Author: DWAG Communication

Survivor Voices

“The daily horror of genocide in Darfur”

Darfur Women Action Group would like to share with our readers heart-breaking stories and reports from our sources on the ground in Darfur. They will be depicting exactly what life is like in Darfur. The individuals there are constantly under attack and innocent men, women, and children lose their lives without any notice taken from the outside world.

Sharing these reports is not about us; it is about those who have been forced to live in concentration-like camps because their homes are no longer safe or no longer standing. They have been systematically targeted for killing, rape and humiliation for more than a decade. Upon reading this we ask for your help to speak up, spread the word, and to support DWAG to be able to help our people by providing them with tangible, life-saving assistance. We want to bring this to the attention of the world community and urge them to help end it.

We are still working out some of the details of the Survivor Voices series, so some of the information may be delayed, however, the accounts will be accurate and straight from the conflict.

Below are real stories from witness and survivors:

Reports from July 2014

July 11:

A man was shot and injured after his car was stolen and was the forced to pay 20,000 Sudanese pounds as a random.

The Rapid Support Forces shot Ibrahim Mekail. About 5 militiamen in a Land Cruiser vehicle with Doshka machine guns shot Ibrahim. He said he was threatened and his car was stolen a week ago, and then the militants contacted him and asked him to pay 20,000 Sudanese pound if he wanted to have his car returned to him. He agreed, and collected the money with the help of families and friends, and went to meet the militia. After Ibrahim paid the 20,000, the Janjaweed shot him and took his money without returning the car.

Ibrahim was severely injured and then transferred to Nyala Hospital. The incident has been reported to Nyala Wasat Police, however, they have done nothing to return the car or the money or hold the militia accountable for stealing and shooting Ibrahim. Ibrahim said he knows the militia members who are responsible, but he declined to mention their names for fear of retaliation from them toward him or his family.

July 13:

Janjaweed militia members rode on camelback (while wearing Border Intelligence Guards uniforms) at about 8:00am and attacked Alsalam residents on their way to the market. They killed two brothers: Abdel Razek (42 years old, married, and lived in the Alsalam Camp Center) and Mohammed Ahmed Baba (30 years old, married and lived in the Alsalam Camp-block 4).

Their bodies were taken to Nylay hospital and then were sent back to Alsalam camp. Their relatives buried them near the camp. Some were silent and some cried, but they all felt overwhelming helplessness.

July 19:

A car was bombed near Elfasher, an area in the North Darfur region, where nearly 17 people were killed and only three survived including two severely injured American citizens: Noah Eisa and Omer Eisa. The two men are from New Jersey.

Noah, and his nephew Omer, who is 10 years old, left the US on July 5th to visits their old and ill grandmother who was separated from them during an attack on their village near Kabkabiya, in 2003.

Noah, his two brothers and one of his brother’s wife fled Darfur in beginning of genocide, to Eygpt and then were luckily relocated as refugees in the United States. Since 2006, they have lived in Flemington, New Jersey. They work hard and have established a decent life for themselves and have become American citizens. But everyday they feel regret and saddens because they left many of their loved ones behind, including Noah’s sisters and their grandmother who raised them up after the death of their mother. This year they decided to visit their grandmother who has been ill and who is getting very old. She is currently living in a camp in Kabkabiya City, North Darfur State. They thought since they are American citizens they may be able to visit and return back safely. On July 18th, while on their way to Kabkabiya, the militia, Rapid Support Force or RSF, bombarded their car with machine guns.

They are still hospitalized in Sudan and their family is anxiously waiting for them to return back to the States safely.

July 21:

Two men were killed and one woman was injured In Kass City, a city in the South Darfur area. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a violent militia gang, were wearing Sudanese military uniforms and riding in a passenger vehicle when they attacked a home near the Alsalam area in the northern district around 11:00pm. They entered the family’s home and demanded money from them. When the family refused and said they did not have any money, the militia shot the two male members (Ishag Suleiman, 36, and Idris Elfaky, 25) and injured the female (Mariam). Mariam was in ciritical condition and has been transferred to Nyala Teaching Hospital, but her family cannot afford to pay for her medical care.

