Darfur atrocities demand action from the global community
Aditi Dubey
Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: Ed-Op
It's not that the Sudanese government is not aware of it. They know. And they've been aiding this gradual degradation all along. Calling the government of Sudan extremist and oppressive is quite an understatement. The nation has had the misfortune of being under leaders who have progressively led Sudan to the crisis it is in now.
They started out with a civil war in 1983 involving government forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, then came the introduction of Islamic law in the country, followed many years later by a decree barring the women from working in public places, and many other instances of forcing civilians to abandon their rights for the convenience of the government. The uprising of the rebels in Darfur was the final straw, and things haven't been the same ever since.
UN peace deals, about 26,000 deployed troops, almost 7,000 African Union soldiers and countless hours of global debate over the past four years have not been enough to resolve this crisis. The armed conflict began in early 2003. So far over two million people have fled their homes and an estimated 200,000 have died.
Recently, Israel accepted 498 Darfur refugees, who entered the country illegally to seek refuge. People want to help. There have been numerous international organizations who have donated money and manpower to help Darfur recover, but somehow, it's not working. Things haven't changed.
The Sudanese government has been rejecting offers to have a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur. Volunteers from international organizations such as Oxfam are being subjected to terror as they try to help. Recently, BBC news reported that one Oxfam staff member has been killed this year while working in Darfur. Some were raped, about a hundred have been held hostage and about an equal number of their vehicles have been hijacked during this same year.
Darfur has become a magnet that seems to be attracting social and criminal vices, and the sum of all evil if you will, to its poles. Reports from BBC news say last June, Janjaweed militias carried out mass rapes. Even now, the violence and sexual assaults continue to occur. Justice is difficult to bring about because the system has been set up such that women who have been raped need at least four witnesses to prove that it took place, and so they are having a hard time bringing their cases to court. There are frequent food shortages, both in the refugee camps and in the region, and the Janjaweed militants open fire on the people every now and then, on a whim.
They started out with a civil war in 1983 involving government forces and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, then came the introduction of Islamic law in the country, followed many years later by a decree barring the women from working in public places, and many other instances of forcing civilians to abandon their rights for the convenience of the government. The uprising of the rebels in Darfur was the final straw, and things haven't been the same ever since.
UN peace deals, about 26,000 deployed troops, almost 7,000 African Union soldiers and countless hours of global debate over the past four years have not been enough to resolve this crisis. The armed conflict began in early 2003. So far over two million people have fled their homes and an estimated 200,000 have died.
Recently, Israel accepted 498 Darfur refugees, who entered the country illegally to seek refuge. People want to help. There have been numerous international organizations who have donated money and manpower to help Darfur recover, but somehow, it's not working. Things haven't changed.
The Sudanese government has been rejecting offers to have a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur. Volunteers from international organizations such as Oxfam are being subjected to terror as they try to help. Recently, BBC news reported that one Oxfam staff member has been killed this year while working in Darfur. Some were raped, about a hundred have been held hostage and about an equal number of their vehicles have been hijacked during this same year.
Darfur has become a magnet that seems to be attracting social and criminal vices, and the sum of all evil if you will, to its poles. Reports from BBC news say last June, Janjaweed militias carried out mass rapes. Even now, the violence and sexual assaults continue to occur. Justice is difficult to bring about because the system has been set up such that women who have been raped need at least four witnesses to prove that it took place, and so they are having a hard time bringing their cases to court. There are frequent food shortages, both in the refugee camps and in the region, and the Janjaweed militants open fire on the people every now and then, on a whim.
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