arba'a wa nuus

Sitting in limbo on Cairo's margins, an hour from city centre, Arba'a Wa Nuus is a very poor area on the Northern outskirts of Cairo. The poorest and most marginalised refugees live here. The needs are very great indeed.

For the past few years refugees, mostly from Sudan, have made their way to Arba'a Wa Nuus because rental prices are lower than in the city. It is one of the few places where refugees have assembled in numbers large enough to make a visual difference. Most have little hope of leaving and still less to hope for if they stay. No one seems to know exactly how many people fleeing Sudan have ended up in Cairo.

Every Wednesday, Mary and I will drive out to Arba'a Wa Nuus to teach English to the teachers at the Sudanese refugee school. Today was my first time out; we interviewed each teacher to assess their level of understanding and usage in English.

One of the questions we asked, was for them to tell us about their family. The entire time I was sitting there, I was on the brink of tears. Each story riddled with pain, separation from family, from everything. There was no end to stories about the Janjaweed, who either destroyed, stole or killed everything in their lives.

Today I prayed, "Father, give me your heart for these people". His heart is overwhelming.

This is a very sad day for me.