Mohamed Khamis Douda is the official spokesperson for the Zamzam displacement camp in Sudan’s Darfur region. He quickly transitioned to being a key figure on the front lines as violence erupted in El Fasher. For months, he provided crucial updates on the dire conditions faced by residents and displaced individuals amid the escalating violence. He is passionate about putting a face to the humanitarian crisis. His tireless work on behalf of the most vulnerable has earned him the distinction of the war’s truest hero.
Douda lived in constant fear, spending nights in silence and darkness, aware of the drones overhead and the explosions echoing around him. His description of the daily battle to stay alive in El Fasher was unforgettable. The city was on the verge of falling into the hands of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Douda’s journey to take on his fears was fulfilling. Yet he remained resolute, intent on unearthing the brutal truths of daily life in a conflict-ridden area.
In exclusive correspondence with The Guardian, Douda provided dispatches that crafted a bleak portrait of conditions in El Fasher. On the morning of August 4, he was heavily fatigued from all that he’d done the day before to try and save lives. Just days later, on August 11, Zahir was awoken to the sound of explosions close to the Abu Shouk displaced persons camp. The noises came to be a horrific reminder of the pandemonium surrounding the city. His updates reflected not only the violence but the dire humanitarian situation: “People were eating cattle hides because even the ombaz had run out,” he reported.
In the midst of this chaos, Douda made it his personal mission to reach people and bring them food and clean water after the storm. He provided burials for the black victims of the clash. He saw thousands of the wounded, including women and children who were shot by random bullets. His fierce drive to serve others reflected his great pride and sense of duty to protect and serve his community.
Even with all of his hard work, Douda ran into walls with raising awareness about what the hell was going on in Zamzam and El Fasher. His phone would sometimes go dead for hours at a time, before buzzing with immediate news of unprecedented tragedy unfolding as the situation worsened. He worked to spread the word through social media platforms such as Facebook, targeting specific reporters and news outlets with information… but very little changed.
As El Fasher hung on the edge of meltdown, Douda’s world shrank. In a poignant moment, he reflected on his plight: “Then it’s better for us to stay here until the end.” His statement captured the complexity of his courage and the level of desperation many are experiencing in the area.
It was on October 26 that RSF forces besieged and even entered the city, taking El Fasher. This incredible military buildup was a tragic tipping point, extinguishing Douda’s voice in the process. His efforts to cover an increasingly terrible crisis were independently cut short. In the midst of this mounting humanitarian crisis, chaos took over Zamzam and neighboring camps. Hundreds of thousands more have been forced to flee to find safety. Douda is at the center of one of the world’s largest and most underreported humanitarian catastrophes.
Shayna Lewis, a long-time advocate for preventing and ending mass atrocities, mourned Douda’s death deeply. She noted how deep this cumulative loss is being felt by Sudanese civil society. She stated, “This is the loss of an entire generation of Sudanese activists and Sudanese youth, who not only led the revolution [of 2019] and lived the values of peace, justice and freedom.” Lewis emphasized Douda’s significance within this community: “I can’t overstate how much of a loss Mohamed’s death is for the wider community of civil society, for Sudan as a country, losing one of the true heroes of the war.”