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"Background." Save Darfur. 25 October 2006. 20 December 2006.
http://www.savedarfur.org/pages/background
Early in 2003, the Darfur conflict started. In more than 3 years, 400,000 people have been killed, 2,000,000 people have been forced from their homes, and more than 3,500,000 are reliant on foreign aid.
The Sudanese Army and the Janjaweed are the ones who have been killing and raping the civilians. Two rebel groups trying to fight the Sudanese Army and the Janjaweed are the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement. In May of 2006 a peace agreement was summoned between the fighters. This however did not work out. Since then, the violence has increased even between the rebel groups.
On July 30, 2004, the United Nations demanded that the Sudanese government disarm the Janjaweed. This did not work and the Janjaweed are still fighting strong.
The United Nations Humantitarian Official, Jan Egeland, said that the current situation in Darfur "has gone from real bad to catastrophic." The urgency in Darfur is greater than ever. Even UN officials are saying that the situation is bad.
Question:
1. If UN officials are admitting it's bad, why aren't they sending peace-keeping troops there?
"Quick Guide: Darfur." BBC. 6 September 2006. 12 December 2006.
This article answered a couple of questions that I had about Darfur. The first question had was when did it start. The second was why did it start.
The genocide in Sudan started 3 years ago when African rebel groups attacked a government building. In retribution, the Sudanese government sent out troops to attack the tribal Africans. They sent aircraft to bomb the tribes homes and when they were through, the Janjaweed went into the villages and raped and murdered the survivors.
Sudan's government even admits that they have sent troops, but denies supporting the Janjaweed. They also say that the problems have been exaggerated.
The African Union, also known as the AU, has sent 7,000 troops there in a hope to stop the violence. Although this helped the situation, it did not stop the violence. There have also been talks about sending United Nations Troops to Darfur, but the Sudanese government says it will not allow this to happen.
"Those who fled the violence are now living in camps across Darfur. About 200,000 refugees have crossed the border into Chad." This quote made me think about what could be done to help save the rest of the tribes there. Even at the camps the people there aren't safe.
Questions:
1.How come we(the US) aren't doing anything to help these people?
After reading this article I realized the urgency of the situation over in Darfur. In Sudan, where Darfur is located, there are two main groups of people, the Arabs and the African tribes. The Arabs are the "bad guys" in this situation, and the tribes are the ones being attacked. The Arabs are supported buy the Sudanese government, so this is not a battle where insurgents are taking over, this is a battle where a government military is killing it's own people. There is also an Arab miltia there called the Janjaweed, who are participating in the genocide.
Everyday, more and more families are being driven out of their homes. Men are being castrated, women are being raped, and they're all being murdered. The militias will go into an village, steal the people's belongings then burn the town down to the ground. The people who aren't killed go to a place called an Internally Displaced Persons(IDP) camps. The women are sent out to get sticks for firewood and shelter despite the fact that they might get raped by the men of the militias. Sometimes the Janjaweed or the Sudanese military will destroy the camps and force the civilians to a new IDP camp which is often smaller than the last, forceing some people to stay outside of the camp.
Before reading this article, I thought I knew about Darfur, I didn't even know half of it. This article has opened up my eyes to what is happening over there. The quote below shows the urgency of this situation. It shows how horrible these tribes are being treated.
"'This is what they do,' the mediator--a neutral party to the conflict--screamed at me. 'This is what happens here! Now you know! Now you see!'"
Steidle, Brian. "In Darfur, My Camera Was Not Nearly Enough." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 20. March 2005. 6 December 2006.
http://www.ushmm.org/conscience/alert/darfur/steidle/
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