The good, the bad and the ugly

Recent weeks have brought some interesting developments to the crisis
in Darfur. Everything from increased attention to steadfast
dictators, September has been an eventful month. Allow me to recap:

THE GOOD:
-The level of awareness of the deplorable situation of my friends in
Darfur is reaching an all-time high. Pres. Bush addressed the issue
in his UN speech, the Global Day for Darfur was a success with
thousands of people coming together around the globe, media covered
George Clooney's testimony in from of the US government and more and
more groups across the world are raising awareness.
-These are all positive developments because the world leaders will
not take action on an issue that their constituents don't care about.
In order for the Western world to care about Darfur, they must learn
the truth.

THE BAD:
-The Sudanese government has refused to allow UN peacekeeping troops
from deploying in Darfur. This is blatant disregard for the safety
and security of their own people. Each time they block what is best
for the preventing violence, they become complicit in the murders.

THE UGLY:
-For a while, it looked like Sudan was going to demand that AU troops
leave Darfur when their mandate expired at the end of September.
Thanks to political intervention at the UN last week, the Sudanese
have agreed to allow the African Union to extend the mandate of the
7,000 poorly equipped troops currently providing security.

Although the security is dismal, some security is better than no security.

Journalist freed, millions still suffering

In an "about face" for the Sudanese government, the US journalist (and
adult Third Culture Kid) Paul Salopek was released after being accused
of spying in Sudan. This release came after pressure from US
diplomats and Paul's wife. This release is welcome news, especially
as Paul is an innocent man.

What sickens me about this release, however, is the fact that the
Sudanese government claimed it released Paul as a "humanitarian
gesture" according to news reports. This is utterly hypocritical.
For the last three years, Sudan has had the option to extend a
"humanitarian gesture" to the more than 2.5 million citizens that have
been forced to flee. Since 2003, over 400,000 people - my friends -
have been murdered as a result of the Janjaweed's ethnic cleansing
campaign. The Sudanese government is complicit in these crimes no
matter what they say, because either they have control over the
Janjaweed and order them to stop (which they haven't done) or they do
not have control over the Janjaweed but could give permission for UN
peacekeepers to stop the violence (which they haven't done either).

This release of the journalist is a good move because it was the right
move - the other right move is to bring peace back to Darfur, allow
the refugees to return home, and bring the perpetrators of rape and
murder to justice. This is truly the only "humanitarian gesture" that
will matter in the years to come.

10 Days for Darfur begins today...

The international effort to increases awareness about the crisis in
Darfur gets kicked off today with the first of ten "Days for Darfur"
culminating in the huge Rally for Darfur in New York City on Sept. 17.

Although I am still here in Florida, I am doing my best to be a part
of the actions being done on behalf of my friends. I encourage
everyone to take advantage of this mass mobilization. Jump on the
bandwagon - and help bring much-needed attention to the genocide.
Check out the Save Darfur Coalition for tons of ideas on how to give a
voice to the voiceless.

Welcome Among World readers

Today the article I wrote for Among Worlds, the magazone for adult
Third Culture Kids, hits mailboxes around the world. It is my hope
that what I wrote from the heart will spur fellow adult TCKs to think
about the crisis in Darfur, evaluate your role in world events and
perhaps even prompt some of you to lend a voice to the voiceless.

If you read the article, feel free to post a comment here in response.
Don't worry, all comments are welcome even if you disagree!

Thanks,
Scott

Reporter charged for spying in Sudan

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- A Pulitzer Prize-winning foreign
correspondent for the Chicago Tribune was charged in a Sudanese court
Saturday with espionage and other crimes.

Paul Salopek, 44, was charged in a 40-minute hearing with espionage,
passing information illegally and writing "false news," the Tribune
reported on its Web site. His driver and interpreter, both Chadian
nationals, faced the same charges.

For more of this story, click here:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/africa/08/26/reporter.sudan.ap/index.html

New Zealand helps save my friends

New Zealand is to provide additional aid to help alleviate the
humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

The Government has announced it will contribute $1.5 million to the
United Nations World Food Programme to support its work in the Sudan.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters says the grant will help provide for
the half million people that depend on the Food Programme.

