<\/p>\n
Ati Metwaly<\/span><\/h4>\n <\/p>\n
\u201cTwo years since the crisis began, nearly 13 million people \u2014 one in three Sudanese \u2014 have been displaced. This includes 8.6 million people displaced within Sudan and 3.8 million refugees and refugee returnees,\u201d the <\/span>UN Migration Agency<\/span><\/a> notes. Since the war in Sudan\u2019s outbreak in April 2023, Egypt has hosted 1.5 million, the largest number of Sudanese refugees.<\/span><\/p>\nAnd yet numbers are but a silent reflection of the harsh reality, and often overlook the human stories behind them. The truth behind those numbers speaks of people who while living in exile, are trapped between shattered lives, torn dreams, and \u2014 what\u2019s even worse \u2014 no clear end to the war in sight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nFor almost two years now, I\u2019ve explored the vast world of Sudanese nationals in Cairo: filmmakers, musicians, heritage custodians, and cultural researchers \u2014 a community of creatives that exceeds over 700 people. Through my humble journey, I came to understand the overwhelming endurance that characterizes the Sudanese diaspora, a force that fuels their existence, and helps them breathe for Sudan in exile.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nSome who established their new homes in Cairo and Giza, but also in Alexandria, Damietta and Aswan, relaunched their careers, while others embraced new directions. As the war continues, many Sudanese refugees now find themselves caught between memory and reality, torn between the desire to return home and the need to move forward. For some, home is still a dream worth waiting for; for others, it\u2019s a chapter they\u2019ve been forced to close \u2014 for now.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n![\"Sudan](\"https:\/\/themarkaz.org\/oldsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Map-of-Sudan-in-Africa.jpg\")
Sudan is the conflict no one is talking about (map courtesy Ognyan Chobanov).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\nHome is where the heart stays<\/b><\/h4>\n
\u201cI will return to Sudan the minute the war ends,\u201d <\/span>Dafallah Al-Haj<\/span><\/a>, founder of the Sudanese Traditional Music Center and Museum in Khartoum, tells me without hesitation, as he stretches a leather membrane over the tambour\u2019s frame, in his new <\/span>Cairo workshop<\/span><\/a>. Today in his early 50s, Al-Haj\u2019s decision is not linked just to his decades-long work in documenting and safeguarding Sudanese traditional instruments and music, it is also about his soul and belonging.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Dafallah](\"https:\/\/themarkaz.org\/oldsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Dafallah-Al-Haj-in-his-worskhop-in-Cairo.jpg\")
Dafallah Al Haj in his worskhop in Cairo (Ati Metwaly).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nRenowned scholar and guardian of cultural heritage, Al-Haj lost everything: his house, fields, and the center, home to almost 200 original instruments he had collected from all across Sudan, and dozens more he crafted himself. Everything was reduced to ashes within the first weeks of war. But Al-Haj remains unwavering. \u201cThe war will not conquer me. I work with heritage, whether in Khartoum or in Cairo. I can wait months and years, but I will return to my country and to people who know me,\u201d he says, underscoring his strong connection with homeland, heritage, family, and friends.<\/span><\/p>\n
And yet numbers are but a silent reflection of the harsh reality, and often overlook the human stories behind them. The truth behind those numbers speaks of people who while living in exile, are trapped between shattered lives, torn dreams, and \u2014 what\u2019s even worse \u2014 no clear end to the war in sight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For almost two years now, I\u2019ve explored the vast world of Sudanese nationals in Cairo: filmmakers, musicians, heritage custodians, and cultural researchers \u2014 a community of creatives that exceeds over 700 people. Through my humble journey, I came to understand the overwhelming endurance that characterizes the Sudanese diaspora, a force that fuels their existence, and helps them breathe for Sudan in exile.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Some who established their new homes in Cairo and Giza, but also in Alexandria, Damietta and Aswan, relaunched their careers, while others embraced new directions. As the war continues, many Sudanese refugees now find themselves caught between memory and reality, torn between the desire to return home and the need to move forward. For some, home is still a dream worth waiting for; for others, it\u2019s a chapter they\u2019ve been forced to close \u2014 for now.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI will return to Sudan the minute the war ends,\u201d <\/span>Dafallah Al-Haj<\/span><\/a>, founder of the Sudanese Traditional Music Center and Museum in Khartoum, tells me without hesitation, as he stretches a leather membrane over the tambour\u2019s frame, in his new <\/span>Cairo workshop<\/span><\/a>. Today in his early 50s, Al-Haj\u2019s decision is not linked just to his decades-long work in documenting and safeguarding Sudanese traditional instruments and music, it is also about his soul and belonging.<\/span><\/p>\n Renowned scholar and guardian of cultural heritage, Al-Haj lost everything: his house, fields, and the center, home to almost 200 original instruments he had collected from all across Sudan, and dozens more he crafted himself. Everything was reduced to ashes within the first weeks of war. But Al-Haj remains unwavering. \u201cThe war will not conquer me. I work with heritage, whether in Khartoum or in Cairo. I can wait months and years, but I will return to my country and to people who know me,\u201d he says, underscoring his strong connection with homeland, heritage, family, and friends.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n
\nHome is where the heart stays<\/b><\/h4>\n