She spoke of her desire to reclaim her life in Sudan, where she worked as a quality control inspector at a pharmaceutical company — though uncertainty about the future loomed.
She was not alone. Dozens of Sudanese, all displaced by the ongoing war, were preparing to make the long journey home.
"I’m going back to my parents in Omdurman," she confided to Ahram Online, requesting anonymity.
Despite speaking warmly of her time in Cairo — "our neighbours treated us really well and it made our stay easier" — the ache of being away from her homeland was undeniable.
After fourmonths in Libya and six in Cairo, relying on her fiancé's remittances from Saudi Arabia, exhaustion had settled in. But still, the call of home was stronger than any fear of what awaited her.
By late afternoon, Mohamed Naguib metro station in downtown Cairo, once quiet in the early hours, had become a busy departure point.
Sudanese travellers, dragging wheeled suitcases, clutching plastic bags, or holding children's hands, gathered to bid farewells. Despite the long road ahead, few had packed food.
Like many places of departure, the station had become a space for goodbyes — a place where families would share a moment of connection before the uncertainty of the journey ahead.
Sudanese travellers load their bags into the bus as they prepare to head back to Sudan.
Sudan’s war, which broke out between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support militia, has since plunged the country into what the United Nations (UN) describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
According to the United Nations, the nearly two-year war has internally or externally displaced approximately 13 million people, including more than 3.5 million who have fled to neighboring countries, caused tens of thousands of deaths, and triggered devastating famine in parts of the country.
The war that divides and displaces
The journey home is taking place amid Sudan’s brutal civil war, which erupted between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in April 2023.
The conflict has escalated into what the United Nations has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Nearly two years into the war, it has displaced over 13 million people — both within Sudan and in neighbouring countries.
More than 3.5 million refugees, like the ones boarding the buses in Cairo, have fled to Egypt and beyond.
The war has left parts of Sudan devastated, triggered a famine, and left entire communities destroyed, with basic services like healthcare rendered nearly impossible to access.
For many of those returning to Sudan, the hope of rebuilding their lives is marred by the harsh reality of a country still gripped by violence and destruction.
Among the travellers waiting at Mohamed Naguib station was a 29-year-old man who, along with his family, had fled the violence of southern Khartoum in November 2024.
His words were measured, tinged with the exhaustion of a relentless search for medical treatment across Sudan's broken healthcare system.
He had spent months in Egypt, seeking medical treatment for relatives.
"There were no doctors, no hospitals in Sudan," he explained. "We had sick relatives, and we came to Egypt to treat them."
"We got the treatment needed, and our area no longer has problems. Media reports and contacts on the ground indicate the army has retaken Khartoum—so the south should be much more secure," he stated with growing confidence.
With his return just two days away, his voice was buoyant with the unwavering expectation of a safe home.
A taxi arrives at Mohamed Naguib metro station, delivering the belongings of Sudanese families preparing to board their bus.
The cost of returning home
For many, however, the road home is a financial strain.
"I paid EGP 4,000 just to reach Atbara in northeast Sudan, after Wadi Halfa," recounted a 29-year-old woman on the Cairo bus. "That is not even the full trip. I’ll have to pay more once I am inside Sudan."
Sharing the same bus was a 33-year-old woman and her mother, heading to their family home in eastern Khartoum.
Another woman, travelling with her mother to Khartoum, paid EGP 5,000 for each ticket, a total of EGP 10,000.
Raising the money had been a struggle.
Some had depleted their savings, and others depended on relatives abroad.
The journey, which could take several days, was fraught with logistical challenges, but for those leaving Egypt, there was a sense of urgency in their departure.
Outside the station, Cairo bustled with its usual sounds of honking taxis and bartering merchants. Inside the boarding zone, however, a palpable sense of uncertainty mingled with fragile hopes—these were people straddling two realities, their present in Egypt and their unknown future in Sudan.
Ahram Online spoke with the branch manager of The Argoon Transport Company, which works with Egypt’s Khawater Company, to move Sudanese refugees across Egypt.
From Cairo, passengers travel south to Abu Simbel, where Egyptian soldiers process them before continuing on a ferry across Lake Nasser to Sudan's Wadi Halfa.
"Women are separated from the men and children, and the soldiers count the number of women and children before they are allowed to proceed," the company’s manager explained.
From there, buses carry them deeper into Sudan.
The bus driver responsible for the Abu Simbel leg, who has worked in this field since 2010 — long before the outbreak of war — explained, "We leave around sunset and arrive in Abu Simbel the following day around noon."
By roughly 4:30pm to 5:00pm, the station had transformed into a scene of bustling activity, with people forming queues to board what appeared to be long-distance tourist buses.
The cost of tickets varies — between EGP 800 and EGP 3,000 — depending on the final destination, according to the branch manager.
Amidst the preparations for departure, women loaded their bags while children, oblivious to the blend of hope and anxiety weighing on their families, played around the station as their parents worked with hurried efficiency.