This is a step in the right direction. Every person in the entire
universe who does not go to bed worrying about being raped or
slaughtered in the morning should rise up and help my friends that are
dying over there.

Scott

Post recognizes dire situation in Sudan

An excerpt from the Washington Post editorial page:

"THE GENOCIDE in Sudan's western territory of Darfur shows no sign of
ending. Diplomatic efforts to convert the underpowered African Union
peacekeeping force into a somewhat more serious United Nations one
have stalled. The Bush administration's point man on the crisis,
Robert B. Zoellick, has left the State Department for Wall Street, and
a fragile agreement he negotiated has failed to improve anything for
Darfur's vulnerable people. It's good that, even as the world's
attention has shifted to Lebanon, President Bush met Thursday with
Salva Kiir Mayardit, the leader of the southern Sudanese rebel group
that fought the northern government for 21 years until a peace deal
last year. But nothing about Mr. Kiir's message is encouraging."

At least one media outlet is still giving space to the worst
humanitariaran crisis in the world. It seems like Lebanon has
dominated all the news and shocked reporters list off numbers like
500,000 refugees and 200 killed. What about the 2.5 MILLION refugees
in Chad/Sudan and the 400,000 DEAD?? Death and injustice is not
appropriate anywhere in the world, and I wish peace on the Middle
East...but c'mon people! The Middle East "crisis" is pithy compared
to the suffering and destruction in Darfur. And yet, you see no
shocked reporters standing in flak jackets reporting 'Live from the
Darfur Crisis, day 1,356" Instead, we rely on editorial pages to
carry the flag forward.

Barbaro vs. 400,000 humans

The emotional saga of Barbaro, the Kentucky Derby-winning worse who
injured himself in the Preakness, continues as he has developed a
"life-threatening infection." His doctor said his outlook is "poor"
but as long as the horse is not suffering, he will do whatever he can
to keep Barbaro alive.

Meanwhile, the "world's worst humanitarian crisis" is happening in
Darfur and no one is taking notice. Every major media outlet covers
Barbaro updates, but rarely do they chronicle the latest going on in
Eastern Chad and Darfur. This situation is worsening, my friends are
starving to death or being killed. Hundreds more of them are forced
to become refugees each day. Their suffering is real. Their
suffering is intense.

Barbaro is an animal being treated like a human being. The people of
Darfur are humans being treated as animals. Why is it that we are
more concerned about the fate of one horse versus the fate of 400,000
men, women and children?

Stand up for justice. Stand up for Darfur. Stand up for my friends.

Sudan Relief Jam a smashing success

A great big THANK YOU goes out to the teenagers of the Sudan Relief Fund from Valrico, Fla., who banded together and successfully organized an 8-hour long benefit concert. This concert was in a really fun venue (Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa), included some great musical talent, and accompanied by good food. But what really made it successful was the dedication of everyone present to look beyond themselves and find a place in their heart for my friends in Darfur.

I look forward to seeing on their website (on the right side of this page) how much money was finally raised. But the real value of the event will not be in dollar signs, but in eyes opened and hearts touched. The more people know and care, the greater chance my friends have of living to see another day.

Congratulations to everyone who defied American apathy and proved that a small group of concerned people really can make a difference in the world.

Evacuation is not an option

Have you ever been terrified? I’m not talking about scary movie jitters. No, I am referring to the feelings that wash over you as you crouch behind a thorn bush desperately trying to go unnoticed by masked gunmen. It’s the kind of terror that comes with having no control over a deadly situation, knowing helplessly that if you are found, you will be tortured or even killed because of your natural skin color. It’s a fear that emanates from the inside and completely changes a person before it escapes the body through the eyes.

