This is the motherland, and you can always trust her-the documentary of China government’s evacuation of China citizens from Sudan.
Since the armed conflict broke out in Sudan in mid-April, China citizens and institutions have faced great security risks in Sudan, especially in Khartoum, the capital. The CPC Central Committee attached great importance to this, and the Supreme Leader General Secretary made important instructions on strengthening the safety protection of citizens and institutions in China. Led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the army, various departments, local people’s governments, Chinese-funded enterprises and embassies and consulates abroad coordinated closely to arrange buses, warships, oil tankers and planes to safely evacuate more than 1,500 compatriots from war-torn Sudan through five routes. At the same time, they helped evacuate 231 foreigners from eight countries, performed a realistic version of "Wan Li’s Return" in 15 days and nights, and practiced the lofty concept of people first and life first with actions.
At 10: 03 am on April 29th, the first temporary flight to evacuate China citizens from Sudan arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and 343 China citizens returned to the embrace of the motherland safely. Many compatriots quickly walked out of the cabin, walked off the covered bridge, and hugged their eagerly awaited relatives with open arms, tears streaming down their faces. The joy of reunion, the excitement of getting out of danger, the warmth of returning home, and the pride of being a Chinese are all condensed into one sentence "long live the motherland". More than 50 million netizens watched the live pictures online, and they all praised the strength and responsibility of the motherland. The national prestige and military prestige were highlighted, and they felt that "there is a kind of security for the motherland to take you home".
Take urgent action
Strengthen local protection and evacuation preparation
On April 15th, armed conflict broke out in many places in Khartoum, and gunshots rang out all over the city. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately launched an emergency mechanism for consular protection, and several departments set up special classes. The Consular Protection Center was on duty 24 hours a day, simultaneously guiding the embassy in Sudan to issue safety reminders and start to formulate evacuation plans.
At about 10 o’clock in the morning on the same day, under the guidance of the Consular Protection Center, the Embassy in Sudan urgently issued the first safety reminder, and it was known that citizens and institutions in China, Sudan, should be on high alert, avoid going out and guard against stray bullets. As the armed conflict quickly spread to many cities, the Embassy issued a security reminder again the next night, calling on citizens and institutions in China to pay close attention to the situation and strengthen security precautions.
The sudden tension has brought psychological shock to our compatriots in Sudan, and the anxiety and anxiety caused by gunfire from time to time has gradually spread. The emergency hotline (12308) for global consular protection and service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which entered the wartime state, began to receive the first call for help from citizens of China in Sudan. National rescue has gradually become the hope of people’s hearts.
Around the local protection and preparation for evacuation, national actions are in full swing. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy in Sudan worked in Beijing and Khartoum overnight to promote the protection of citizens and institutions in China, Sudan; Together with the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and the Ministry of Commerce, we will strengthen guidance to local central enterprises and state-owned enterprises, set up an internal joint defense team, build a joint defense protection network, formulate a plan to prevent rushing and communication interruption, and contact regularly every day to understand the security dynamics.
At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urgently convened an inter-ministerial joint meeting on the safety protection of China citizens and institutions abroad, and then held several special meetings to strengthen the judgment of the Sudanese situation and study and formulate local protection and evacuation plans; Start the "consular registration", collect the information of citizens in China, Sudan in real time, mobilize overseas Chinese delegations, chambers of commerce, student associations and local governments in China, and find out the number and distribution of citizens in China, Sudan through multiple channels; Deploy embassies and consulates in neighboring countries in Sudan, and start to study the feasibility of evacuating people from land via surrounding areas.
With the concerted efforts of all parties at home and abroad, while fully safeguarding the safety of personnel and institutions in Sudan, the "road map" for evacuation has gradually become clear. More than 1,500 people, mainly in Khartoum and scattered in 11 states, come from 27 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in China, including employees of enterprises, teachers of Confucius Institute, overseas students, as well as individual merchants, media personnel, and medical personnel assisting the Soviet Union. Under the situation that Sudan’s airspace is closed, they can be evacuated from Khartoum through Sudan’s own seaports and ports in Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea and South Sudan respectively.
Decisively start evacuation
Four-wire parallel connection and protection
April 21st coincides with Eid al-Fitr. After many days of exchange of fire in Khartoum, infrastructure was damaged to a great extent, communication and electricity were periodically interrupted, the international airport was seriously damaged and closed indefinitely, and the security anxiety and evacuation willingness of China citizens in Sudan were further enhanced. The parties to the conflict in Sudan declared a 72-hour ceasefire, which took effect at 6: 00 am on the 21st. For the first time, a valuable "security window period" appeared in the evacuation operation.