Note: This attack was also reported on Radio Dabanga on the 22nd.

Last week, it was reported that the United Nations has to make seriously detrimental food cuts to the already inadequate rations to many refugees in Africa. The most relevant of the refugee camps that have been impacted are those located in eastern Chad, a place that houses mainly Darfuri refugees. According to Radio Dabanda, the numbers for some camps has dropped from 12 kilograms of rations per month to 4 kilograms of rations. The article also states that the refugees are only receiving three items: sorghum (similar to a grain), beans, and oil. The Darfuris have been resorting to eating a toxic seed that if not dried and baked properly in bread, will kill those who eat it. Some may ask: why they would risk eating something that could possibly kill them? But when they are so undernourished and hungry, any food option is viable.

The consequences: What do all these cuts in food rations really break down to? To start, the lack of food will directly lead to malnutrition and in some cases, death. The first and most likely the largest group to be impacted will be children. For many children and other vulnerable groups in refugee camps, if they do not get an adequate amount of proper food and nutrients within a vital growth phase of their early lives, it will have harmful consequences on their mental and physical development[1].

Imagine you are watching your children starving to death; you will feel you must do something. Families will also have to reorient their lives around being able to find and even afford food. Children will be forced to drop out of school to support their families[2]. This is a very dangerous problem that will result and according to the UN, but not the only one. They state that this could also lead to a rise in the amount of “survival sex”, forcing women and young girls sell their bodies to earn money for food. In a place where women are already constantly in fear of mutilations and rape, this is heartbreaking that they would have to resort to this.

All of this information indicates that the situation for Darfuri refugees is the most dangerous of its type, and hence requiring our immediate attention. We must act before its too late and we must call upon donors, governments and all humanitarian organizations to double their effort to provide the indispensable food aid to the refugees and internally displaced Darfuri genocide victims who have endured a great deal of suffering for more than a decade.

The ultimate question, is what can we do to help? What can the ordinary person do? There is always something that you can do. You can donate to the UN. You ask the United States governments, other donors, and NGOs to increase their humanitarian aid and you can donate to DWAG to help us speak up and make our voices heard and demand that international community takes immediate action to save lives in the refugees and IDPs.

By Genevieve Turcott, Outreach and Government Relations Intern

[1] https://www.wfp.org/stories/heads-wfp-unhcr-issue-urgent-appeal-food-shortages-hit-nearly-800000-refugees-africa

[2] https://www.wfp.org/stories/heads-wfp-unhcr-issue-urgent-appeal-food-sho…

Just because there are no media headlines about Darfur, doesn’t mean that the war is over. It is well known that the Khartoum sponsored Janjaweed are the main terrorizing force in Darfur. It has been conveyed since the genocide began that they were a group organized and funded by the Sudanese government, but the Government of Sudan was in denial. However, in the past few months, they have increased their attacks, and according to sources on the ground in Darfur, they no longer try to hide the fact that they are connected with the government.

What is most unfortunate about the entire situation is that the international community does not seem to care that the violence is substantially increasing and it has done relatively little to stop or prevent it. There have been no declarations, no sanctions, no calls for intervention of any kind, and yet the Darfuris continue to suffer. The only source that is reporting the violence is one of the most trusted, Radio Dabanga. In early May, they reported the Janjaweed attacked a refugee camp in South Darfur[1]. They attacked the refugees, took their possessions, and even took a man captive. In June, Radio Dabanga reported another brutal attack saying, “The gunmen beat them with rifle butts and whips. Seven of the displaced were severely injured”[2]. The common theme for these attacks, and for all of the attacks the Janjaweed commit is that they target the innocent. Not the rebel groups fighting against them, but they attack the vulnerable refugees, those who they have already forced to flee their homes.

