Darfur not the issue

Andrew S. Natsios, former U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, spoke of the looming civil war in Sudan along with the impending failure of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the nation’s second civil war. After the loss of the two major players involved with this peace agreement, Natsios stressed the serious weakening of all that the agreement signified.

Natsios said that the American population must focus on Sudan as a whole rather then simply focusing on the province of Darfur. He said that the problems in Darfur cannot be solved until the nation is politically and militarily united as a whole.

Natsios further talked of the divided nation not in terms of north versus south, but rather of the Nile River Arabs versus the rest of the country. According to the “Black Book”, which contains a study of the elites who have run the country of Sudan, 70 percent of those in power have been Nile River Arabs even though they make up only 4.5 percent of the overall population of Sudan. Natsios explained that the Nile River Arabs are afraid of losing the massive of amount of control they posses, fearing that their four tribes will be massacred along with the collapse of the Sunni state.

Natsios said the United States is not going to be able to fix Sudan, saying it does not have the influence, leverage, or power that is needed. Natsios also said that the situation in Sudan is much more complex than those of Iraq and Afghanistan. According to Natsios, in order to reach peace in Sudan, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement must be put back on track, the nation must reach a political agreement on the distribution of their oil, and the country must find a way to equally split and share power across the different tribes.

Ambassador says human trafficking is modern day slavery

At a Congressional Human Rights Caucus Briefing today, Ambassador Mark Lagon, director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. State Department, discussed human trafficking from conflict zones in sub-Saharan Africa. UNICEF estimates that conscription of child soldiers affects more than 300,000 children under the age of 18 in more than 30 armed conflicts worldwide.

In December 2007, the United Nations noted that evidence suggests refugee and internally displace person (IDP) camps are often prime recruiting grounds for child soldiers because of the concentration of vulnerable children. Lagon said that human trafficking is modern day slavery. Child soldiers undergo severe physical and psychological trauma, sexual abuse and are high risks of receiving sexually transmitted diseases and rehabilitation is incredibly difficult.

Lagon stressed the need for widespread education about trafficking, what it is and what it entails, which will decrease it from happening in large part. The United States has a “zero tolerance for trafficking” and the abetting of sexual prostitution, said Lagon. Congress has strengthened anti-trafficking legislation and contributed more than $74 million in funding last year for efforts to end slavery abroad. The money has been used for rehabilitation for victims, special housing shelters, law enforcement training, information and awareness campaigns and combating sex tourism.

Lagon said that the United States is asking governments to immediately take action to increase rescues of trafficking victims and prosecutions of traffickers, people freed from slavery must be treated as victims of crime and the demand for modern-day slaves must be stopped.

Senate sees little progress in Darfur

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing this morning to discuss “The Continuing Crisis in Darfur.” A long line awaited entrance to the hearing half an hour before it commenced, which Chairman Joe Biden (D-DE) cited as a testament to the resonance this issue has with the public. Biden, along with many other senators, said he believed the situation in Darfur is little improved since last year’s April hearing about a “Plan B” to stop the slow-motion genocide.


Jane Holl Lute, officer in charge of the United Nation’s Department of Field Support, cited in her briefing the proliferation of militia groups such as the Jingaweit who are motivated either ideologically or by the widespread lawlessness, as well as the food crisis as main contributors to the problem. She said she expected 80% of the U.N.’s ultimate troop deployment goal to be reached by the end of 2008.

A recurring theme at the hearing was the failure of the international community to contribute the 24 helicopters deemed necessary in Darfur. Biden said that he told President Bush to manufacture 8 new ones domestically if they could not be acquired elsewhere, and said that with a military budget of half a trillion dollars the U.S. should be able to get them. Lute said that there are 4,000 helicopters currently in NATO countries, and the fact that 24 have not been spared for Darfur shows that the genocide is not a high priority for most countries. Richard Williamson of the president’s special envoy to Sudan contrarily said he did not believe the helicopters were within the top three or four concerns, but that deploying troops to get “more boots on the ground” would be a greater help. He also said that President Bush feels “deeply” about the genocide.

Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) said he believes that the U.S.’s lack of greater involvement in Darfur is due to overextension and “waste” in Iraq.

Biden asked if Darfur’s Muslim government is related to U.S. reluctance to intervene more, for fear that it will be perceived as yet again imposing its view on another Muslim culture. Lute replied that this has not been expressed as a significant concern.

Katherine Almquist, assistant administrator for Africa at the U.S. Agency for International Development, said that a military no-fly zone, seen as a possible solution by some, would be seen as a hostile act by the Sudanese government and could interfere with the delivery of humanitarian aid to Darfur.

Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) mentioned the recent Chinese arms shipment to Zimbabwe and the Sudan, and questioned whether or not the U.S. should pressure China to stop as these weapons will likely be used for repression of civilians and violations of human rights. Williamson said he “continues to be disappointed in China” for these reasons. Sen. Robert Menendez suggested that the U.S. might be allowing China to “get away with” so much because they own so much of its debt, and speculated as to what would happen if the Darfur genocide were occurring in Europe or some other part of the world not in Africa.

News from the United Nations 2.4.08

Today Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was in Bucharest, Romania.  The SG met with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and discussed tomorrow's meeting on Afghanistan.  In a written statement, the Secretary-General indicated that the two "discussed various issues of mutual interest and concern, starting with the situation in Afghanistan, and Kosovo, the Millennium Development Goals, regional offices and fighting against crime. I am also grateful for the kind gesture to allow shelter to refugees."