Unfortunately, this kind of primal terror caused by being helpless in the face of brutality is far too common among the men, women and children of the world. Westerners, like myself, growing up in Africa, Asia and South America have all been witnesses to such crime. However, as ex-patriots we tend to have a great advantage over the local population - when crisis hits, most of us have the luxury of evacuation. We get whisked away out of harm’s way while our native friends, classmates, and neighbors are left behind to survive. Granted, some families decide to stay put and ‘ride out the storm,’ but many wisely take the opportunity to move to safer grounds.

I remember my own personal evacuation story. It happened in 1990 when a rebel group was making a successful march across the country. My family was enjoying a peaceful night under the African stars when we were interrupted by thunderous bangs on our front gate. My father was greeted by two French Military soldiers who informed us we had only twenty minutes to pack our bags and get out of town before fighting began.

The next thing I know, I am bouncing around on a bench in the bowels of a windowless French military cargo plane. We were packed like sardines and unable to talk over the noise of the engines. I had nothing to do but stare at the scared faces of those sitting all around me. However, the faces that still haunt me are not those that surrounded me in the safe – albeit uncomfortable – confines of the airplane. No, the faces that I remember most are the ones of the local women and children desperately fighting for a chance to board our plane. As we boarded, soldiers fought back a mob of scared citizens desperately desiring to be saved from the coming bloodshed. They wanted to get on the plane as well, but there was no more room – it was full of fleeing ex-patriots. The tears of the mothers clutching their children as they were denied safety stick with me to this day. They were terrified, at the mercy of the rebels and helping them was out of my control.

That same feeling is back.

Over the past three years – in what the UN has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis – over 300,000 of my friends have been slaughtered and over 1.5 million of them have been forced to flee in terror. They cannot evacuate like those of us from the West.

Innocent civilians are helplessly being hunted down and slaughtered for their skin color. If we, all of us - including you - continue to sit back and let this genocide unfold, we will all be held accountable for their extinction. History will judge you by your response. Please - save my friends. Save your neighbors. Save Darfur & Eastern Chad.

UN must police both Darfur and Chad - Amnesty

As the violent downward spiral in Eastern Chad - where I grew up - continues unabated, Amnesty International is calling upon the UN to send troops to this region as well. AI makes a good point that because the violence knows no borders, we cannot distinguish between Chad and Darfur anymore. To just look at solving the crisis in Darfur would be to ignore the hundreds of thousands of desperate people just minutes aways in Chad.


To read this article, click here.

To help save the lives of my friends, click on any of the links on the right side of this page.

Violence spilling into Chad

Some of the most distressing news coming from Darfur in recent days is the word that the Janjaweed are carrying out regular attacks on Chadian soil. This shows that the crisis is far more than political, for the slaughter and rape has not stopped at the Chad-Sudan border but has spilled over, following the refugees. What is even more distressful to me is that the Janjaweed - the militias carrying out genocide against certain tribes - are now being aided in Chad by Chadian civilians.

This situation is continuing to spiral out of control. There is no security in Chad nor Sudan and this shows that the UN and the AU must look beyond the strict borders of Darfur to solve this crisis.

Please, they are my friends over there being raped in front of their husbands. These are real human beings, with lives and laughter and dreams just like you. Please continue to fight for their right to live in peace.

To read a Reuters report about the latest wave of Janjaweed attacks in Chad, click here.

World Refugee Day

Today is World Refugee Day - a day that the UN has set aside to bring a spotlight to the suffering of the millions of refugees and Internally Displaced Persons in the world.

Please, take a moment and read CNN's special coverage. They have done a good job of bringing stories to life for Americans. Click here to read a poignant commentary by CNN's chief African correspondant.

We must continue to fight for the rights, dignity and respect of all people and stand up against injustice. Please get involved, please support an agency and please save my friends.

Last month, Deputy Secretary Zoellick aided in brokering a peace agreement - an important first step. Yet with hundreds of thousands in Darfur already dead, millions more displaced and many at risk every day, we must continue to press for a solution.

That is why we are asking President Bush to appoint a special US envoy to the region and to press for a UN peacekeeping force to be on the ground in Darfur no later than October. We cannot wait any longer!