For this reason, we at Darfur Women Action Group believe we need to empower the victims to speak up for themselves. If the international community fails at helping the Darfuris with this, it is responsibility we the people and the ordinary citizens of the world do instead. The most positive way an average person can make a change is through spreading awareness of the plight of the Darfuris. Use social media, talk about it often, and explain to others who do not understand the gravity of the situation how important it is that we stop it. We need everyone and anyone to help bring attention to this because of how important it is. The world must know that this genocide will not end if we ignore it, but the sooner we bring notice back to it, the sooner a solution will be found.

We the people must not stay silent in the face of the on-going genocide in Darfur. We must speak up and hold the world leaders accountable.

By Genevieve Turcott, Government Outreach and Relations Intern

[1] https://www.radiodabanga.org/node/72901

[2] https://www.radiodabanga.org/node/74995

Images:

https://www.radiodabanga.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/main-image/i…

http://www.satsentinel.org/blog/‘crime-against-humanity’-sudan-burns.

Darfur Women Action Group demanded adequate protection and dignified life for the genocide victims within Darfur and in their refuges in other countries

Today, June 20, 2014, Darfur Women Action Group along with its partners and supporters are gathering to mark this day by standing in solidarity with the victims of genocide in Darfur and the multiple crises in Sudan. We gather to call the attention of the international community to the long standing crises in Darfur and the plight of Darfur refugees who are forced to scatter to many countries around the world including many places where they face extreme hardship. We are also here to celebrate the successes and positive contributions made by Darfuri and Sudanese refugees to the advancement of their new community and to the discussion of what they can do to ease the suffering of their fellow citizens.

11 years ago, genocide began in Darfur in which mass murder, destruction of villages, and the brutal rape of women have ravaged the area and forced countless men, women, and children to abandon their land, their families, and friends seeking a safe refuge. Most Darfuris first fled to places closer to home hoping for a quick resolution to the crises and a speedy return to their loved ones.

At the start of 2013, the number of refugees around the world stood at
10.4 million. 4.8 million are registered in camps in the Middle East, and over 3 million are displaced from Darfur alone which make up 30% of the total world’s refugee population.

Despite these extremely alarming facts, we have been tirelessly advocating for peace and justice. Unfortunately, world leaders have done too little to end these crimes and sadly wecontinueto seethe political, security, and humanitarian situation in Darfur worsening every day. Today the overwhelming majority of the Darfur refugees are living in neighboring countries and the Middle East under grave conditions where women, men, and children are confronted with unspeakable suffering. A majority of refugees are young people and women-headed households who have been faced with only two options: to stay, die, and see their children die, or flee for survival and safety. Even though attacks against students and young Darfuris are intensifying in Sudan, the UNHCR, in most cases, does not prioritize the relocation of young people or provide them with education opportunities.

Today, families have been torn apart when household members are forced to live in distant countries thousands of miles away from each other.

The Darfur Women Action Group is gravely concerned, as the situation continues to deteriorate on the ground in Darfur, the number of displaced continues to increase, and the conditions of the refugees has worsened as their number continues to increase.

Today, there are uncountable numbers of Darfuri in Egypt, Libya, Jordan, Ghana, Central African Republic , Syria , Chad, and the volatile South Sudan where about305 refugee where killed in one weekduring the fight between Dinka and the Nuer. In most of the other countries, with exception of Ghana and Uganda, Darfuri refugees have been constantly threatened with death, prosecution, and forced deportation back to Sudanwhere they face long imprisonment, force disappearance, or execution. For example, in 2006 Egyptian police fired gunshots against a peaceful sit-in of Sudanese refugees in Mustafa Mahmud Stadium who were demanding help from the UNHCR, In addition to the killing of Darfuris by Egyptian security forces while crossing the border to Israel seeking better life and protection. In Libya, Darfuris continue to suffer from long-term mistreatment and exploitation; however, their condition has severely deteriorated during the uprising and the oustingt of President Gaddafi where they have been caught between opposing sides. Undocumented numbers have been killed and some have been forced to flee to the North Africa and Middle East.