Domestically, the Consular Protection Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued an order to start the evacuation operation. Abroad, China’s embassy in Sudan and embassies and consulates in neighboring countries have taken action. A consular reminder with similar content appeared on the websites of embassies in Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea and other countries almost at the same time, reminding China citizens who plan to evacuate to the above countries to pay attention to travel safety, report their travel routes, and choose the routes that the working group will meet.
Egypt. The embassy in Egypt quickly sent a working group to inspect the Gostole port on the border between Egypt and the Soviet Union. The first batch of staff who arrived at the border port found that there were many people waiting to be evacuated from various countries, and the normal acceptance channel was blocked. So they collected the passports of 48 Chinese people to be evacuated one by one, moved with emotion and reason to the Egyptian customs chief, and won the Egyptian side to open a special channel and go through customs clearance procedures in a centralized manner. After 20 people encountered an accident that the number of visa stickers was insufficient and they had to wait for the next day, the working group once again won the Egyptian "Special Affairs Office" through negotiations, first sealing the customs and then issuing visas.
Ethiopia. Upon learning that 38 people will be evacuated from Khartoum to Ethiopia, the Embassy in Ethiopia sent a working group to the Mitima port, which is more than 800 kilometers away, to escort the evacuees all the way to Gondel, the nearest port with flights to the capital, and to assist in re-issuing documents, booking flights and arranging flights. The next morning, I drove back to the port for more than 4 hours to meet and assist the second and third batches of 58 people in customs clearance.
Eritrea. The working group of the embassy in Eritrea immediately set up a tent as a temporary camp on the border between Eritrea and Sudan after driving for 7 hours on the rugged mountain road to reach the border, so as to ensure that every compatriot entering Sudan can see the five-star red flag flying above the camp for the first time. With the strong coordination of the working group, the Ecuadorian Immigration Bureau opened a "green channel" for China citizens, and the customs clearance procedures that could not be completed all day were completed in only two hours.
South Sudan. The Embassy in South China has been working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant departments of the country continuously, pushing the South Sudanese side to complete the formalities of examining and approving the entry permit for citizens evacuated from within one day, and urgently handling travel documents for more than 40 China compatriots, thus providing guarantee and convenience for 135 citizens evacuated from Sudan to enter South Sudan safely and return to China at an early date.
The Consular Protection Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs arranges liaison officers to communicate closely with the working groups, stay awake, grasp the customs clearance trends, guide emergency response, release information in time, and coordinate the cooperation of the embassy in Sudan. Under the organized care of the state, more than 300 China citizens who went to Sudan’s neighboring countries by land successively passed through customs without any casualties.
Break through difficulties one after another
Open up the "life channel" of land and sea
Late at night on April 23rd, the working group of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Sudan was ordered to embark on a journey, and many China compatriots in Sudan stayed up all night. The news that China’s embassy in Sudan plans to organize the centralized evacuation of China citizens in Khartoum the next day has made everyone very excited and expecting. The Consular Protection Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs comprehensively judged the security situation and compared routes. After repeated "sand table deduction", the main route of evacuation from Sudan was selected. First, people were transferred from Khartoum to Port Sudan by land, then transferred from Port Sudan to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia by sea, and finally returned to the motherland by flight from Jeddah. This safe route, which was later proved by facts, is still full of bumps and dangers under the influence of the war situation and war.
The day before the withdrawal from Khartoum, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy in Sudan once again devoted themselves to ensuring the safety of the evacuation team. On the day of evacuation, gunfire could still be heard around the embassy in Sudan. At dawn, all the staff of the embassy have arrived at the evacuation assembly point to count personnel, check the list, maintain order and contact vehicles. Lao Zhang, who has just worked in the library for three months, is one of them. She is responsible for collecting and updating the information of China citizens in Sudan in real time. She has been on duty, recording and summarizing by the phone for several days. While greeting her compatriots to board the bus, she patiently persuaded her hesitant compatriots to evacuate as soon as possible on the phone. The heavy body armor and heavy helmet seem to be out of harmony with her slightly thin body, but they set off a bit of calmness, perseverance and erupting heroism.
With every effort, an evacuation convoy consisting of 6 buses and 7 cars with 306 people finally set off. Responsible for leading the team is Xiao Song, a young diplomat born in 1995 and in charge of consular protection for more than two years. From Khartoum to Port Sudan, it is necessary to cross the crossfire zone between the two sides of the conflict. No sooner had the motorcade left Khartoum than it was stopped by a checkpoint. The pickup trucks on both sides of the barricade carried a number of heavily armed local soldiers, armed with shiny submachine guns, and looked at the convoy warily. Xiao Song, who was on the first bus, made a quick decision, while knowing the captains of the following buses designated before departure, and calling on his compatriots to remain calm and not make a move, while calmly negotiating with each other — — "This is China’s evacuation team, and I am a diplomat from China who is responsible for organizing the evacuation. Only China citizens and their families were on the bus. Please let it go. " When several soldiers heard this, they muttered something, and took Song’s diplomatic passport to read it again and again, and finally agreed to release it.
