Refugees in Sudan Told To Stay Silent About Abuses
In Sudan, Death and Denial: Officials Accused of Concealing Crisis as Thousands Starve
It is the scene of unimaginable brutality and repression in a bleak and desolate land. Murder, senseless violence, starvation, and depravation are daily realities. Villagers have been attacked, abused and their livelihoods destroyed. And yet it's the worst human rights disaster you've never hear of- and the Sudanese government intends to keep it that way.
ABU SHOUK, Sudan, June 27 -- The Sudanese villagers in this western region of Darfur were bombed. They were raped. Their huts were burned and their grain pillaged. Now, those who fled the chaos say they are being silenced.
The Sudanese government dispatched 500 men last week to this sweltering camp of 40,000 near El Fashir, capital of North Darfur state, the refugees and aid workers said. The men, some dressed in civilian clothes, others in military uniforms, warned the refugees to keep quiet about their experiences when Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan visit the region next week.
Darfur has been the scene of more than 16 months of conflict between residents of the region and Arab militiamen backed by the government. Aid workers say 30,000 people have been killed by the militia and more than 1 .2 million forced to flee their homes.
"They kicked us and said, 'Stop talking,' " said Malki Ali Abduallah, 25, who fled the fighting six months ago with six children and a cooking pot. "I said, 'No, no, no. I am angry. I am tired. I don't want to be quiet.
"You already stole my life. What else can you take?" she recounted saying, sweating in the 115 degree midday heat as 40 people gathered around her in support, many telling similar stories.Near the crowd, however, stern-faced men wearing safari outfits, pilot sunglasses and leopard-skin slippers listened in and made calls on cell phones. The villagers and the aid workers said the men were among those dispatched by the government.
The men also told the villagers that they would impersonate victims when the U.S. and U.N. delegations arrived and tell them that the government had done nothing wrong and that rebels operating against the government in the region were to blame, the villagers and aid workers said.
One could reasonably make the argument for American intervention in Darfur. After all, isn't that what we have done in Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq? Well, you could make that argument, but you'd be dead wrong. Not only is the Bush Administration NOT making Darfur a priority, the mainstream American media has largely ignored this tragedy. How is it that a tragedy of such monumental proportions does not even register in this country? We invaded Iraq for lesser "crimes", and we liberated Kuwait for...well, if not for oil, would either Gulf War have occurred?
Of course, the fact that the tragedy that is Darfur is occurring in the heart of Africa certainly isn't helping the people there. Perhaps if Darfur had oil reserves, perhaps if the heart of Africa weren't so far off the mainstream media's radar, American troops would be crawling all over the place in the name of democracy. Perhaps if Darfur was known (or supposed) to be connected with the 9.11 hijackers, we'd have bombed the crap out of the region by now. The sad reality, though, is that Darfur is none of these things, and in fact it is about as desolate as desolate gets. Remote, virtually inaccessible, and almost completely devoid of anything resembling natural resources, there is no discernible American interest evident in Darfur- unless protecting humanity from inhumanity and brutality counts.
Hey, it's not the fault of the natives that they don't have any oil. Does that make them less worthy of our support and assistance? Are we to watch people die if for no other reason than they can do nothing to lower the price of gasoline?
Thankfully, Darfur is finally to begin to register on the Administration's radar, if only because genocide can only be ignored for so long before people begin asking uncomfortable and inconvenient questions. Indeed, how long CAN we remain silent?
I am certainly not about to advocate an Iraq-style influx of American troops as a solution. Still, do we not have a moral obligation as the world's remaining superpower to function as a block against those who would use rape and murder as a means to gain and/or maintain political power? If we can invade Iraq under false pretenses, certainly we can attempt to cobble together a "coalition of the willing" to being peace and stability to Darfur? Can we not use our influence in Africa to appeal to the interests of Sudan's neighbors?
I find it amazing and astounding that, in this day and age of instantly accessible information, a tragedy of such scope can occur virtually without notice in the West. If Darfur were in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, or even Asia, the hue and cry would be heard the world over. Because this is Africa (and because the color is black?), it has proven difficult to attract attention to the crimes against humanity occurring in Darfur.
In the final analysis, there is really only one thing that we can, and should be doing. In the words of Kansas Senator Sam Brownback: "Stop the killing of the innocent." It's time for our government to do the right thing.