Later this week Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes will travel to the middle east to discuss partnership and collaboration between the United Nations, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.  Mr. Holmes will meet with top-level government officials, and Red Cross affiliates.  On April 8th he will deliver the key-note address at the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference.

Today the United Nations issued a report stating school enrollment in South Sudan is expected to surpass 1 million.  According to the UN, Last year enrollment was approximately 340,000 students; this year enrollment will be 1.3 million. Since 2007, in conjunction with the government of South Sudan, the 'Go to School' United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has worked to develop permanent education facilities, as well as construct a stable education infrastructure. 

No Easter for starving Sudan

By Ellen Ratner

This past Sunday was Easter, arguably the most peaceful, joyous and hopeful celebration in all of Christendom.

As I glance outside my window, I can see the props of our wealthy civilization: Tall, sleek, buildings of glass and steel, late model automobiles, paved roads and stores offering an abundance of all that that makes life long, good and easy. Yet about one week ago on Palm Sunday, I looked out and saw something else. That day found me in a small village in southern Sudan. And what I saw were buildings of dried grass and open roofs, filled with people, some of whom did not resemble the people I see on the street today – they wore rags, not their Easter Sunday best. And these rags contained men, women and, heartbreakingly, children – so many, many children – who resembled only caricatures of human beings: Malnourished and stick thin, whose tight flesh hosted open, running and sometimes what might be gangrenous sores. Mothers' breasts were dry; fathers and older male children were too weak to gather food that simply wasn't there anyway.

These were the bodies of starvation and the faces of suffering. On Palm Sunday, I was in Southern Darfur.



But among those who suffered, I found little bitterness. I was literally taken by the hand and led to a church service of what is euphemistically called, "returnees" from Northern Sudan and Darfur.

These were the kind of Christians that Jesus would have felt instantly comfortable with. Aside from the church's open roof and dried grass walls, I walked on dirt floors and sat on "seats" of small logs. No cut stone, no stained glass, no elaborately robbed clerics to distract the worshipper from purely spiritual concerns. What there was were people, many of whom hadn't the strength to walk a mile. Yet they crowded into these humble walls to worship their God.

Many of these worshippers were "returnees" who had just returned to this, their home village, just a few days before. They had come from northern Sudan and Darfur.

Several days earlier, a plane from the United Nations World Food Program had visited the village. Sacks of vitally needed food were dropped off and filled the tents of the World Food Program. There were other villages that also needed food, and, as always, there was not enough food to go around. By Palm Sunday, the U.N. food had run out, and the returnees who now crowded the church got nothing.

I would hear their stories but needed no more proof than the gaunt, hollow looks of starvation and malnutrition that characterized each storyteller.

I met a woman who said she was hungry. My translator explained that she would have to live on leaves and water until the U.N. came back. She, like most of the returnees, would be sleeping outside. There weren't enough huts; nevertheless, it might be bearable as the rainy season hadn't yet begun. But remaining outdoors meant increased exposure to mosquitoes carrying malaria (a death sentence given the malnutrition) and an occasional scorpion. But it would have to do.

I have traveled to 60 countries, and up until two weeks ago I thought I had seen it all. The sights couldn't get much worse than Eritrea, the country with the world's lowest per capita GDP. Of course, I was prepared for Darfur.

I was wrong. I have never seen such poverty, such misery and suffering. There was malnutrition as well as no idea and less hope as to when or where the next meal was coming from. People in the prime of life had simply made the decision to die slowly, quietly. There wasn't surplus energy for anything else.

But there was also something else that came with the hunger and running sores – trauma that most Americans only read about in connection with the African slave trade of long ago. The people I met had been forcibly abducted as slaves (although in modernity's penchant for euphemism, they are officially referred to "abductees.") And slavery might have been the least of it. Many of these people were first forced to watch while the village's adult men, as well as some women, were brutally murdered before their eyes. These were fathers, sons and husbands.

After the murders, after being enslaved, came the long march which for many was a death march – always a few murders to keep the rest in line. I've reported on Florida farm workers living in substandard conditions, and I've seen the horrific slums of Kenya, but I've never seen anything like this. The other talk show hosts ranged from the hardest left to the farthest right. And all were moved beyond words at what they saw and heard. Food, not ideology, is what's needed here.

Somebody thought it would be a good idea to bring pens, and we did. How naïve! There is no paper, no school, not even medical care to fill out a doctor's report.

After Darfur I went to Dubai. It may be the world's richest city, beautiful and gleaming. Cranes are everywhere, the sign of work and progress. It struck me like New York City must've looked in the 1920s. I felt like it was another planet, and I could not make any sense of my experience just 24 hours before.

I vow now, in print and before the world, to do something about Darfur. After Hurricane Katrina, I made a similar promise and committed all my spare time to helping people rebuild. I helped raise more than $1 million for the town of Pass Christian, Miss. There's still plenty to do down there, but one thing I cannot do is let the wealth and comfort in which I live and my busy life spin so fast that I forget what I saw in Sudan.

I've been close to the refugee experience since I was a child. Some of my earliest memories were of my parents helping World War II refugees make a home in the United States. But America is not the open door that it was once was. The people I saw in Sudan must rebuild their lives there.

And we must help them. If we do not, we are not worthy of the proud name, "American."