Join us in asking President Bush:

-To push for a UN force for Darfur;
-To strengthen African Union troops already in Darfur until the UN arrives;
-To continue supporting humanitarian assistance programs in Darfur; and
-To appoint a special envoy to coordinate US policy in the region.

Click here to email President Bush today. Today is World Refugee Day today - a day set aside to remember the millions of refugees around the globe - and now is the time to remind President Bush of the plight of Darfur's 2.5 million refugees.

A breath of fresh air

As I traveled across Darfur and Eastern Chad, I would stay in friends' houses along the way. There was one particular house that I especially enjoyed stopping at, for it was located on a large hill. In the morning, with the rooster still crowing and smoke from the morning fires just beginning to trickle into the air, I would climb the rocky hill and stand on a large rock overlooking the village beneath me. I would spread my arms wide and inhale deeply. I loved the fresh, cool morning air filling my lungs. It was such a nice difference from the hot, dusty air I would breathe all day in the car.

I had a similar experience today as I read an article in the St. Pete Times. I read about a group of Tampa Bay teenagers getting passionate about Darfur and raising awareness and money to help save my friends. Hearing that a least a few of America's youth found a place in their hearts for someone other than themselves is so refreshing. This extraordinary group of high school graduates have attacked the notion that 400,000 people don't matter if they don't start with the letters M-E. They have given me hope that my friends can be saved if more people accept their role as global citizens.

These teens have banded together to host a benefit concert on July 9. It is called the Sudan Relief Jam and is going to be an awesome eight-hour concert event featuring all sorts of different music. They are just getting started, but have already organized, rounded up sponsors, and are working hard at getting an official t-shirt made, TicketMaster account set up and spreading the word.

Where: Skipper's Smokehouse - Phone: (813) 971-0666
When: July 9th from 2:00pm - 10:00pm
How much: $15.00 in advance/$20.00 at the door

I will post as much information about this event as I can, but you can also check out their website: www.sudanreliefjam.org. I believe strongly in what they are trying to accomplish and know firsthand the difficulty of motivating people to care about anything, much less Africa.

To read the article about the teens, click here.

Continuing janjaweed attacks in eastern Chad

UNHCR fears further displacement
Source: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Date: 06 Jun 2006

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond –
to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 6
June 2006, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

UNHCR is extremely concerned about continuing attacks by janjaweed
militia in eastern Chad and the potential for more internal
displacement of local Chadians. This ongoing insecurity also poses a
threat to 213,000 Sudanese refugees from Darfur in a dozen
UNHCR-administered camps in this remote region along the border with
Sudan. On Saturday, armed militiamen stole 350 head of cattle from a
village 20 km west of Koukou Angarana, in the Goz Beida region of
eastern Chad. No casualties were reported, but this is just one recent
example of escalating violence which is causing increasing
displacement and sometimes death.

The janjaweed attacks against Chadians appear to have become more
systematic and deadly over the past three months and there is no sign
that this pattern will stop.

There are presently an estimated 50,000 displaced people in eastern
Chad who have fled their homes in recent months following dozens of
attacks by janjaweed. In some cases, people flee out of fear of
impending attacks, and many have been displaced several times. A major
attack near Modeyna on March 3-4 led to the displacement of thousands
of villagers to Koloye, 15 km away. Dozens of local inhabitants were
reportedly killed during that attack. Militia later attacked Koloye
and the displaced from Modeyna once again had to flee, this time to
Gouroukoun, a village near Goz Beida, which presently hosts some
11,000 displaced people.

On April 13, hundreds of janjaweed attacked the village of Djawara,
massacring over 100 men and stealing hundreds of cattle. Djawara, 60
km from the Sudan border, and other surrounding villages are now
deserted. Most of the inhabitants fled north-east to Dogdore to join
others recently displaced. Dogdore now hosts an estimated 9,000
displaced Chadians.

