KHARTOUM, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Inside a small shop in southern Khartoum's Al-Inqaz neighborhood, Mohamed Omer Tahir carefully arranges bags of sugar, bottles of cooking oil, and boxes of tea and biscuits on nearly empty shelves, trying to rebuild what war took from him.
Tahir returned to Khartoum about seven months ago after nearly two years displaced in Port Sudan. His shop, Atanina, was looted during the war, leaving little more than its walls.
Before the war, the shop served more than 200 customers a day. Today, Tahir said, it gets only about 10.
"I no longer have the capital I started with before the war," he said. "Everything you see here was bought with help from relatives and through borrowing. I'm trying to start over, but this time the beginning is much harder."
Ismail Khidir, a customer, left the shop with only a few essentials. "People buy only the necessities now," Khidir said. "Many walk into shops without buying anything because they simply don't have enough money."
Tahir's and Khidir's struggles mirror those of thousands of returnees. According to the International Organization for Migration, about 4.44 million people had returned to Sudan by early June, with more than 2.1 million returning to Khartoum State alone.
Mechanic Ibrahim Abdullah now works in a modest garage set up in a damaged house's courtyard. Before the war, his garage employed several workers and serviced dozens of vehicles daily.
"These days I work almost entirely on my own ... The tools I need aren't available, and the price of new equipment has become extremely high," he said, adding that fewer vehicles have returned to Khartoum's streets, while many customers delay repairs because they cannot afford the cost.
Carpenter Asaad Hassan is also struggling. Most of his tools were lost or damaged, while timber has become scarcer and more expensive.
"Even when raw materials are available, customers can no longer afford to buy furniture the way they did before the war," he said, noting that most customers now request repairs or small jobs, as families focus on restoring homes and meeting basic needs.
"People can't afford to buy everything they need at once ... We've had to postpone many basic purchases," said Ahmed Omer, who visited Hassan's workshop to order a wooden table after losing his furniture during the war.
For economist Abdul-Khaliq Mahjoub, economic recovery in Sudan requires more than the return of residents.
"The war weakened small businesses, disrupted their means of production and reduced purchasing power, forcing thousands of returnees to start over from scratch," he said.
He noted that recovery efforts should include expanded financing programs for small businesses, as well as improvements to basic services to help revive markets and create jobs.
As evening falls, Tahir closes his shop after another day of modest sales, while thousands of other returnees continue trying to rebuild their livelihoods.
"I'm not thinking about making a profit right now," he said. "I'm just trying to keep the shop open so I can gradually increase my inventory."