Currently over 350,000 refugees have been living in Chad for more than a decade under critical humanitarian conditions and are subject to attack by the Sudanese border guards and the Chadian police whose leaders have allied themselves with President Bashir. The competition over scarce resources between the refugees and the Chadian population has led to many more problems for the refugees. In Jordan, the refugees are constantly deported back to Sudan where they face prosecution, If they are permitted to stay, they are not allowed to work in order to sustain themselves, yetthey have often not been provided assistance by UNHCR. In the event that they are found working, they will be imprisoned, tortured, and sent back to Sudan by Jordanian Authorities to face the violence that forced them to fleein the first place.

We are appreciative of what the United States and other countries have done to resettle some refugees and provide them with protection. Nonetheless, the world has done far too little to assist the Darfuris who are fleeing a genocide. The world’s response has not been proportional to the great magnitude of the crisis and its impact on the people of Darfur.

Today the suffering of Darfuri refugees has gone far too long. Darfuri refugees have been victimized over a period of eleven years with very limited options for survival. While fleeing attacks by their own government, they still face a great deal of suffering in the places where they seek refuge, especially in the neighboring countries where Sudan has political and economic influence. We have been hearing grave concerns about the way in which UNHCR has treated Darfuri refugees particularly in Egypt and Jordan. In Egypt there is evidence of families who have been given waiting periods for initial interviews of approximately 3-5 years , and for others some time their cases have taken up to 10 years to be reviewed by the UNHCR during which they have no any kind of assistance from the UN refugee agency. This lack of assistance further traumatizes an already victimized community. In Chad, there are recent allegations that Darfuri refugees were told by the UN agencies that they will now start limiting the humanitarian assistance to the children and the most senior citizens within the camps. Depriving the helpless refugees from means of survival is immoral and it is against the principal of the international humanitarian laws upon which the United Nation was formed.

Today, we align ourselves especially with those refugees from Sudan and Darfur, who have been displaced as the result of genocide and other multiple crises in Sudan.

On this occasion we are deeply moved and strongly reminded of the tremendous impact that the genocide has caused, not just in terms of physical deaths, but also social and familial disintegration caused by the forced displacement of over 3 million people. tWe also stand in solidarity with those who are left in Darfur, imprisoned in concentration like camps where they are visible and vulnerable to attacks by the notorious Arabs Jajaweed operating under the command of the criminal Al-bashir of Sudan.

Therefore, on this World Refugee Day we DWAG call on the United States government and the member states of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to fulfill their responsibility toward the international laws that they ratified by providing adequate protection and dignified life for the genocide victims within Darfur andtherefugees in other countries.

We demand that protection of refugees and their relocation must be prioritized by all actors especially in places where the their security and safety are threatened by conflict, suchas inChad and South Sudan

We demand that the UNSC provide adequate resources to UNHCR to provide protection and survival mechanisms to refugees, and to establish measures through which UNHCR can expedite their relocation process when and where it is necessary.

We strongly demand that the UNSC conduct investigations into the allegations of misconduct of the UNHCR in Chad, Egypt, Jordan, and especially in South Sudan where UNHCR refused to recognize Darfuris as refugees, which has endangered their very survival.

We call on all people of conscience to speak up for Darfuri refugees and internally displaced people, and demand that the US and the international community fulfill the above demands to protect the vulnerable Darfuri refugees wherever they are.

Niemat Ahmadi, President of Darfur Women Action Group

About Darfur Women Action Group

DWAG, works for the empowerment of the affected communities, to amplify their voices, and provide opportunities for the international community to hear directly from the most affected.

“Act Now to End Violence Against Women” was the theme of the recent global summit that was hosted by British government in London and was largely attended by people from all walks of life, including global intergovernmental institutions such as the UN and other nongovernmental organizations. While the summit was an important milestone toward addressing VAW (violence against women) worldwide, we believe there is a clear indifference in the world response to the plight of women. Unless there are practical steps taken and an inclusive approach that can speak to every single woman in conflict, or if the vicious attacks against women in Sudan are addressed, the campaign will only remain slogan.

