Gaza-based granddaughter of former Sudanese sultan longs for home

The granddaughter of former Sudanese Sultan Ali Dinar has called for the Sudanese government to help all Sudanese families living in Gaza to return home, RT reported on Monday.

With the living conditions in Gaza deteriorating due to Israel’s strict siege and repeated military offensives, Fatema Dinar along with the other Sudanese who live in Gaza as refugees are seeking ways to obtain a Sudanese passport so that they can return to their homeland.

Dinar said that her grandfather travelled to Palestine about 100 years ago. His descendants have been living in the Jabalia and Al-Shati refugee camps, as well as Deir Al-Balah.

They do not hold any official identity documents, only a refugee card issued by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) since 1949. This status is passed on from generation to generation.

“The crisis of the Dinar family has been largely hidden from the media,” explained Fatema Dinar. She noted that refugee status does not help them to move or travel freely or return to their homeland.

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She called on the Sudanese government to take the situation of her family seriously, unlike the government of ousted President Omar Al-Bashir.

Sultan Ali Dinar ruled Darfur between 1898 and 1916. He was known as a just ruler and supported the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. He was killed in a fierce battle against the British occupation, say Sudanese historians and researchers.