My cousins were constantly envious of my family. They envied us since my father's profession required us to travel frequently. I'll be the first to confess that while travelling and making new acquaintances was enjoyable, there were certain negatives to living and travelling in many countries. 

As soon as I stepped onto the plane to Sudan, I told my mother,

"I feel like a fish out of water."  
"Don't worry, this will be an adventure," she remarked right away.

Sudan was by far the toughest climate I'd ever encountered. There are only two seasons in Sudan: wet and dry. The wet season lasts from August until September. The rest of the year is the dry season. In the summer, the temperature could reach 55 degrees Celsius. We could only go to our house and the school, which had a wonderful pool, because it was so hot. You'd be reduced to a puddle of sweat anywhere else. And this was only the environmental aspect. 

In October 2021 the top army general executed a coup, removed the civilian administration and arrested the prime minister. My family was unconcerned in Sudanese politics, but we were concerned about being trapped in our houses for three weeks as riots and fistfights erupted outside our doors. In order not to allow protestors to get organized, the army cut off internet and phone lines for the whole country. My only concern at the time was how to continue playing my games. Where did this general get the courage to disconnect 50 million people (about twice the population of Texas) from the rest of the world? I still wonder.    

Slowly, after what felt like centuries, after three weeks of the military shooting protestors with automatic weapons and killing hundreds, the protesters ultimately persuaded the general to resign and allow a civilian administration to take control. Life got better and more bearable after the coup was over. The Internet was back, although the temperature was still high. Every day and every weekend, I went to school. On weekdays, I worked hard, and on weekends, I played basketball and football. But calamity came again on Saturday, April 14th, 2023. Tensions quickly escalated, and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and a paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) declared war.  

We were getting ready to leave for school on this fateful day, but my father overslept. We sat there waiting for him to wake up. My mother received a message from a close friend instructing us not to go to school that day. We listened to her and stayed at home because our father was sleeping. After 30 minutes, we could hear gunfire and airstrikes all around us. One of the airstrikes was so near to our house that it blew up my brother's room.  

"Did you hear that?" I questioned my elder brother as soon as it happened.  
"That hit my room," he said, "I know it did.”  

Fortunately, no one was in his room when it was hit. The power was on for nearly two days before going off. We had no other source of electricity since there was no diesel in our generator. Our food would spoil soon with no power to cool it. Going outdoors was dangerous, so we had to start rationing the goods we had at home. Somehow, as food was getting scarcer, my appetite kept growing. The lack of air conditioning made the home painfully hot. We decided enough was enough after 6 days of living in these difficult conditions. We intended to go in a small convoy of six automobiles to a UN concentration post. We couldn't find them since the convoy's strategy was disorganized. Fortunately, we located another convoy of three automobiles and followed them to the concentration area. We were stopped by two RSF checkpoints on our route to the complex. They were armed with tanks and heavy artillery. The RSF even stole one person's phone since it was a great phone. They thankfully left us alone and let us pass. We stayed at the property for a few days while the UN attempted to organize an evacuation for us. It happened two days later, and we left with a convoy of 20 buses and 160 vehicles. We drove through the desert for 34 hours and arrived at the Red Sea coast, where we took a short break. A day later, we were evacuated to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia by a French destroyer. We landed in Jeddah 24 hours later and felt safe and free at last.