UNHCR teams have interviewed many displaced in spontaneous
settlements. They say attacks are being perpetrated by janjaweed
militia coming from Sudan. They also said that on several occasions,
they recognized Chadians from other tribes taking part in attacks
together with the Sudanese janjaweed militia, alleging that those
Chadians had concluded agreements with the militia to avoid attacks on
their own properties and livestock.

On May 1, a group of 150 janjaweed attacked cattle herders near
Koukou, stealing 2,000 head of cattle and killing five people.
Repeated attacks early April at the border, especially on the village
of Singitao, caused more displacement near Goz Amir refugee camp. UN
agencies and NGOs were able to relocate some 1,300 displaced persons
to the village of Habile near Koukou.

The arrival of additional displaced persons in Chadian villages and
towns often strains already limited resources, including water. The
town of Goz Beida, with 6,000 local inhabitants, hosts 14,000 Sudanese
refugees in Djabal camp and is now trying to cope with an additional
11,000 displaced Chadians the outlying village of Gouroukoun. Because
of the limited water resources, we have started to relocate some of
these people to other villages around Goz Beida. So far, we have moved
2,000 people in UNHCR trucks.

These relocations are part of an inter-agency 'cluster approach'
toward IDP issues in eastern Chad. UNHCR is responsible for protection
and shelter; UNICEF for health and water; and WFP for food security. A
few non-governmental organizations are also working with us.

Again, we urge authorities in Chad and Sudan to reinforce security in
border regions to prevent further attacks and displacement, and call
for more international engagement in dealing with the very serious
issue of spreading instability and insecurity.

In all, there are 213,000 Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad as well as
50,000 displaced persons. There are also 47,000 refugees from the
Central African Republic in southern Chad.

Repost: The Water Boys

Sometimes at night I can still imagine the pounding drum beat of a water boy. This rhythmic pounding is the lifeline of an entire community. In the Darfur region of the world there is no running water. Water comes either from the drying central lake or deep wells dug in dry riverbeds. These sources are often far from the showers and washrooms where the water is needed, and that is where the Water Boys come in. A Water Boy is a career that provides the link between the supply and the demand. Please, allow me to describe to you a water boy:

Meet Ibrahim. His hair is tightly braided and his skin is freshly oiled. He rises early in the morning and steps outside his dark hut, squinting at the already bright sun. He shakes some coals and a few weak embers rise. He quickly inserts some dry reeds and a flicker of a flame gives him hope for a hot breakfast. He heats some medidi (a drinkable rice and sugar mixture) and gobbles it down. He knows he needs his strength for the day ahead.

Once his stomach is satisfied, he makes his way through some thorn trees and over some brown grass to the animal pen. He unlatches the goatskin lock and swings open the branch that is doubling as a gate. He enters and approaches his capital investment - a donkey.

The donkey is ornery this morning and backs away from Ibrahim. He shakes his hand and turns his body, as if he is threatening to turn Ibrahim'’s day sour with one swift kick to the midsection. Ibrahim grabs him by his mane and calms him down.

"Agod sakit (Stay still)" he begs the large animal. Finally, with the donkey'’s jitters gone, Ibrahim reaches for a heavy burlap sack and places it on the animal's back. Then follows a coarse pad made of woven straw, a blanket and then a wooden saddle. This saddle is not ordinary for a bar is placed across where a human normally sits. This saddle is not made for joy rides, this is business.

The last touch to add to his steed is the most important piece of equipment - the water sack. This equipment is made out of leather and sits on the saddle. It actually has two large sacks, one sits on either side of the donkey. At the top there is one opening that leads to both sacks and that the bottom corner of each sack is a tied-off opening.

Ibrahim adds the other two essentials tools of the trade -– large buckets and a wooden stick - and he is ready for his commute to work. He makes his way through the quiet streets, through back alleys and under archways. Each house’'s front yard is surrounded by large, mud-brick walls.

He arrives at the well and stands in line. He makes his way closer and closer and pays the Well Master a small fee. He attaches his buckets to the rope and lowers them in to the well. Seconds after they hit the bottom with a splash, he strains and tugs and works the buckets back up to the surface. Once at the top, he empties them into the sacks on the donkey. He repeats this until both sacks are bulging full, seeping water, and the donkey teetering a bit from the load. Then, it's off to make money.

