Photo credit: BBC
Could you believe there’s a place in Sudan where it’s almost possible to forget that a devastating war is going on?
Welcome to Jebel Marra mountains, where wrapped in bright colours and wearing in plastic sandals, women set off each morning on donkeys with children in tow to tend the fields.
The BBC reports that the climate is Mediterranean-like and the soil is fertile. Peanuts, oranges, apples and strawberries are grown in a country facing one of the world’s worst hunger crises. Jebel Marra’s organic oranges used to be particularly prized across the country for their juiciness. But that was before the conflict.
The mountainous area is dotted with green peaks, especially now as it is the rainy season. meanwhile, the rest of the country teeters on the edge of disaster.
The war has crippled agriculture and almost 25 million people are facing severe food shortages, including more than 600,000 who are experiencing famine, according to the UN.
In Jebel Marra, growing food is not a problem, it is getting the product out. The insecurity and poor state of the roads make transportation almost impossible.
Jebel Narra is the last remaining territory controlled by the Sudan Liberation Army – Abdulwahid (SLA -AW) This armed group has remained neutral in the current war. It has never signed a peace accord deal with the authorities in Khartoum going back to 2003 and the conflict over Darfur at that time. It has controlled what locals describe as “liberated areas” for more than two decades.
Since it is surrounded by war on all sides, the region is increasingly isolated.
