My site is really apolitical. I have my own beliefs, but they are my own and separate from my business insomuch as they can be. I consider it a good policy to keep these items mutually exclusive, but this cause is more than I can bear and I will make this exception.
In my lifetime there have been three major instances of genocide; Rwanda, Kosovo and Darfur. During each of these the governments of the world have stood by and watched until they were ultimately shamed into action by the demands of the citizens. What follows is a prepared script, for an accompanying PowerPoint presentation, from the Save Darfur Coalition.
http://www.savedarfur.org
Darfur has been called the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century. Not since the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of displacement, starvation, rape and mass slaughter. The ongoing devastation has killed an estimated 400,000 and displaced over 2.5 million Sudanese since February 2003.
Darfur is the century’s first genocide.
Crisis Statistics400,000 Dead, 2.5 Million Displaced, 10,000 Dying Every Month
The latest UN estimates say that between 10 and 15 thousand people are dying every month.
Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, but countless more can be saved.
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
“Every few months we are driven away from one refugee camp to the other, so far in the desert where nothing, nothing at all exists. This is no way for a human being to live. No way to live in such a shocking place – uncultivated, waterless, treeless and barren region...! Everything is burning, Lord, around me, around us ... in me, in us ... Everything is barren, hell, hell...!”
“…Yet, Lord, we believe you are there, beside us. We pray for all the Africans living now our same condition. Bring back peace and tranquility to our beloved country.
Peace which is desired by everybody, the old and young, rich and poor, women and men.”
Darfur, Sudan
Sudan is the largest country in Africa with a population of 39 million people. Like so many countries in Africa and the Middle East, it is an “artificial” country – its national borders are the result of British and Egyptian rule. Many diverse tribal and ethnic groups are located within the Sudanese borders, including more than thirty in Darfur alone.
The Darfur region, located in a drought-prone area of western Sudan, is roughly the size of Texas and had a pre-conflict population of approximately 6 million people.
Origins of the Conflict
Drought
Fertile land continues to decrease as desertification (growth of the Sahara Desert) becomes more of a problem. Tensions between nomadic Arab tribes and African farming communities began, in part, because of the scarcity of usable land.
North-South Civil War
“The most long-lasting and devastating war in the world.”
Jimmy Carter
The civil war between the North and South of Sudan lasted for 21 years. On January 9, 2005, both sides signed a peace deal that ended the long north-south conflict. Shortly after, Southern Rebel leader, John Garang, was named as Sudan’s Vice President. Unfortunately, Garang was killed in a helicopter crash on July 31, potentially destabilizing the peace process. The Darfur rebels took up arms when they did because of accommodations the Southern Sudanese received due to the resolution of their own armed rebellion. In addition, the United State’s insufficient determination towards Darfur and their prioritization of the North-South conflict allowed the Sudanese government to commit atrocities without international reprimand.
General Omar Al-Bashir and the National Islamic Front
Currently, Sudan’s ruling party is the National Islamic Front, an Islamist* dictatorship led by General Omar Al-Bashir. Bashir has proved to be one of the cruelest and most dangerous dictators in modern Africa, allowing Osama Bin Laden to live and operate in Sudan for five years in the early 90’s.
The policies of the regime against ethnic African villagers have had racial and ethnic overtones and involved struggles over resources. Though the tribes of Darfur are Muslim, they are not of the hardline movement favored by the National Islamic Front government. The Darfur Muslims do not follow the strict criminal code of Khartoum's Wahhabi-style sharia. For years Khartoum has treated the black, Sufi Muslims of Darfur as second-class citizens.
*Islamist is a term used to identify a Muslim fundamentalist. (PBS Frontline, HYPERLINK "http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/teach/alqaeda/glossary.html" www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/teach/alqaeda/glossary.html)
Marginalization of Darfur
Throughout Bashir’s reign the people of Darfur have been systematically refused representation, deprived of resources, and harassed by the government. This tension between the government and the people of Darfur eventually broke out into direct conflict in early 2003.
Current Situation
Discussing the current conditions in Darfur will include talking about:
The Janjaweed militias, government sponsored terror, the destruction of towns, food and water supplies, the fact that millions of innocent people are still threatened, at risk of starvation, rape and murder, and that countless children are in danger
Janjaweed: Devils on Horseback
As a response to the long-standing abuse from the government, rebels in Darfur rose in opposition to the government, attacking a government installation. President Al-Bashir responded by giving governmental support and money to Islamic militias, also known as the Janjaweed – or ‘Devils on Horseback’ in Arabic – to combat the rebels and civilians in Darfur instead of sending the military to intervene.
Government-Sponsored Terror
These militias have been accused of ethnic cleansing by systematically eliminating entire communities. Government air strikes frequently precede the militias’ vicious raids. Villages are razed; women, men, and children are raped, tortured, and murdered. The Janjaweed also target and destroy Darfurian food and water supplies, threatening the victims' hopes for their future survival.
Thousands of Towns Destroyed
This map is a year old – many more have been destroyed since.
Civilian Targets Bombed
“Helicopter gunships belonging to the government routinely support the Arab militias on the ground. The gunships fire anti-personnel rockets that contain flashettes, or small nails, each with stabilizing fins on the back so the point hits the target first. Each gunship contains four rocket pods, each rocket pod contains about 20 rockets and each rocket contains about 500 of these flashettes. Flashette wounds look like shotgun wounds. I saw one small child's back that looked as if it had been shredded by a cheese grater.” – Brian Steidle, AU advisor
Food and Water Supplies Ruined
The Janjaweed militias steal cattle, destroy wells, and pursue a scorched-earth policy, where crops and buildings are destroyed. (UNICEF and the New York Times, 2005).
