A South African family faced a harrowing evacuation from Sudan but were told to leave their dogs behind; that wasn’t going to happen so South African animal lovers rallied to support them to safety – They even managed to save a few other animals too!
Cairo, Egypt (03 May 2023) – South Africans have been fixed to their devices, waiting for updates about the two Scottish Terriers and their dad Adam, who have been trapped in Sudan since the evacuations started. Thankfully, due to the efforts of some incredible animal lovers, they have all been safely evacuated to Cairo.
On the 22nd of April 2023, the United States Government issued a Level 4 Travel Advisory related to Sudan. The embassy in Khartoum suspended its operations and started the process of evacuating staff and family. The advisory issued a warning that armed conflict, civil unrest, crime, terrorism, and kidnapping were expected to take place throughout the country.
With the USA evacuating and urging private US citizens to do the same, many other organisations and businesses with foreign nationals started the process too.
By the 29th of April 2023, most foreign nationals had plans underway to leave the country. A South African couple, Adam and Isle Young, were among the evacuations efforts, along with their two Scottish Terriers, Nayla and Isla. Upon arrival at the airport, the couple was advised that only human evacuation was being made a priority and that the two dogs would have to stay behind.
Amanda-Leigh Robinson shared the urgent plea on Facebook in the hopes that someone could assist the family with their dogs. This is where the animal lovers started rallying!
According to Amanda-Leigh, the dogs had been placed in crates where they were left unattended. While the evacuation was urgent, the dogs thankfully had all their proper papers in place. The next day, we learned that the owner, Adam, had stayed behind with the dogs, refusing to leave them at the airport unattended.
They managed to get to safety in Aswan and the plans started to find an evacuation flight that would accept the animals, or travel via road to Cairo. Amanda-Leigh started rallying people to help cover the cost of the now private evacuation. She reached out to Gift of the Givers and as many other organisations as she could find to help make the process smoother.
In the efforts of continued sharing of the story, a representative from South Africa’s Department of Agriculture issued a special dispensation to assist with the red tape that will crop up in this case.
By the 1st of May, the ball really started rolling. Adam, Nyala and Isla were booked onto a tour shuttle and driven from Aswan to Cairo. The best part is, in all the absolute fear and chaos, they opened their own doors to help others in need too! Adam welcomed a few extra furry friends to join his and the pups’ private evacuation to Cairo.
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“Adam and the pups will be traveling in style and comfort
Another development within the last 24 hrs has seen us add 6 very special passengers to the trip. Again, a big thank you to Three Pyramids Travel for allowing them to join Adam and the pups to Cairo, at a very reduced rate.
Dr Selma, a vet from Khartoum, managed to find her way to Aswan with 5 cats, one belonging to her, and 4 belonging to American Embassy staff.” – Amanda-Leigh Robinson
With the incredible driver rested, they set off on the long journey to safety. As of a few hours ago, Amanda-Leigh confirmed that they had arrived safely in Cairo. This news came as an absolute spirit-lifter for every person following along. Adam, Nyala and Isla are safe for the time being, now they just need to get home to the rest of the family in South Africa.
This is a developing story but for now, our hearts are so full that the doggies and Adam are safely out of Sudan. We are sure Amanda-Leigh will continue to update followers so be sure to check those out here.
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