Journalists in Sudan reporting on the war: "We write from the rubble as bullets fly overhead."

Since April 2023, fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has displaced more than 12 million people , paralyzed the Sudanese economy, and caused a devastating humanitarian crisis . In this context, some of the workers most exposed to violence and instability have continued their activities. Among them are dozens of Sudanese journalists who, despite bombings, displacement, and economic collapse, refuse to stop reporting.

For journalists, especially women, the collapse of essential infrastructure and growing insecurity have made their professional work almost impossible . However, many remain committed to their reporting duties and face adversity: from the lack of electricity and low wages to widespread gender-based violence .

“We have no electricity at home,” a journalist from El Geneina, in West Darfur, a town currently controlled by the RSF, tells EL PAÍS by phone. “I pay 1,000 Sudanese pounds (1.48 euros) to charge my cell phone and laptop at a shop that has a generator. The only way to access the internet is through Starlink , which is also paid by the hour. And even then, we can’t afford to stop,” explains the reporter, who asks not to give her name for security reasons.

For Sudanese journalists, the war has exacerbated an already precarious profession. Even before the fighting, many suffered harassment, low wages, and censorship. Now, many are displaced, unemployed, or forced to take on informal jobs to survive. Those who continue to report do so at great personal risk, often anonymously and under surveillance by both sides of the conflict.

Journalists working in conflict zones say RSF forces often stop and search women working for media outlets.

Female reporters working in conflict zones say that RSF forces often arrest and search women working for media outlets. “We can't use our real names. We send unsigned articles or to outlets that don't publish author credits,” explains the El Geneina reporter. Since the outbreak of the war on April 15, 2023, threats, attacks, and assaults against journalists have increased significantly, according to organizations such as Reporters Without Borders. In the past two years in the country, which ranks 156 out of 180 on the Press Freedom Index , at least seven journalists have been killed, one remains missing, and 17 journalists have been arrested, two of whom remain in prison, according to data from April 2025.

“We no longer write from an air-conditioned office,” says a correspondent in Nyala, South Darfur, who also asks to remain anonymous. “We do it from the rubble, from the streets, while bullets fly overhead.”

A project born from pain

Supporting them from the ruins, a local project was born, The Dream Project, a modest community T-shirt sales initiative driven by Sudanese journalists to help their fellow journalists survive and continue working in the midst of the conflict.

“In December 2024, we will start producing printed T-shirts in Addis Ababa, Nairobi, and Kampala, with slogans for peace and against violence,” says the initiative’s founder, Lubna Abdullah, a journalist who heads the Gender Desk of the Sudanese Journalists Syndicate and also leads the Sudanese Women Journalists Network, a collective of more than 100 media professionals.

Abdullah explains that she came up with the idea after receiving daily pleas for help. “My friends were asking for money to buy medicine, pay their electricity bills, or simply to connect to the internet,” says Abdullah, who lives in the besieged Nile State in northern Sudan and has to deal with power outages and the general terror caused by RSF bombing. “We had nothing to offer. So we came up with this: a project born out of pain.”

The initiative has no premises or official funding, but operates through a decentralized network of volunteers. “We started by hand-printing T-shirts,” Abdullah explains. “Simple peace slogans that we sold to our friends and allies. Our next step is to sell them in stores in Cairo and other cities.” “All the profits go directly to the journalists: one needs medication, another pays for internet access to submit a report,” he adds.

Since its inception, The Dream Project has raised more than 670 euros, a seemingly modest amount that has helped more than 30 journalists in states such as Khartoum, Darfur, Jazira, Kordofan, and Eastern Sudan. Its founder explains that the proceeds are used to support journalists who continue to report from war zones. One of them is the El Geneina reporter who, despite being widowed since 2021 and raising her three children alone, has continued to report anonymously through local platforms thanks to the financial and technical support of The Dream Project. “Now, I even help other fellow journalists in the region,” she says.

Most of us have lost our homes, our jobs, even our communities. Having someone who cares about us and supports us has given us a reason to keep going.

Mihad Mohamed, journalist

“This initiative saved me from having to resign. I regained my confidence and started writing again, even with limited resources,” says Mihad Mohamed, a journalist with more than 10 years of experience, who lost her job after her newspaper closed at the outbreak of war. Forced to flee Nyala to the nearby town of An-Nuhud, which is currently threatened by the RSF, she decided to stay and document the lives of women there.

The reporter believes the psychological impact of the initiative is as important as the material assistance it provides. “Most of us have lost our homes, our jobs, even our communities. Having someone care about us and support us has given us a reason to keep going.”

But the shortcomings are enormous. According to Abdullah, an estimated 80 female journalists remain trapped in conflict zones, while more than 300 across the country are in urgent need of assistance. Communication is a constant challenge: some have lost their phones, others can't afford a Starlink connection. "Sometimes we only receive the occasional voicemail," she says. "Other times it's just a plea for food or medicine."

This isn't just a support initiative. It's the remnants of our collective dream in a shattered country.

Lubna Abdullah, journalist

According to the journalists supported by The Dream Project, the T-shirts have become a fundraising tool, but also a message of resistance, especially in the absence of institutional or international support. In Al Jazeera State, in central Sudan, journalist Riham al Duqail says the initiative has provided her with much more than material support. “It has reminded us that we are not alone. That, in the midst of all this chaos, someone values ​​what we are doing.” For Al Duqail, the project has “limited reach, but is of immense value.” “Before, we had to travel long distances or climb onto rooftops just to get coverage,” says Riham. “No one helped us, not the government, not any organization.” She decided not to flee her town, even after it fell under military control. “Leaving would have meant silencing a vital voice among displaced communities.”

The project's founder says they're considering expanding the initiative and forming a cooperative that could help journalists generate income and regain their independence. "Sometimes, all a journalist needs is a platform and someone to say: We see you. You're important."