What is Darfur? Part 2

In my last posting we discussed the Who, What and Where of the Darfur genocide and in this posting we will go over the When, How and Why.

When (did this all start):

Officially, the rebellion started in February 2003 against the Arab-dominated Sudanese government, with two local rebel groups — the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLA) — accusing the government of oppressing non-Arabs in favor of Arabs, citing failure to protect local villagers from attacks by nomadic groups, and economic marginalization of the region.

It is worth mentioning that tensions in the region had been high for some time because of a variety of factors including drought, desertification, and overpopulation.

In 1998 relatively minor clashes left more than 5000 Masalit displaced. The clashes in 1999 were bloodier, with many hundreds killed, including a number of Arab tribal chiefs when nomadic herdsmen moved south earlier than usual in search of water. The government brought in military forces in an attempt to quell the violence and establish some sense of security. Many Masalit intellectuals and notables were arrested, imprisoned, and tortured in the towns as government-supported Arab militias began to attack Masalit villages; a number of Arab chiefs and civilians were also killed in these clashes.

How (is the Government of Sudan getting away with this):

There are many "How" questions one can come up with for the Darfur conflict but I feel this is the one that deserves the most attention. People tend to believe that if something like the holocaust was happening again that the governments of the world would do something and they would know about it. So if it is happening again then how are they getting away with it.

Since the purpose of this posting is to give a quick explanation I want to point out that this is a question that is deserving of further research so I strong suggest that you take advantage of the links provided to learn more. Here is a quick explanation;

Sudan has been labeled a sponsor of terrorism since 1993. Sudan has harbored members of al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Abu Nidal Organization, Jamaat al-Islamiyya, and Egyptian Islamic Jihad, each of which are classified as a terrorist organization.

In 1998, al-Qaeda operatives based in Sudan were allegedly involved in the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Throughout the 1990s, Sudan was also accused of supporting local insurgencies in Uganda, Tunisia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.

After the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11th, 2001, the United States government quickly turned to Sudan for information on al-Qaeda and its leader Osama Bin Laden. This information become more and more important as the war on terrorism continued and al-Bashir was able to use this information like currency to hold the United States government at bay while Bashir began their scorched earth campaign in Darfur. The U.S., fearful they would lose valuable information if they imposed on the Government of Sudan in regard to Darfur, remained silent.

Sudan also sells oil to China and is a major weapons buyer for Russia. Both these countries have permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council. Since the U.S. government did not want to jeopardize their information exchange with Sudan they shifted the pressure to act on Darfur on the U.N. The problem was that every time some type of Darfur related resolution would be presented China and/or Russia would either use their veto powers to crush it or threaten to veto it unless changes were made. These changes they would damand were usually so drastic that to allow them would render the resolution useless.

Sudanese President al-Bashir has tactfully used his relationships with the United States, China, and Russia to stall for time as he continued his campaign in Darfur. But more recently he has used the refugees of this conflict as direct bargaining chips. After the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir for crimes against humanity he quickly expelled some of the largest humanitarian aid organizations from Sudan citing they were "spies" for the ICC.

Currently hundred of thousands, if not millions, are at risk of death if they do not get theses organizations back in. Knowing that the potential starvation of all these people will pull on the heart strings of the international community, al-Bashir is merely looking for a way out of his indictment from the ICC. By removing the key aid organizations he has forced the hand of the international community and the powers that be. Either back off and recind the indictment or millions will die. He has proved he is willing sacrifice millions of his own people to achieve his own agenda.

Why (is the Government of Sudan doing this?):

There are many theories as to why the Government of Sudan has decided to use genocidal tactics in this conflict but essentially it comes down to the control of power.

Since Sudan has achieved its independence, they have gone from one unstable government to the next. These governments are usually very small groups or tribes that do not really represent the people of Sudan but instead look out for themselves. The way these small groups try to stay in power is to smash any rebellion with such force and violence that no one would be willing to try another.

The North/South War was coming to a close and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) gave independence for the South in 2011, a 50-50 share of the profits from its lucrative oilfields, national elections in 2009, and 10,000 UN peacekeepers to oversee the agreement’s implementation. It wasn't long after this agreement was signed that things in Darfur began to escalate. The Government of Sudan, fearful of losing complete control of their country, manipulated ethnic tensions that had flared up in Darfur around access to increasingly scarce land and water resources. They unleashed the Janjaweed militias to attack civilian communities they claimed had links to the rebels.

I hope this all helps to make sense of this very confusing situation.

Ultimately we need to realize that though initially the finger could be pointed at the government sponsored militias when it came to the majority of the atrocities and human rights violations presently that is not the case. All parties involved have committed atrocities thus making this situation even more frustrating.

We have to realize that somewhere between the humanity and politics resides peace.

We have to realize that in cases such as this we are ALL human beings and it is the responsibility of ALL of us to stand up and defend those that can not defend themselves. At the end of the day, if we do nothing, sticking our head in sand, makes us just as guilty as those committing the crimes.

What is Darfur? Part 2

What is Darfur?

As a activist I do everything that I can to make sure people are at least aware of what is happening in Darfur but this doesn't mean that I am stopping everybody passing me by everyday, waving a banner with megaphone in tow. At least not everyday.

I tend to take the more subtle approach by casually bringing it up one way or another in conversation. This is more my style and allows me to ease them in to the topic. But almost every time I bring up the topic of Darfur to someone I get the same question;

Them: "So what you been up too"

Me: "Been busy with the family stuff, remodeling the house, and working on my Darfur activism"

Them: "What is Darfur"

What is Darfur. Really? Has it gotten that bad? Not only do most people not know what is going on there but they don't even know that its is a place not a thing.

