Cedar Rapids woman worries about husband in Sudan

CEDAR RAPIDS — Jacy Bunnell Ahmed’s husband was supposed to fly home from Sudan on Wednesday after attending his father’s funeral.

But those plans now are on hold after an apparent coup broke out Saturday and closed the Khartoum airport.

“I’m trying to stay busy and keep it as normal as possible for the kids — being honest but trying not to freak them out,” said Ahmed, of Cedar Rapids. “His family still has Wi-Fi so we can talk once a day. I worry we’ll lose contact.”

Ahmed’s husband, Mohamed, is staying with his parents in Omdurman, across the River Nile from Khartoum.

“It’s fairly quiet there,” she told The Gazette on Sunday night. “At this time, our embassy there is advising everyone to stay inside. There are not yet plans made to evacuate all U.S. citizens, but I’m hoping there will be soon.”

Ahmed said she’s filled out information on the U.S. Embassy’s website so officials can contact her husband if an evacuation becomes necessary.

Mohamed Ahmed, 38, immigrated to the United States 13 years ago and was a student at Kirkwood Community College when he and Jacy met. The two have been together 10 years and have three children.

Mohamed became a U.S. citizen in 2016. He and Jacy, a former teacher in the Cedar Rapids school district and a former adjunct professor at Kirkwood, now run a commercial cleaning business.

The trip to Sudan for his father’s funeral, she said, was the first time her husband has been back to see his family since he moved to the United States.