On October 29, hundreds of armed militiamen in green uniforms attacked several villages and the Aro Sharow IDP camp near Jebel Moon, in West Darfur. At least 50 civilians were killed, including 26 children, most of whom were under the age of 10. According to survivor accounts obtained by UNMIS, the attackers told residents in one village "We have come to destroy you," and shouted "Come out, slaves!" One boy was heard pleading for his life, telling his attacker, "You have killed this other boy, so please let me go." The attacker responded, "If I let you go, you will grow up. I will not let you go." He then shot the boy. As many as 7,000 people in the area were displaced by the violence, many fleeing across the border into Chad.
The US State Department released its country reports on human rights practices on Tuesday, and the above paragraph is buried in the middle of the report on Sudan. I read it and tears started flowing down my cheeks
Read on...
I went looking for news on Darfur to post an update here because I heard yesterday that two African Union (AU) peacekeepers were abducted and killed by one of the rebel groups, and I found the above report. It’s 23 pages long and chronicles the fucked-up situation in Darfur and all across Sudan. One instance after another of rape, murder, abduction, enslavement, conscription, detention without trial, torture... the list goes on and on. But that one bit about that child pleading for his life, and the last words he’d ever hear were of a government-backed militia man telling he can’t allow him to grow up made my skin crawl.
Even if you just skim the report, you’ll get some background of this conflict that didn’t end when the civil war ended. Our government called this genocide 4 years ago and since that time hundreds of thousands of innocent people like that child mentioned above have been slaughtered, and millions more have been driven from their homes. They’re caught between government militias and soldiers who rape, murder and torture them, rebel groups who attack aid convoys and steal food and medicines meant for them, and rebel groups from Chad and Uganda who cross the boarders and attack them without mercy.
And if the men in uniform don’t get them, the landmines will.
SaveDarfur.org included an article from the China Post detailing some of the State Department’s report on the situation in Sudan, some of which follows...
"Genocide was the most sobering reality of all," the department said in the 2006 "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices," noting that mass killings continued to "ravage" Darfur nearly 60 years after the world vowed "Never again!" following the Holocaust.
Just days before senior U.S. diplomats expect to meet Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum, the State Department lashed out at the Sudanese government, blaming its military and proxy militia for the genocide in Darfur, the western Sudan region which more than 200,000 people have died and some 2.5 million have been displaced, according to some estimates.
snip...
Tuesday's blunt criticism, particularly of Khartoum, comes two days before U.S. special envoy for Sudan Andrew Natsios is to see Bashir and a week before Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights Barry Lowenkron plans to meet the Sudanese president.
Ahead of those talks, expected to focus in part on the deployment of a hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force to Darfur, the State Department also noted that Sudan has continued to give mixed signals about its acceptance of the mission.
Mixed signals... yeah right. Signals like using helicopters to bomb schools and destroy villages. I’d say that was a pretty damn clear signal but nobody in Natsio’s office is asking me.
But I can still get the message across to him by contacting his office.
Meanwhile, our efforts are paying off. The divestment campaign is making a dent in Sudan’s ability to sell it’s oil
Billions of dollars are believed to be involved in indirectly funding Khartoum's war effort, which the student "task force" hopes to staunch, although some critics fear the population could suffer more than the regime.
"Four years of diplomacy have not done the job everyone hoped," said Hamish Falconer, director of Sudan Divestment UK, which was founded in November.
"With 60 percent of Sudan's oil revenues going into military expenditure, as oil revenues increase, so does Khartoum's capacity to carry out its military campaign in Darfur," he said.
Some Sudanese economists put the percentage of oil revenue going to the army, security, and police force at well above 80 percent.
The group aims to strangle that flow of money by targeting foreign firms that support Sudan's oil-dominated industry as well as the savers and pension funds that finance them.
"Divestment aims specifically at removing flows that are facilitating the genocide," said Falconer.
This latest State Department report will be included in this resource list from now on. If you read nothing else, read this. It’s current information and it gives you history and the details of this genocide like little else can.
Reports
2006 US Department of State’s Report on the Human Rights Abuses in the Sudan. If you read nothing else – read this.
Physicians for Human Rights Report Jan 2006
Groups
Save Darfur Coalition
Human Rights Watch
Sudan Watch (Timeline & other info)
Genocide Intervention Network
Amnesty International
Students Taking Action Now - Darfur STAND - Divestment Campaign
Africa Action
DarfurAlert.org
Organizations Providing Aid In Darfur
UN World Food Program
UNICEF (Canada)
OXFAM International
Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders)
Genocide Intervention Network
Partners In Health
UNHCR UN High Commission for Refugees.
