Mr. Ahmed was an official of the Engineers' Union, and because of this the Sudanese government sent men to his home one day and took him to a prison camp. He was tormented and tortured in an effort to get information from him about a forthcoming revolution. Naturally there was no information to be gained as no-one within the Unions had planned a coup, or if they had, Mr. Ahmed knew nothing about it.
He was tortured both physically and mentally. In a General Studies lesson he explained to our group about "The Well". "The Well" was what the soldiers talked about. They said it was seventeen feet deep and full of water. They said to him that if he did not tell them about the revolt that they were falsely expecting, they would push him into the well so that his body would never be found. Mr. Ahmed refused to say anything, so the soldiers pushed him. He found himself falling forward, however not into a well, but instead into the bottomless expanse of a small dip in the flat ground. Mr. Ahmed actually knew where he was now, and he knew there was no well there. When the soldiers asked him questions, he refused to answer, but he did say that if they told him a statement about the mythical revolution, he would state if it was true or false.
He spoke also on the Ghost Houses where he had been kept. They were crowded with people such as himself. Whilst in the Ghost Houses, both Mr. Ahmed and the other captives were blindfolded and fed a dangerously small diet. Whilst in the Ghost Houses Mr. Ahmed was whipped, and had red lines where he had been slashed repeatedly.
During the time he was in captivity Mr. Ahmed was continually fearing for the safety of his family. His niece was forced to drink litres of water as a punishment.
Mr. Ahmed was also sent to a prison for a period of four months. This was a relief to him as the prison service has rules, and prisoners have rights, unlike in the Ghost Houses. He was also able to contact his family for the first time in a long while. After serving his time in the prison Mr. Ahmed was taken to another Ghost House. This was the fourth different location where he had been detained.
In the end Mr. Ahmed was freed from captivity, on the condition that he did not leave Sudan. His family tried to smuggle him to Egypt, but failed. In the end, Mr. Ahmed got out of Sudan because he was in need of a medical operation. He was flown to Sweden, where he had the operation. Then against the wishes of the Sudanese government he came to Britain where he told all to the British Government and refugee groups like Amnesty International.
Mr. Ahmed is currently living in Britain with his family. He would like to return to Sudan, as Sudanese people do not like living abroad from Sudan, but he is afraid for his life if he returns. Mr. Ahmed is a refugee, and has been granted this status by the Home Office, He is lucky. Thousands of applications for asylum are turned down. Mr. Ahmed managed to get granted the official status.
Are there refugees in your community? Do you know any of their stories? If you do, and the people involved don't mind you telling other people, we would like to share the stories you know. You can mail us at cherwell@rmplc.co.uk