*before you all send panicked messages about declaring our location, we have deliberately exposed it. We are not at risk of physical harm, and we certainly don't mean to belittle the more severe trials of others in any way...but no country should be able to act invisibly against expatriate residents as is described below.
Most of you will know that He is the Country Director (hereafter CD) of an international non-government organisation (hereafter NGO) with European headquarters. He is working for this organisation here in Sudan*, and we have been here for just over 2 years. It is well known that there is significant friction between international NGOs and the Sudanese government, but perhaps it is perhaps less well known how this affects the expatriates working for those NGOs.
Most of you will know that He is the Country Director (hereafter CD) of an international non-government organisation (hereafter NGO) with European headquarters. He is working for this organisation here in Sudan*, and we have been here for just over 2 years. It is well known that there is significant friction between international NGOs and the Sudanese government, but perhaps it is perhaps less well known how this affects the expatriates working for those NGOs.
He replaced a CD who was given persona non grata status in this country for a personal connection with an international church (nothing to do with his work or the organisation). We came here with an understanding that the situation between NGOs and the government is fragile, and that we, as part of an organisation who had suffered the expulsion of a CD, would be under even more tension and scrutiny. There has been a constant level of tension, stress and threat since our arrival two years ago, about which we have written on other occasions. The purpose of this blog however relates to our current visa-less status here, the corruption within the government, and the personal impact it is having on us.
Our annual residence permits and His work permit expired at the end of October 2015. We began the process of renewal formally in early October, and as of 8 February 2016, we have not received a response to the request, ether negative or positive.
Along with our residence and work permits, our multiple exit/re-entry visas also expired, therefore we have been and remain unable to leave the country since the end of October, and He has been unable to travel domestically for work. In effect, we are being held hostage in Khartoum, with the freedom to remain in our home and move around the city. A fine of 50SDG per person per day is accruing for over-staying our previous visas, now at more than SDG12,000 (approx. USD2,100)…yet we cannot legally leave the country.
Over the course of the 4 months since our permits expired, we have petitioned for a response many times to both the Humanitarian Affairs Commission (hereafter HAC), and National Security (hereafter NIS). There has been a clear indication by the Labour department representative who sits within HAC (hereafter HAC-LR) that a “cooperative off-the-books payment" would hasten the decision. The HAC-LR filed a petition letter to NIS to have my husband expelled. Following an investigation by NIS in January 2016 (including a lengthy interview), He was cleared and a letter sent to HAC explaining that there were no grounds for expulsion and that our permit should be issued until October 2016. There has been no response despite NIS calling for a meeting to push the recommendation.
Excuses we have received for the failure to issue our permits include:
1) The HAC-LR claimed multiple times that the paperwork requesting the permit renewals was never received, yet the paperwork has been re-submitted in full 3 times by the organisation's liaison officer. At one stage, this excuse was because HAC-LR had locked it in a cupboard and then went on holiday for 10 days. As soon as he was back at work, he went on sick leave. Obviously HAC have never heard of leave cover, and no one person being indispensable.
2) There is allegedly a letter (on the organisation's letterhead), signed by Him, reporting that He was fired as CD by headquarters. Yes, as ridiculous as it sounds.
3) Organisational labour issues. The issues faced in the past year or so have all been won by the organisation so Mr HAC-LR has not got his cut. He is less than happy about that. The one unresolved issue has been thrown out of court twice due to lack of evidence.
4) Allegedly poor communication between the organisation and both HAC and NIS about projects. The requested information has been provided, but has not resulted in an outcome for us.
5) They don’t want to issue the permits but refuse to expel us, so they are hoping we will leave “voluntarily” through the attrition of our patience and sanity.
This is just a single example of the systemic corruption existing within HAC, of which even NIS are aware since they questioned Him about it, in great detail. The Sudanese government has been attempting to re-engage with the international community recently, including pushing the US to remove existing sanctions. Despite this, they are systematically removing iNGOs from the country. After broad condemnation of the proposed expulsion of Tearfund UK in late 2015, their offices were closed down by the Sudanese government and all assets frozen. The expatriate employees of Tearfund UK are, like us, stuck in the country, despite having requested their final exit visas (the formal means of closing their files as expatriate employees in Sudan and leaving the country). The final exit process should take a few days, or a week at most to complete. In late 2015, another CD was also kept waiting for 5 weeks before his final exit visa was issued. A third CD was in a similar situation to us, pushed hard to be permitted to leave for a Christmas break and was then unexpectedly expelled.
Alongside the personal and work-related stress of being stuck here indefinitely, my chronic health issues cannot be sufficiently assessed or managed within Sudan. Some of you will remember that I was medivacced to Nairobi in mid 2015 following a back injury. In November 2015 we submitted a request for an emergency exit/re-entry visa to attend a specialist review of my back (with a supporting written recommendation) and this was not granted. We also both have broken teeth for which we wish to seek treatment abroad. #fallingapartattheseams
As foreigners, the concept that a government could want us to leave their country and yet not allow us to leave is simply outrageous. That they have the power to prevent us leaving Sudan when we have done nothing wrong, let alone illegal, is mind-boggling. So where to from here? This blog is part of our campaign to force them to make a decision either way. We may still end up leaving "voluntarily" if our patience runs any thinner. And whilst He is working well and hard, there is only so long that He can persevere with his work while facing the travel restrictions. We don't know that if we choose to leave "voluntarily" if they will be happy to get rid of us and issue our final exit visas straight away, or if they'll choose to prolong it and cause us even more frustration. 'Not knowing' is also a good reason to try and avoid that course...let alone us not wanting to let them "win".
