Insight and opinion from The National’s editorial leadership
June 06, 2023
A year ago, Sudan’s capital city Khartoum, though not without its troubles, was a sanctuary of sorts for refugees fleeing neighbouring states, and a few from further afield. Sudanese NGOs in the city worked alongside the authorities and UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency, to look after about 300,000 asylum seekers – from South Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Chad, the Central African Republic and even Syria.
Since April, however, when it suddenly became a battleground for rival factions in the ruling elite, Khartoum has bred a whole new generation of refugees. UNHCR suspects the conflict could soon drive 800,000 of them – the majority Sudanese citizens – to neighbouring countries.
Absorbing them is a challenge few capitals in the region are equipped to handle. In Chad, where refugee camps have been overcrowded for the past 20 years, relief workers have documented Sudanese refugees sleeping under trees. And Ethiopia, South Sudan, the Central African Republic and Libya all have their own ongoing conflicts or economic crises (or both). By far the most stable option is Egypt, where tens of thousands of Sudanese who could afford to get there have already gone.
For most of the refugees who were hosted in Sudan before the latest round of violence began, however, there are no good options. The dangers that drove them to seek shelter in Sudan in the first place have hardly diminished, and the ones they face from being forced to return home prematurely must be taken seriously. Staying in Sudan, for many, means suffering the trauma of displacement all over again. More than half of the 300,000 refugees who were living in Khartoum before the conflict have had to leave the city.
Staying in Sudan, for many, means suffering the trauma of displacement all over again
Worst of all, the networks that had been built up in Sudan to support refugee populations are being quickly eroded. There are concerns that the degraded security situation could lead to more instances where refugees are exploited or otherwise harmed; the Sudanese government says it has ordered its border officers to be on the lookout for any increase in human trafficking.
The violence, moreover, has forced UNHCR to relocate its staff from Khartoum to Port Sudan, 850 kilometres away on the Red Sea coast. This makes the 150,000 refugees who remain in the capital particularly vulnerable.
“If the fighting continues,” a UNHCR spokesperson told The National on Sunday, “our ability to access some of these vulnerable people is greatly constrained.”
The conflict in Sudan has proved tricky to solve – negotiators from Europe, America, Africa and the Gulf have all tried vigorously to get the country’s warring factions to put down their weapons. And the longer it drags on, the more intractable it is likely to get.
But the international community cannot afford to wait for a political settlement in Khartoum before it starts putting in the resources required to start taking care of Sudan’s refugees. Parties to the violence must be reminded by interlocutors that among the highest priorities are securing safe routes for those fleeing violence and the protection of the relief workers looking after them. And countries that wish the best for Sudan and its neighbours must respond to the UN’s latest calls for greater funding with as much enthusiasm as possible.
If there is one lesson the region’s woeful state of affairs offers, it is that wars flare up and die down, but the refugee crises they create linger for generations.
Director: Jonathan Hensleigh
Stars: Liam Neeson, Amber Midthunder, Laurence Fishburne
2/5
Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Sam Curran, Keaton Jennings, Dawid Malan, Jamie Porter, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
