Carl White, at his Te Kūiti home, holds a photo of daughter Bridget, alongside her husband and daughter. Photo Sigrid Christiansen
Te Kūiti-born Bridget White and her family are sheltering at an undisclosed location in Africa after being evacuated from war-torn Khartoum, Sudan’s capital.
“They’ve had a horrendous journey,” Bridget’s father, former Carrfields auctioneer Carl White told King Country News.
“There was a bit of gunfire and so forth.”
Carl and his wife Diana stayed awake most of Sunday night because they knew “something was happening.”
That something was the family being transferred out of Khartoum to the new location, which cannot be revealed for security reasons.
“She [Bridget] had warned us she would go dark on social media when it happened. That’s how we knew they were being transferred,” Diana said.
Brigdet and her three-year-old daughter, Margaux, were bussed to an airport “way out of Khartoum,” because the main city airport could not be used due to the fighting.
“At 4:00 this morning [Monday] we found out that they were out of Sudan. She’s in a safe place now. She is well,” Carl said.
The family lives in Khartoum because of Bridget’s husband’s work in the French military.
Last week, they were evacuated from their apartment with bulletproof vehicles, into Khartoum’s French embassy, where they had sheltered until Monday morning, New Zealand time.
At the embassy, Bridget texted her parents to say that Margaux had made herself comfortable – sleeping on a bed of shredded confidential paperwork.
“The French embassy staff are destroying their records before they leave,” Diana said.
Carl said he was in contact with Bridget by text, but communication “could be difficult.”
“Obviously we are very, very concerned.
“Kia kaha – they’re showing strength.”
Bridget’s husband travelled later in the day and is believed to have arrived safely in the new location.
Bridget grew up in Te Kūiti and attended St Joseph’s Catholic School, her parents said. She later travelled around the world, working as a chef on cruise ships. She met her husband on the French Riviera.
Now they had reached safety in Africa, the family could expect to be evacuated to France in the coming days.
The fighting in Sudan comes after a military coup four years ago overthrew an unpopular dictator.
Sudan’s citizens had hoped to transition towards democracy, but a series of further military coups then overthrew the country’s civilian leadership.
The current fighting is between two generals controlling different parts of the army – one Sudan’s official army, the other a paramilitary force.
Diana White described conditions in Khartoum as “horrific”.
“Because there’s no water, no food, and you can’t step outside. People say, ‘I’d rather starve to death than be shot.
“Not all the hospitals are closed but they are turning people away.”
Much of the violence was not even due to members of the army, rather, it was by opportunists and looters, she said.
“People are out there shooting for no reason. They are not [necessarily] militia people.”
The conflict is unpopular with the Sudanese people, who do not believe either of the warring generals would deliver democratic leadership.
At the time of writing, Al-Jazeera had reported that at least 270 people had been killed in the city, with around 2000 injured.
Khartoum is one of Africa’s largest cities, home to over five million people.