Along the way, the evacuated motorcade went through six checkpoints, and was stopped again and again by soldiers with live ammunition. After reasonable and favorable negotiations, Xiao Song won understanding, respect and passed safely again and again. On the evacuation road, which is about 940 kilometers long and takes 14 hours by car, the whole team walked a few hours longer, but no compatriot left behind.
Transit port Sudan. The China People’s Liberation Army dispatched the guided missile destroyer Nanning and the comprehensive supply ship Weishan Lake to carry out the evacuation mission at full speed. China’s Ministry of Transport temporarily requisitioned the commercial tanker "Shandong Weihe" to assist in evacuation, and is also heading for Sudan Port. Under the guidance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the location of the Sudan Port project of China Harbor Company was busy early, and the staff were busy vacating the camp, preparing meals and taking stock of living materials, in order to prepare for the temporary resettlement of nearly 700 compatriots evacuated from Khartoum and assembled here from other cities, and to do a good job in ensuring the arrival and departure of personnel and ships.
At this time, in Port Sudan, expatriates from various countries gathered. Outside the exit window, the queue is as long as the eye can see. For more than six hours, only more than 50 people completed the exit registration. According to this calculation, the evacuation involving hundreds of people will be delayed for a few days. The evacuation speed is directly related to safety. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy in Sudan took prompt action against the blocking point, working up to the high level of the Sudanese government and down to the specific grass-roots officials, and finally securing the appointment of specialized personnel from the port, rushing to the temporary resettlement site, and completing the exit formalities for the citizens to be evacuated from China in the shortest time.
After a long journey, registration and a night’s rest, the first batch of 678 evacuees boarded Nanning Ship and Weishan Lake Ship on April 26th, and sailed for the second transit point — — Port of Jeddah. According to the arrangements made in advance by the Consular Protection Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the working group of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the working group of the Embassy in Saudi Arabia and the working group of the Consulate General in Jeddah were already waiting here when they arrived. The working group expressed condolences to the compatriots and quickly assisted in completing the entry procedures and transshipment and resettlement. The civil aviation take-back charter coordinated by the Civil Aviation Administration will fly to Jeddah within a few hours, and many local governments are ready to assist in the take-back work in China.
By the evening of April 26th, more than 1,100 China compatriots had been safely evacuated from Sudan, including Hong Kong SAR residents. Wu Xi, director of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in an interview that diplomacy for the people is the fundamental purpose of China’s diplomacy. The Consular Protection Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been fighting for more than 10 days and nights to coordinate and organize emergency evacuation operations. The comrades of the embassy in Sudan risked their lives to organize carefully and get through the "life channel". The people’s liberation army moved at the news and rushed to help. With the concerted efforts of various departments and localities in Qi Xin, Chinese-funded enterprises, overseas Chinese delegations and students’ associations, a realistic version of "Wan Li’s Return" was staged.
Maintain a wartime state
Resolutely safeguard people’s safety
Battlefield evacuation is like a battle, with close combat at the front and strategic planning at the rear.
The Consular Protection Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, located on the edge of the Second Ring Road in Beijing, was full of people and the phone kept ringing during the whole evacuation operation. "The Embassy in Sudan reported that Khartoum was cut off from water and electricity, and a few compatriots’ living materials were in urgent need", "Another Chinese-funded enterprise reported that the window glass of its office building was shattered", "There are more than 90 people waiting to be evacuated in Western Kordofan state in southern Sudan", "The first batch of 38 China citizens have boarded the bus and are about to leave for Ethiopia", "The naval warship is still four hours away from Port Sudan" and "Several hotels have been contacted in Jeddah. A certain number of rooms can be vacated for emergency resettlement of citizens evacuated from China. ""The leader of the working group sent to the front has just met with the Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister, and Saudi Arabia is willing to provide the greatest support. ""The first batch of 61 citizens evacuated from China was carried from Sudan Port ‘ Shandong Weihe ’ The oil tanker will dock at Jeddah Port in five minutes "… … Massive information from all directions at home and abroad is gathered here, and after analysis and processing, clear instructions are sent from here to home and abroad.