Millions Still Threatened
Civilians who have survived village destruction have fled to camps lacking adequate food, shelter, sanitation, and health care in Darfur and across the border in neighboring Chad. Hundreds of thousands of Darfurians are at risk of starvation and disease.
Mass Starvation
But it is the civilians who are suffering, as the government continues to restrict international humanitarian access, which threatens mass starvation. The region of Darfur and Eastern Chad are also currently at risk of a locust invasion.
Rape and Murder of Civilians
“Every day, women are sent outside the IDP camps to seek firewood and water, despite the constant risk of rape at the hands of the Janjaweed. Should men be available to venture out of the camps, they risk castration and murder. So families decide that rape is the lesser evil. It is a crime that families even have to make such a choice. Often women are sexually assaulted within the supposed safety of the IDP camps. Nowhere is really safe.” – Brian Steidle, former AU advisor
Children at Risk
Children like this one are particularly at risk because they no longer are nursing. They need food, and are particularly likely to die of diarrhea, malaria and other ailments. 80% of the children under five years old are suffering from severe malnutrition. Seventy percent of the deaths in the camps are children under five.
Abduction of Children
Children, as well as young women, are abducted by Janjaweed, often with the complicity of Sudanese troops. Women are often forced into sexual slavery, and young boys are made to watch over stolen livestock. (Amnesty, Save the Children).
Impact on the Next Generation
Children are affected not only physically, but psychologically as well. This image is one of many graphic examples of how the conflict has impacted the children in Darfur.
“They know what they are doing…they are doing it with purpose.”
Ali, Refugee Teacher
Many of Darfur’s children witnessed conflict between rebel groups and the Janjaweed, as well as violence against their own families. This drawing depicts a rebel soldier first shot in the arm, then executed by gunshots to the groin. Ali, a teacher in a refugee camp, said the rebels are killed this way to emasculate them. “They [the Janjaweed] know what they are doing,” he said. “They are doing it with purpose.”
International Response
United Nations
Although the United Nations Security Council has passed two resolutions on Darfur, threatening sanctions against Sudan's government if it does not disarm and prosecute the militias and others responsible for abuses in Darfur, and sent high level UN officials to Sudan, it has stopped short of calling the crisis a genocide.
The image to the left depicts Kofi Annan speaking with survivors of the genocide on one of his recent trips to Darfur. To the right, Annan meets with Mustafa Osman Ismail, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Sudan.
The African Union
Currently, the only security on the ground is an undermanned African Union (AU) force that cannot protect civilians or aid workers. Currently, the AU lacks adequate numbers of personnel and has limited logistical capacity. Currently, the AU’s mandate is to monitor the failed ceasefire in Darfur, not to protect civilians. Therefore, to be effective, the AU will need a stronger civilian protection mandate, a major increase in the number of troops on the ground, and a much larger logistical and monetary contribution from the UN, the EU, and NATO.
NATONATO has offered logistical support to the African Union, but many are calling for NATO troops to bridge the gap between the current, insufficient AU force, and a larger, stronger all-African force which may be far off in the future.
Former US Secretary of State Madeline Albright said in an Op-Ed in the International Herald Tribune: “Drawing on its Response Force… NATO should put a brigade-sized element at the disposal of the United Nations to augment the AU force until it can build up sufficient strength of its own.”
The United StatesLast summer the Bush Administration declared Darfur to be a genocide. Since then, the United States has donated $1.7 billion for Darfur, and extra funds in the Emergency Appropriations Supplemental. Secretary Rice visited Sudan in late July.
Legislative: The Darfur Peace and Accountability Act is pending in both the House and the Senate, supported by strong bi-partisan coalitions. To be effective, however, the Act needs to maintain the Senate amendment (S. AMDT. 1290), which allocates $50 million to aid the AU.
Executive: Executive: through NATO logistical support and USAID humanitarian donations, the United States has led the international community in assisting Darfur. However, not nearly enough has been done to assure the protection of innocent civilians, and the US administration needs to press for a Chapter 7 mandate for the AU troops, so that they can actually protect innocent lives.
President Bush’s Inaugural
“America's influence is not unlimited, but fortunately for the oppressed, America's influence is considerable, and we will use it confidently in freedom's cause…All who live in tyranny and hopelessness can know: the United States will not ignore your oppression, or excuse your oppressors."
- George W. Bush, Inaugural Address, January 20, 2005
More Action is Needed
Despite some action on behalf of the world community, more action is needed. Five hundred people are still dying every day, and if nothing is done, two million people could perish. We need to act if we want this crisis to end.
Take Action
Call the White House and your Congresspersons regularly to let them know you care about Darfur
White House: (202) 456-1111
Congress: (202) 224-3121
Write a letter to your White House Liaison (right after you finish reading this presentation!)
Voice your concern to neighbors and friends about this tragedy
Offer donations to a humanitarian agency
We Must Act
Look beyond the headlines, understand that a genocide is occurring right now, look for how we can support a solution – and ways in which we may be contributing to the problem. These people need our help. As humans, we owe them our support and prayers. As Americans we owe them our courage and experience. We must do something to help those who suffer, and this time we can.