A nation's struggle: The reality of homecoming
Beyond travel difficulties, the situation awaiting returnees in Sudan remains precarious.
"Many return out of love for the country," shared a 31-year-old female artist currently in Wad Madani, a place she's been internally displaced to multiple times during the war.
"The war has calmed, and militias are no longer visible," she added. "But the infrastructure is shattered, services are unreliable, and while electricity has returned to some areas, others remain in darkness."
Her voice faltered as she added, "The hardest thing anyone can face after war is coming home, and finding no home at all."
This bleak reality underscores the struggles of those attempting to rebuild their lives in a country where essential services and safety are still uncertain.
Yet despite these challenges, a sense of hope persists among many returnees.
A powerful narrative of solidarity has emerged between Egyptians and Sudanese, with videos circulating online of Sudanese refugees thanking Egyptians for their generosity and kindness.
"We ask God to grant success to Egypt—its government and people," one Sudanese man said in a viral video shared by Al Jazeera. "They haven’t failed us, the Sudanese who fled the war a year and a few months ago. Truly, they’ve been kind and generous, it felt just like we were living in Sudan."
Another video, shared on the Arabi21 YouTube channel, showed a young Egyptian tearfully bidding farewell to his Sudanese friends, offering prayers for their safe return.
"You are the kindest people I’ve ever known," he said, his voice shaking.
These moments of connection have touched hearts across borders, painting a picture of mutual respect and compassion amid a difficult and painful time.
While many Sudanese are returning, others, like Ibrahim Abdelgabar, 60, remain hesitant. "We will not return at all until the war is completely over," he said firmly, reflecting the ongoing insecurity despite reports of Khartoum's recapture.
Data from the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) underscores the scale of displacement, showing a surge from 2.7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) pre-war to 8.59 million.
The prospect of returning is still too uncertain for people like Ibrahim and those with similar stories.
Some, like Osama Amin, 56, and Abdullah Hassan, 49, who fled Sudan in the early months of the war, are working to rebuild from abroad.
The war has left them with nothing—"no water, no electricity, no schools"—and the devastation continues to make return impossible for their families.
Egypt: A second home
Similarly, Om Mowafaq, 33, who fled Khartoum with her three children in November 2023, is not yet ready to return. Her children are in school in Egypt, but she worries about her sister preparing to return to Sudan.
Exhausted by the ordeal, Om Mowafaq explained that Egypt offered her children a respite from fear, yet even the sound of fireworks triggers panic in her youngest daughter, a stark reminder of their trauma. Adding to their difficulties in Egypt is the rising cost of living, with Om Mowafaq noting the high rent.
Rental prices across Egypt surged between 2023 and 2024, driven by persistent inflation and a sharp increase in housing demand following the influx of Sudanese fleeing the war. According to Property Finder, average rental prices increased by 24 percent in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period the previous year.
In July 2023, Egypt's annual headline inflation rate reached a new record high, surging to 38.2 percent compared to 14.6 percent in the same month of 2022.
By 2024, the pressure had only intensified. Real estate experts noted that families — particularly those fleeing conflict — were crowding into available apartments and willing to pay inflated rents, especially in densely populated areas of Cairo such as Faisal, Nasr City, and Mohandessin.
The rental surge has affected both Sudanese refugees and Egyptians alike in the face of persistent economic instability.
Egypt has provided a refuge for some, but the cost of living, coupled with the trauma of displacement, has left families struggling to make ends meet.
Still, Egypt has offered significant support.
In Badr City, Om Mowafaq enrolled her three children in school.
"They started the intensive academic year in November, and they’ll finish in May," she said, her voice tired as she explained that she is working several jobs to be able to afford the EGP 8,800 annual fee.
In December 2024, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty announced that the government had prepared several schools to help Sudanese students complete their exams in Egypt.
Earlier, in May 2023, Egyptian public and private universities began accepting online transfer applications from Egyptian students who fled Sudan during the outbreak of the civil war.
Women load and organize belongings preparing to board a southbound bus to Abu Simbel.
For others, Egypt has become more than a temporary refuge; having established roots long before the war, they now see it as a breather, even a second home.
Ibrahim Daheya, 50, is a trader who has lived in Cairo for 12 years and considers the city his home.
“I always used to say I was going to Wad Madani, when I came to Egypt, that’s how close the two places feel,” he said.
The DTM report indicates that Egypt has received the largest share of the approximately 3.93 million people — approximately 38 percent — who have crossed international borders since the war began, further solidifying its role as a haven.
Reported cross-border movement from Sudan to neighboring countries since the start of the Sudan war. Infograph by DTM report.
In November 2024, Hanan Hamdan, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Representative to the Government of Egypt and the Arab League said, "The burden on Egypt is unsustainable and requires immediate and substantial international assistance to ensure the protection and well-being of those affected by the conflict."
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