In Doro, a south Sudan refugee camp home to more than 50,000 people, a martial arts training programme is giving power and agency back to young people coping with the trauma of war

One stiflingly hot spring day, a 23-year-old Sudanese refugee, Esmail, sits down to tell me about his life in Doro camp, South Sudan. He’s a big name in Doro: Esmail is one of the founders of the martial arts programme, which is the bedrock of activities for more than 250 young residents of the camp. “I began the programme back home; a schoolmate and I wanted to learn how to defend ourselves when the fighting broke out,” he explains.

The call to self-defence is not hypothetical. Since April 15, 2023, when fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, Sudan has become engulfed in what could be described as ‘total war’, conducted with no regard to civilian welfare. Fighting has displaced 8.6 million people from their homes; thousands have been killed in ethnic violence and shelling; and rape as a weapon of war has become rife. As armed forces resort to looting humanitarian aid and foodstu s, Sudan has acquired another moniker: ‘the world’s largest hunger crisis’. The latest data indicates that famine is not a matter of if but when: in the worst case scenario, 40% of Sudan’s inhabitants could face famine this year.

Amid this death and destruction, Sudanese civilians flee to neighbouring countries. In a bitter twist of fate, they are often joined by those whom humanitarian actors term ‘returnees’ – refugees who sought refuge in Sudan, once a centre of trade in east Africa, who are now fleeing the fire for the frying pan.