‘I’m here baby, I’m here’: Husband reunited with pregnant wife in UK after fleeing Sudan

UK

Nagi held his wife Reem in a tight embrace for more than 40 seconds.

They were reunited at a hotel near Stansted Airport after he escaped violence in Sudan on one of the last evacuation flights out of the country.

Tears turned to chuckles when Nagi cradled Reem’s belly to talk to their unborn child.

“I’m here baby, I’m here,” he said.

Naji kisses his wife's belly
Image:
Nagi kisses his wife’s belly

The couple have been married for three years and had applied to the UK government for Nagi to move to live with Reem in Newcastle.

His passport and identity documents were with the British Embassy in Sudan when the war started.

“To be honest, I thought I’m doing my best but I don’t think this is going to work,” Reem told Sky News.

“They’ve been turning away people who are on work permits and who have biometric ID cards. So I thought they’re never going to accept my husband.”

Nagi and Reem embrace at a hotel near Stansted Airport
Image:
Nagi and Reem embrace at a hotel near Stansted Airport

Reem, a radiology registrar in Newcastle, turned to help from the British charity Goodwill Caravan.

“I received an email at 3am saying he could board the last plane,” she said.

“Nagi was, at the time, 10 hours from the airfield. By the time he got there the area was being bombed and I felt like I’d dragged him from safety right into war.”

Read more on Sudan:
Mayhem is unfolding on the docks of Port Sudan
Why evacuating civilians is different to diplomats

What’s happening in Sudan?

Nagi travelled 800km, spent $700 (£557) and went through six or seven checkpoints to arrive at Wadi Saeedna airfield near Khartoum.

“When I arrived at the airfield they put an X on my hand. That signals that a person can’t leave the country,” Nagi said.

The red stain was still on his hand as he told Sky News how his country descended into chaos.

There is a food shortage in the capital, he said.

There is also no electricity, confusion over fighters using fake uniforms, and dead bodies lying in the streets.

“There are witness reports of dogs ripping at corpses of people whose numbers may not have been included in the 500 reported to have died,” he said.

He added: “I would call it a ghost town.

“Nobody knows who is fighting who because there are reports that fighters swap uniforms.

“Businesses have closed, large populations are running away, and the worst thing is not knowing where we were running to and not knowing who we could run to.”

It comes as the last flight from Khartoum arrived at Stansted Airport this evening.

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