Gaza is facing its most severe humanitarian crisis since the war began on October 7, 2023.

Fighting has raged in Gaza since then, pausing only twice -- recently during a two-month ceasefire between January 19 and March 17, and in a previous one-week halt in late November 2023.

The World Health Organization's regional chief Hanan Balkhy said in June that some Gazans were so desperate that they were eating animal food, grass, and drinking sewage water.

Hamas on Thursday accused Israel of using "starvation as a weapon" against Gazans by blocking aid supplies.

"If there was no famine, we would not eat it and leave it, but we want to compensate for the lack of protein," he said.