According to the needs of evacuation and the nature of the task, the Consular Protection Center has set up several working groups to coordinate ministries, contact localities, dock with the military, communicate with embassies and consulates abroad, deal with overseas nationals’ requests for help, track the situation and release information to the outside world. They are relatively independent and closely cooperate with each other, and everything is tense and orderly.
On the first day of the conflict in Khartoum, the Consular Protection Center encountered a thorny problem: the residence of two Confucius Institute teachers was located in the core of the crossfire and was trapped and could not be evacuated. The Consular Protection Center, together with the Ministry of Education and the Embassy in Sudan, urgently studies the rescue plan. While arranging special personnel to keep in touch 24 hours a day, they can keep abreast of the situation and guide them to stay calm and avoid danger. At the same time, they continue to do relevant work in Sudan, prompting the other party to arrange small troops to carry out rescue, and at the same time coordinate overseas Chinese to meet and temporarily resettle in safe places nearby. After nearly 30 hours of joint rescue, two teachers finally got out of danger safely.
On April 17, the Consular Protection Center received a report that an expert of the Chinese company was slightly injured on the way down to avoid danger, and a stray bullet penetrated the wall, resulting in a large number of fragments, causing the expert to have a scratch on his forehead and a foreign body embedded in his left leg. If the wound is not treated in time, it may cause serious consequences. The front and back sides cooperated urgently. During the fierce exchange of fire between the two sides of the conflict in Sudan, they quickly arranged hotel personnel to disinfect and bandage them, coordinated the video diagnosis and guidance of the medical team assisting the Soviet Union, and contacted the local overseas Chinese clinic for home treatment, which finally saved the day.
On the way from Khartoum to Port Sudan, the evacuation team saw devastation and checkpoints, facing potential and unknown dangers. Every comrade in the consular protection center is worried about this every hour and every minute. There is a 6-hour time difference between China and Sudan. When more than 300 China citizens arrived in Port Sudan in the early hours of local time, it was already early in the morning. Only when our compatriots arrived safely can we relax. All the comrades in the Consular Protection Center stayed up all night. Some comrades’ mothers were seriously ill, and some comrades’ wives just had major surgery, but they still stuck to their posts.
For some China citizens in Sudan, there are many concerns about evacuation. The staff of the Consular Protection Center and the Embassy in Sudan insisted on "no one can be left behind", holding the information form of overseas Chinese registration, making phone calls one by one, earnestly persuading again and again, analyzing the situation and knowing the interests. The head of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also called the foreign affairs departments of several provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities to coordinate local governments to assist in their work from the perspective of their hometown and family. Eventually, everything comes to him who waits, and the vast majority of China citizens in Sudan decided to evacuate.
In Khartoum, when the first group of compatriots boarded the bus one after another and were ready to leave, several "uninvited guests" suddenly came in front of the embassy in Sudan. A Brazilian with a family of six turned to the staff for help, hoping to evacuate together. A phone call was made to the Consular Protection Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs again, and it was quickly answered: "I can help you as much as possible, not only to help you evacuate, but also to make arrangements as much as possible." In this way, they boarded the bus in Khartoum, boarded the warship in Port Sudan, and disembarked in Jeddah, full of praise for the Chinese care.
Guarding Wan Li’s way home
Play the chapter of unity and cooperation
"Thank the motherland" is the most common and simple voice of our compatriots in the evacuation operation. In Khartoum, compatriots who boarded the bus and evacuated one after another gave thumbs up to the staff of our embassy. In Port Sudan, the commander’s voice of "starting to board the ship" did not fall, and the crowd cheered "Thanks to the CPC Central Committee" and "long live the motherland". In Jeddah, the evacuees of many Chinese-funded enterprises excitedly put up banners "Thanks to the Great Motherland". In Port Sudan, hundreds of compatriots sang the national anthem in unison and echoed for a long time. It was a heartfelt hymn and a tribute to the motherland.
When the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its gratitude for helping Brazilian expatriates, when more than 200 Pakistani evacuees disembarked with the flags of Pakistan and China, and when foreigners embraced the working group, we felt the recognition of foreign friends’ friendly support and dedication to China. Looking at the peace of mind and happiness in the eyes of expatriates and listening to the pride and praise of compatriots for the great motherland, many staff members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and embassies and consulates abroad sincerely said that the fatigue caused by fighting for more than 10 days has vanished, and all efforts are worthwhile for compatriots to go home safely.
What is the most solid support in a crisis? "We will definitely take everyone home", "There is one (to the border), and we will pick one after another" and "Don’t give up any of our compatriots" … … In the words of diplomat hit the floor, I believe the answer can be found — — This is the motherland, you can always trust her!