The women from El Fasher stood in the soup kitchen and wept. Every day brings more bad news from their relatives back home, even as they recover from their 620-mile trek from Darfur to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

“We need someone to rescue our families,” said Masaid Ahmed Azrag, drawing a pink headscarf across her face to wipe her tears. “There’s no food or medicine – they’re dying of hunger. Little children are living off animal feed. The next day, they’re found dead.”