By Dc. Tom Cuskey
Editor
Tensions between rival generals and military groups in Sudan have spilled over into violent fighting in the streets of the cities of the African country. It unfortunately is nothing new for the people there, as evidenced by the number of Sudanese refugees who have escaped previous warfare and made their homes now in the United States.
Syracuse is home to a large, vibrant Sudanese community, many of whom worship at St. Vincent de Paul Church on Syracuse’s east side.
Aleu Tong and his family are part of that community. Aleu answered a very special vocational call to help the spiritual well-being of his people when he was ordained a permanent deacon in the diocese in 2020 by Bishop Douglas J. Lucia. Aleu’s own escape and journey from Sudan is mirrored in the plight of present-day refugees. The recent fighting has placed a great weight on the local community.
“Every member from South Sudan here at St. Vincent’s have family in Khartoum,” he shares. “I talk with the people over there. I have my uncle over there. I have my brother and sisters over there. I talked to them until yesterday (April 28), then the internet went out. And the phone is out. I can’t talk to them anymore.”
What Aleu was able to learn before communications went dark is that almost 70% of the police stations have closed and residents are cut off from being able to purchase food and other necessities of life.
“They still see the bodies left behind on the street. It’s not safe to go outside your house.” Aleu says there is fear of the militants engaged in battle but also of criminals who prey on the unprotected. “They are scared when they walk on the street. It’s dangerous in the street because of robbers and for the people fighting.”
The constraints caused by the fighting have prevented many from escaping to safer surroundings. As the infrastructure has fallen apart people trying to leave cannot access the resources they need to travel.
“Everything is shut down. No banks are open. There is no way to send money to the people.”
Aleu says the fighting going on now is different than before.
“When I left my country it was really bad. But what they tell me now, is not like what I saw with my eyes.”
Aleu explained that when he was forced to leave Sudan, the focus was to keep moving in spite of the hunger and disease that ravaged many of his countrymen. He watched family and close friends suffer and die. It’s different now as most people are trapped in combat areas.
“They told me that they see the dead bodies, but it’s different people. They don’t know them. But for me, I saw the people who I know.”
Aleu and many others feel somewhat helpless in their inability to supply material assistance, so the focus right now is on spiritual support.
“There is nothing we can do, only to pray for them,” he laments. Aleu says people making it to the South Sudan border can receive communications and help from their relatives and friends here in Syracuse, but it is a difficult and overwhelming situation. So, he says, again, “Pray for them.”
He reports that churches in South Sudan have organized online prayer sessions and he urges people here to get involved, as individuals and parish communities, with supporting those in need with prayer until such time that a ceasefire holds, and material aid can be provided.
“The people have just run before because of war. And now they find another war in front of them. So, yes, we can pray for them.”