According to the 2005 Tyndall Report, two years after the conflict started, the three major networks (ABC, NBC, & CBS) spent just a meager total of 26 minutes on the bloodshed. By contrast, Martha Stewart's woes and trip to the joint received 130 minutes, five times as much. I am sad to report to things haven't gotten any better since.

In 2007 the big three increased the number of total minutes that the Darfur genocide got by 5 whole minutes giving it a total of 31 minutes (ABC 19, CBS 3, NBC 9) of tv time.

In 2008, things got even worse. The big three spent a total of 11 minutes (ABC 7, CBS 0, NBC 4) on the topic of Darfur. 11 minutes. Gov. Rod Blagojevich got 122 minutes in 2008 and the millions suffering in Darfur get 11 minutes.

So yes, it has gotten that bad, people simply do not know and I am going to try to help by providing you with the basics. I will break it down it down into the classic who, what, where, when, how, and why but for the sake of time, today I will provide you with 3 of these classifications, the Where, What and Who. In next few days I will get you the rest.

Please use the links provided through out this blog to learn more about the topic.

So here we go;

WHERE (is Darfur):

The far western region of Sudan, bordering the Central African Republic, Libya, and Chad. Covering an area of approximately 197,000 square miles, Darfur is slightly smaller then Texas, larger then California, and 90% the size of France. It is divided into three federal states: Gharb Darfur (West Darfur), Janub Darfur (South Darfur), and Shamal Darfur (North Darfur). Its main towns are Al Fashir, Nyala and Geneina.

WHAT (is happening there):

In 2003, two rebel groups citing years of political, economic and social marginalization by the government, took arms and led a series of successful attacks. The Sudanese government responded by unleashing its own military and its supported Janjaweed militias on a genocidal campaign targeting not just rebel groups but the civilian populations of Darfur and killing them indiscriminately.


The governments "scorched earth" campaign first uses their Russian made Antonovs fighter jets and anti-tank helicopters to bomb and attack villages indiscriminately killing men, women, and children. When that was done the government supported and funded Janjaweed militias come in and burn the villages to the ground; they kill or steal all the live stock, and destroy anything that the people leave behind. They gang rape the women, regardless of age, and the males, infants to elderly, are tortured and killed. Those that do escape have nothing to come back to thus permanently removing them from the region.

Though we will never know any exact number, reports state that this conflict has already claimed the lives of some 300,000 people in Sudan and the number of displaced people has soared well into the millions as people flee the violence into Internal Displaced People (IDP) camps in Sudan and the refugee camps on the eastern border just inside Chad.

WHO (is involved):

Since the start of the conflict in 2003 the number of rebel groups involved has grown as division among them has caused them to fracture into separate groups and in some cases fight among themselves. Today the major rebel groups involved are:

1. J.E.M. (Justice and Equality Movement): The largest and most militarily significant rebel group in Darfur.

2. S.L.A. (Sudan Liberation Army) led by Abdel Wahid: A waining faction rebel movement led by Abdel Wahid who currently lives in excile in Paris, France.

3. S.L.A. led by Minni Minawi: Another faction of the once strong S.L.A., this faction has lost considerable support after signing a agreement with the government giving Minawi the title of "Senior Assistant" to President Al Bashir.

More to come later....

What is Darfur?

On the Ground, On the Hill

Since I have been an activist for Darfur I have had to try to make sense of everything going on in Darfur. The Who's, What's, Why's and Whens of this conflict are really enough to make your head spin. But being committed I stuck with it and now I feel that I have a pretty firm grasp on the Darfur conflict.

I have always tried to educate others about what was happening in Darfur and why. The unfortunate truth is that the majority of people I talk to about Darfur look confused and ask what or where Darfur is. They simply do not know.

Now in no way am I blaming those that don't know. The main stream media has had a strangle hold on "reality" for Americans for quite sometime. They simply choke African issues out of the headlines and poof....Africa doesn't exist. The truth is people live in their bubbles. They don't want to deal with the real ugly stuff (like genocide), they simply want to turn on the news and let them tell us what is important. Basically some people don't care because they haven't been told to or why they should and others have given up because the whole thing is just so damn confusing. You got the Janjaweed, S.L.A., Al-Bashir, North-South War, Russia, China, Oil, Chad, ICC, J.E.M., and that's just the short list. It's a whirlwind of acronyms and atrocities.

I strongly believe that the vast majority of people in this world, after finding out about the horrible things people in Darfur are forced to go through, they want to help but the truth is they just don't know how. There are so many organizations involved and people get worried that their donation will go in someone's pocket instead of to the people that need it. Essentially, some people get frozen by confusion and fear, they give up and they end up do nothing.

There are so many ways that people can, and should, get involved so to help you get started I created two lists, On the Ground and On the Hill.

"On the Ground" is a list of agencies that are currently on the ground helping the refugees from the this conflict. These people are the ones dealing with this mess and seeing the results first hand. These are the people dealing with the malnutrition, starvation, disease, and sexual violence. This list will help you find a way to help the people directly.

"On the Hill" is a list of agencies currently lobbying our government to do something to help the people of Darfur. These people organize the rallies, inform our leaders, press the media, and refuse to let this conflict slip off into the abyss. This list will help you find a way to make some noise and get our government involved.

Now I am sure that there are more organizations that should be on these lists so if you know any that you think should be listed, please leave a comment and I will add them on my website www.championdarfur.com.

I made these lists in hopes that it will help people get involved, that is will help clear up some of the confusion. The situation in Darfur, the conflict, it is confusing in itself, helping those in need really shouldn't be hard. Get involved, get active.

On the Ground, On the Hill