Unless he has specific clients - people who prearrange for his water delivery service -– he has to roam the streets looking for buyers. The way he lets people know that he is walking past their large compound walls is by beating his stick against his buckets. Bang- Bang - Bang. Now the whole block knows a water boy is near.

No luck here so he continues to the next block where a young girl sprints out of her family's gate and calls him over. She points him over to the family barrels where he parks the donkey. Now comes the trickiest part of his job as he must untie the opening to the sacks one at a time and empty the water into his bucket. Then, he must empty his bucket into the barrel. He must do this all while dealing with a donkey who simply doesn't enjoy the task at hand. So Ibrahim gallantly grabs the tie and lets some water through, the donkey jolts and sends water (money) crashing to the dry ground. Ibrahim readjusts and tries again. On his fourth or fifth time, he gets a full bucket. He ties off the sack and dumps it in the barrel. Once the barrel is full, the young girl pays him and he is done.

It's off again to the well, to continue his job as the town'’s plumbing system -– yet another way the people of Darfur have ingeniously beaten the odds.


In Darfur, when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Survival is not an option and the people are so creative. They manage to find a solution to every problem. They reuse everything and waste nothing. These very people are now the victims of genocide. Please, help me take a stand for them and end their unjust murders.

Lessons from a naked man

Many years ago, when my parents were working in Southern Sudan, they lived with a rural tribe. This tribe, as is often the case in very hot climates, made the common-sense decision that clothes were to be optional. In fact, everyone went around with little else than a string of beautiful beads around their waist - anything else was abnormal.

Nearby there was a town that was seeking to be known as "modern." So, as a part of their modernization effort the town passed a law saying that anyone who came into the town's limits had to be clothed. The ultimate example of "no shirt, no shoes, no service."

One day my parents visited the town to pick up some supplies (yes, fully clothed) and on their way back saw the most unusual sight. Strutting down the road toward the town - his face lit up by a wide grin - was a very tall, very dark Sudanese man. The rich darkness of his skin contrasted greatly with the the brand new, bright white tennis shoes he was wearing on his feet. That's right, he was only wearing shoes - nothing else. Beaming from ear to ear and confident that he was now clothed, because he had on a pair of shoes, he was eager to visit the town.

This was a man who had spirit. He was dedicated to his goal of visiting the town and had worked up and saved up to buy his shoes. He was proud of being clothed and oblivious to the weird glances he was receiving. He was carefree, happy and intent on enjoying himself despite his circumstances. Captured in this picture are so many lessons that it would be hard to define them all here. I will go into a few things that I see, but would love to hear from you as to any other things you can see or learn from this story.

I wish sometimes that our society would let us act like this. Not so much the walking around naked part, but rather, releasing us of self-imposed inhibitions and social norms. We dictate to ourselves what is appropriate, what is normal and what is not. We convince ourselves that there is no other way to live. We try so hard to conform that we often scorn those who do not meet our standards, almost as if we are jealous they have the freedom to be different. This is true in both the secular and Christian worlds.

One of the things I loved the most about my friends in Eastern Chad and Darfur was their spirit. They managed to laugh under the most dire of circumstances, stay hopeful even while planting dead seeds in parched land, and maintain a generous attitude that rivals any other culture that I have experienced. If you arrived at dinnertime, you were guarenteed a place around the tray of food - no matter how meager the rations. Chadians perfected the art of "visiting" and would always keep a pot of tea on the fire to welcome the steady stream of friends stopping by to chat. There was no hurry - you were always welcome. A favorite quote of mine goes like this: "Americans may have watches, but Africans have the time."

Unfortunately, this spirit is being violently crushed even as you read these words. Every day, fathers have to witness their young daughters get raped before they themselves get killed. Mothers are forced to flee from their homes and take up camp in the desert to excape harm. There is a genocide taking place in Darfur AND it is now spilling over into Chad as well. Over 400,000 people - my spirited friends - have been killed and over 3.5 million others have been forced to live as refugees in their own countries.