Videos -
Darfur Diaries
Sudan - The Quick & The Terrible (PBS Frontline)
Peace Under Fire (the UN)
Video Testimonials (Amnesty International)
Photos
Darfur Eyewitness
Pysicians for Human Rights Photos
A Promise Unkept (NYT Photos)
Darfur - A Challenge for Us All (Center for American Progress)
Other Info
Africa Action Talking Points
Sudan By the Numbers (Center for American Progress - Feb 2005)
Darfur Scores (find out how your CongressCritters are doing)
Campaign to Send in UN Peacekeepers (Darfur Scores effort)
Info with Google Images of Darfur (burned out countryside & all)
Get the Latest News
Save Darfur Coalition Newsroom
International Crisis Group A great conflict analysis group that has put out many conflict reports (30-50 pages each) on the war in Darfur, as well as many policy recommendations.
Online African Newspaper Sources from around the continent, in English and French
Strategic Analysis some of their Darfur stuff is decent
Reuters’ News Network for Humanitarian Orgs
United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks
Relief Web (looks like an amazing site)
CBC News In Depth - Crisis Zone, Darfur Sudan
BBC News Timeline
BBC News in Depth - Sudan, A Nation Divided
Contacts
Andrew Natsios - Special Envoy to Sudan -
Try Undersecretary for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns (202-647-2471) or the Special Assistant for African Affairs, Economic Affairs, Environment and Science Affairs, Democracy and Human Rights, Counterterrorism Affairs -- Kara McDonald (202-647-4315). Either one will put you through to Natsios's office.
White House Comments Line - 202-456-1111
Capitol Switchboard (they’ll connect you to your CongressCritters) - 202-224-3121 or 1-800-828-0498
Sudanese Embassy in DC -
<http://www.sudanembassy.org>
2210 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20008
Tel: (202) 338-8565
Fax: (202) 667-2406
info@sudanembassy.org <mailto:info@sudanembassy.org>.
Chinese Embassy in DC -
2201 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Suite 110,
Washington D.C. 20007
Tel : (202) 338-6688
Fax: (202) 588-9760
Email: 2008@beijing-olympic.org.cn
(Believe it or not - they’re playing a part in preventing action to stop this genocide)
I know this is a lot of information to digest but go to these sites, bookmark them and get informed. Then make a few calls, write an email or two and send a letter to the editor of your local paper(s).
I’ve posted this list of resources in the past and I’m going to keep doing it in the hopes that a handful of the good people here will read up on this genocide – and get involved. If even a few of you take up this cause and help publicize this genocide, and efforts to bring it to an end by posting diaries of your own, talking to friends & family, writing LTEs to your local newspapers, and calling and writing to our government officials to do all they can to stop this shit, then I’ll have done a good thing today.
UPDATE
I doubt anyone will see this now that the diary's fallen off the recent diary list, but I just got the following note from Human Rights First telling us that the Chinese have taken steps to push the Sudanese government on this issue...
We just returned from the Sudan on a fact-finding mission that reinforced our strong commitment to bringing long-term peace to the region.
Thanks to the generosity of supporters like you, our colleague Julia Fromholz was able to meet with local NGOs and other organizations and people focused on Darfur to gather information first-hand that will help Human Rights First's efforts to resolve the crisis.
While the crisis continues, some promising developments have taken place since we last contacted you. The International Criminal Court named the first suspects in connection to crimes against humanity in Darfur - a Sudanese government minister and a Janjaweed militia leader - last week. And this week, China dropped Sudan from its list of countries with preferred trade status.
These are certainly positive signs, but the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate. The killing of two African Union peacekeepers this week highlights the insecurity affecting the entire region.
On Monday the U.N. Special Envoy to Sudan noted a decrease in humanitarian operations and an increase in tribal fighting: "We are on the verge of a failure of the whole humanitarian operation," said Jan Eliasson.
We met with Mr. Eliasson yesterday to discuss the crisis facing humanitarian aid to the region and some next steps in the peace process. We fully support Mr. Eliasson's public call for immediate action: "We have now, therefore, to mobilize on all fronts and everybody has to act, both nationally, regionally and internationally. If we miss this opportunity, I'm extremely worried."
"Everybody" includes you. And everyone you know. Take THIS opportunity to help us build momentum! Ask your friends to stand up for the victims of Darfur by joining you in signing our petition.
Click here today to spread the word!
As we continue our work, we hope you will remain committed to being a voice for the victims of crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Sincerely,
Jill Savitt
Director of Public Programs
Human Rights First
P.S. We urge everyone to see "Beyond the Gates," a riveting film about the Rwandan Genocide that opens in select theaters across the country this weekend. The film's message is very pertinent to those of us concerned with the crisis in Darfur.