Rape and Murder of a Woman in a Darfur Camp

While the world leaders and women’s rights advocates were meeting in London and debating how to address violence against women in conflict, sadly a Darfuri woman, Kltoma, was brutally raped by the Janjaweed militias and murdered[1] not far from Kalma camp3 where she had lived for years. However, there was no mention of this at the summit. Sudan, where the government policy and laws reinforce violence against women such as flogging women because of their choice of wearing pants and Darfur, where rape has been and still used as a weapon of war are notorious for VAW. Yet they were overlooked at one of the most significant platforms to address these issues.

Rape in Darfur is not just sporadic incidents, but it is a systematic plan by the government of Sudan and its Janjaweed militias to dehumanize, humiliate and kill the will of women in Darfur. It has continued to devastate women and girls for the eleven years of the crises in Darfur. It is imperative that the global summit includes the Darfur and Sudan in its priority agenda otherwise the campaign will not effectively eliminate a large amount of sexual violence in conflict in the world.

It is quite clear that because of the indifference and disparity in the way the world responds to the plight of women being raped and attacked, VAW has continued unremittingly in Darfur and Sudan.

Death Sentence for Meriam

By now, many have heard of the injustice that has befallen in Sudan concerning Meriam Ibrahim being sentenced to death for apostasy and adultery—apostasy because she has supposedly abandoned the Muslim faith and adultery because in Sudan’s Islamic law, Muslim women are not allow to marry non-Muslims (her husband is Christian). What makes it even worse is that Meriam recently had to give birth in prison because of her death sentence. The global community mostly agrees with the statement made by Amnesty International calling the decision “abhorrent”.

While there has been a large outpouring of support for her, the issue still remains of the injustice that she has experienced for expressing her right to religious freedom. Meriam is being persecuted for refusing to recant her Christian faith. However, the government does not see it this way. They believe that Meriam has abandoned the Islamic faith, even though she expresses that her mother, due to the lack of her father’s presence, raised her as a Christian during her childhood[2].

What this whole dilemma does is raise the debate of Sudan needing to allow not only religious freedom, but allowing more freedoms to women in general. Sudan has ratified the UN conventions meaning, they agreed to defend the concept of freedom of religion[3]. In going against this, it is another way of Sudan displaying their lack of willingness to develop as a state in the modern world. It also is an issue of oppressing women—if Meriam has testified in court that she was raised Christian, then there is no issue with her marriage and, therefore, she should not be persecuted. It is a problem of Sudanese suppression of women’s rights. Because the court wants to believe that she was not raised Christian and they want to believe she is lying, they treat her as such. Through all this we have found Sudan has problems in their justice system, in allowing expression of religious freedom, and in accepting that women should be given equal rights as citizens.

As always we stand vigilant to defend women’s rights. Darfur Women Action Group joined rallies outside of the White House and the Sudanese Embassy this past Thursday and Friday (June 12 and 13th) and stood in solidarity with her plight and to demand protection for Meriam, to have her death sentence overturned, and for her and her children to be granted protection by the United States government. Her children and husband are U.S. citizens and as a woman at risk of death who is a part of that family, she deserves protection and support from all world leaders.

What is happening in Sudan is the responsibility of the global community. Allowing a vicious government to continue deliberately committing atrocities against its own people and direct its most brutal attacks against women is immoral. Because of the inaction from the international community to protect women in Darfur from attacks against them it has continued with impunity. It is worth noting that the Global Summit to End Violence Against Women has overlooked the women of Darfur and excluded Sudan in general. The hard reality is that heinous crimes of raping a and murdering a woman continue, and sadly those who gather at the global summit have not expressed outrage or have even noticed what had happened in Darfur’s Kalma Camp

In order for the global summit and to succeed in completing its priority agendas and for their campaign to be effective, Darfur and Sudan should not be an exception.

By Niemat Ahmadi, President of DWAG and Genevieve Turcott, Outreach and Government Relations Intern

[1] http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/south-darfur-woman-raped-and-murdered

[2] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27424064

[3] https://www.radiodabanga.org/node/74700