Norwich ― More than 20,000 people killed in 17 months of brutal civil war; 26 million forced to flee their homes and now facing critical food shortages and a cholera outbreak.

The brutal civil war in Sudan has been called one of the world’s worst ongoing humanitarian crises, and in the United States, it’s been called “the forgotten war, overshadowed by high-profile conflicts in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon and Ukraine.

“It’s crazy that people don’t know about this,” said Zobaida Zakaria, 16, a junior at Norwich Free Academy and the school’s only Sudanese student.

Zobaida and her older sister, Sadeya Zakaria, 18, an NFA graduate and freshman at the University of Connecticut, hope to raise awareness of both the conflict in Sudan and the culture of the African nation.

The Zakaria family will lead a Sudanese awareness event, hosted by Global City Norwich, from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at Howard T. Brown Memorial Park on Norwich Harbor. The event will kick off with Zobaida speaking about the devastation of the civil war, the history of Sudan and its colorful culture.

Her speech will be followed by a dance performance and several table stations dedicated to Sudanese culture, clothing, products and food.

“We don’t have a food license, so we’ll offer sweets,” Zobaida said.

The event is free and open to the public. There will be a raffle with Sudanese products as prizes to raise money for the Sudanese American Physicians Association, a nonprofit that provides emergency aid to physicians and hospitals in Sudan.

The event rain date is Oct. 26.

Sudan rocked by brutal civil war

Violence erupted in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, in April 2023, when the armed faction Rapid Support Force, RSF, attacked Sudanese military forces. Violence spread quickly, cutting off major communications, devastating infrastructure and food supplies.

Associated Press reporter Fatma Khaled wrote in a news story on Oct. 7 that UNICEF reported at least 13 children ages 6 to 16 were killed in fighting a day earlier in Darfur and that the Sudanese army launched airstrikes the previous Friday that targeted a market in Al Kumar and the city of Mellit that killed at least 45 people and injured dozens more.

On Oct. 8, Khaled reported that cholera cases had risen by 40% in less than two weeks, alarming United Nations health officials.

Thousands of miles away, the devastation in Sudan has reached the Zakaria family.

“We just lost my brother,” said Amna Azrag, mother of Zobaida and Sadeya Zakaria.

Mohammad Azrag, 22, was serving in the Sudanese armed forces a year ago, when the rival RSF captured him. For a year, the family had no word of his fate. He was found in early October but was so sick, he soon died. Zobaida said she had spoken with him on the phone in the past.

Amna Azrag learned of another family tragedy. The RSF invaded her uncle and aunt’s home and demanded their two teenaged boys. When the parents refused, the armed group shot and killed the parents and took the teens, ages 16 and 18.

“We do not know what happened to them,” Zobaida said.

Azrag said she will bring a photo of her brother to Saturday’s awareness event.

Azrag, 40, is the second-oldest of eight children. Most family members are in Sudan. Her husband, Ezarig Zakaria, also has many family members in Sudan.

“They don’t have any (internet and phone) service to talk,” Azrag said.

Family left homeland to seek better, safer life abroad

The Zakaria family left Sudan in the early 2000s for Egypt amid another conflict that made their homeland unsafe. Zobaida was born in Egypt. The family moved to the United States in 2016, when Zobaida was 8. The family first moved to New London, where her oldest sister, Enna, graduated from New London High School.

Now 21, Enna is in her senior year at UConn majoring in biology and pharmacy. She is applying now for graduate schools to become a pharmacist, Zobaida said.

The family moved to Norwich in 2020. Sadeya started NFA’s first Muslim student club. She graduated from NFA in spring and is now a freshman studying psychology. Zobaida, now president of the NFA Muslim club, said she plans to go to Yale University to study college and study medical engineering or chemistry and become trauma surgeon or neurosurgeon.

Their 13-year-old younger brother is a student at Teachers’ Memorial Global Studies Middle School in Norwich.

Their mother, Azrag, speaks English and teaches at a nursery school in New London. Their father, who does not speak English, works in the housekeeping department at Mohegan Sun.

“Our family left Sudan for better opportunities,” Zobaida said. “There was a lot of conflict in Sudan, and they wanted to raise the family in a safe environment.”

“We love to live here,” Azrag said.

c.bessette@theday.com