Sudan’s ignored victims cry for help
By Linda S. Heard, Online Journal
June 4, 2004 — Last week the Sudanese government signed a peace agreement with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, ostensibly putting an end to 21 years of civil war which, together with famine, robbed an estimated 2 million Sudanese of their lives and rendered some 4.5 million homeless.
As many as 500,000 hungry, sick and terrified individuals have sought refuge in eight neighbouring countries-including Chad, which has provided sanctuary to 130,000. Many of those who fled to the Congo found themselves embroiled in another conflict, while Sudanese refugees in Egypt are forbidden from working or benefiting from government hospitals or schools.
After two-years of peace talks sponsored by the US, Britain and Norway, culminating with the historic signing ceremony held in Kenya, it is surely time for celebrations. Perhaps now the refugees can begin trickling back to their towns and villages. Home at last! Sadly this is not the case. As the door hopefully closes on one Sudanese conflict another rages.
According to Human Rights Watch, as recently as May 25 the allegedly Khartoum supported Janjaweed militias “accompanied by government soldiers in three Land Cruisers armed with anti-aircraft artillery” attacked five villages in the Western Darfur region “killing 46 civilians and wounding at least nine others”. On that day the United Nations Security Council issued a statement outlining its “deep concern” over reports of rape, enforced displacement and attacks on civilians, in particular, those “with an ethnic dimension”.
Sudan researcher at Human Rights Watch Jemera Rone said on May 26: “Ending the war in the south is a huge step forward, but in the western part of the country the Sudanese government is taking a terrible step backward. . . .”
Deliberately Displaced
In a 750-page report, Human Rights Watch alleges that hundreds of thousands of farmers and other civilians have been deliberately displaced so that oil companies can extract and export crude oil via a pipeline to the Red Sea. “Foreign oil companies operating in Sudan have been in complicity in this displacement, and the death and destruction that have accompanied it,” accuses the document.
When it comes to Darfur, its 5 million inhabitants are set to suffer a humanitarian disaster of vast proportions, say relief agencies. The assistant administrator of the US Agency for International Development recently estimated 150,000 to 350,000 Sudanese are likely to starve to death before the year’s end as a result of Khartoum’s “policy of escalating violence and ethnic cleansing against the civilian population”. President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Jakob Kellenberger maintains the situation in Darfur is one of the most serious worldwide. The ICRC has recently pledged to double its budget for Sudan and plans to send medical personnel to the area, ensure the availability of potable water and provide temporary accommodation for as many as a half-million displaced persons.
The problem is, despite the enormous numbers of victims and refugees involved, the Darfur crises enjoys little international public recognition. While the world’s media obsesses over Iraq, the Middle East and the “War on Terror,” the horrendous situation in Darfur receives hardly a mention. After all there are no American soldiers there. As long as the crisis retains such a low-key profile, the region will continue suffering from donor fatigue. Individuals who know little, if anything, about the conflict will be disinclined to dig deep into their pockets, while states are being badgered to prioritise mega donations for Afghanistan and Iraq.
According to Carroll Bogert, associate director of Human Rights Watch, it isn’t only the media, which is failing in its duty to publicise the tragedy. He says: “Many governments have muted their calls to take action on Darfur, and are characterising the ethnic cleansing campaign as only a humanitarian problem-as though the world just needs to send more food and blankets. The Bush administration should face down those governments and insist that the Janjaweed militias be withdrawn, disbanded and brought to justice.”
Conversely, Peter Hawkins of Save the Children puts forward the argument: “Conflicts in Sudan are normally described in terms of race and religion. In reality, they are a product of the economic and political marginalisation of many parts of the country. Ninety-two per cent of Sudan’s population lives in poverty and the vast majority lack access to basic services like healthcare and education . . . the international community must follow-through on its commitment to provide the financial wherewithal to kick-start regional development within Sudan.”
Dramatic race
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland has described events in Darfur as “a scorched-earth campaign of ethnic cleansing”. He says it has become “the most dramatic race against the clock that we have anywhere in the world at the moment . . . if we lose, hundreds of thousands of women and children, mostly, will perish.”
Unless governments and the media take up the cause in a serious fashion is anyone going to notice let alone care? Why is it African crises, such as Rwanda and the Congo, teeter on the edge of the international radar screen until it’s too late? We’ve said our belated mea culpas for the millions who died during those conflicts, let’s hope we’ve learned our lesson. If racism, ignorance and apathy conspire once again, forcing us to cry crocodile tears over spilt blood, then our Western “civilisation” is nothing but a sad misnomer, which pays lip-service to the concept of “human rights,” while selfishly promoting only our own.
Linda S. Heard is a specialist writer on Middle East affairs. She welcomes feedback and can be contacted by email at [email protected].