Please, join me and everyone else who realizes that what is happening "over there" is the worst man-made humanitarian crisis our generation has ever seen. Help save Darfur. Help save the last remaining spirit of my friends.

TIME RUNNING OUT IN DARFUR

By Nat Hentoff
Washington Times

After prolonged, fractious negotiations, there appeared to be hope
that the horrendous genocide in Darfur might be coming to an end after
hundreds of thousands of black Muslims and others have been killed or
died of disease, and 2.4 million of the survivors have been torn from
their villages into refugee camps. But a peace treaty signed on May 5
in Nigeria between the government of Sudan and one of the rebel forces
is coming apart.

Two weeks after the signing, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan
wrote in the French daily, Le Figaro, that "there is not a second to
lose...the region is undergoing the worst humanitarian crisis gripping
the planet." On the same day, Jan Egeland, the U.N.'s relief
coordinator, emphasized on the Sudan Tribune's Web site: "The next few
weeks will be make or break. We can turn the corner toward
reconciliation and reconstruction, or we see an even worse collapse of
our efforts to provide protection and relief to millions of people."
Earlier, he had warned: "The alternative to peace through this
agreement is too horrendous for any of us to contemplate."

But on May 18, the Sudan Tribune reported that Khartoum had
"detained" two well-known Sudanese human-rightsactivists
"incommunicado, putting them at risk of torture ...Detaining them
sends a clear message to victims of rape and torture that no one in
Darfur who attempts to stand up for the rights of the victims is
safe."

Meanwhile, on May 15, the Khartoum-directed Janjaweed, relentless
murderers and rapists, attacked two villages in the north of Darfur.
As a New York Times headline the previous day all too accurately
proclaimed: "Truce Is Talk, Agony Is Real in Darfur War." That story
told of how the Janjaweed again broke the so-called peace treaty,
attacking the village of Menawashie. They "killed one woman, wounded
six villagers and raped 15 women."

"They told us," said a villager, "you are slaves, we will finish
you. We will not allow you to move from Menawashie, not one
kilometer." Added another survivor, Aish Adam Moussa: "They always say
peace is coming, but we are still waiting."

The core hole in the quickly unraveling peace treaty is the
promise of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to demobilize the
Janjaweed fully, and with verification, by mid-October.

Says Ismael Haron in the Gaga refugee camp in Chad: "We know Omar
Hassan al-Bashir. We have seen him make agreements and then break them
10 minutes later." And, if the Janjaweed keep murdering and raping for
months to come and beyond October, who will stop them? After all, Mr.
al-Bashir has, for three years, earnestly insisted he would disarm the
Janjaweed.

As of this writing, the United Nations has agreed to send a U.N.
force to bolster the greatly inadequate African Union monitors in
Darfur, but it will take months to organize and provide for these U.N.
peacekeepers. And in the village of Menawashie, the survivors will
still be waiting.

Reporting for the past 10 years on Khartoum's horrific crimes
against its own people in the south, and then in Darfur, I continually
keep reading, and talking to, the most authoritative chronicler of
these atrocities, Eric Reeves of Smith College in Massachusetts, who,
as Nicholas Kristof noted in the May 7 New York Times, has financed
his ceaseless campaign to inform the world of this genocide "by taking
a loan on his house."

As Mr. Kristof adds, Mr. Reeves, while trying to save untold lives
in Darfur, "has been fighting for his [own] life, struggling in a
battle with leukemia." But I still can reach him on his Web site
(SudanReeves.org) and sometimes on the phone. His analyses can also be
read on SudanTribune.com.

And in the May 10 New Republic, Mr. Reeves wrote that the May 5
peace agreement "at face value amounts to an extraordinary gamble with
the lives of more than 3.8 million human beings...in Darfur and [in
refugee camps] of eastern Chad...In essence, the victims of genocide
are being asked to trust that the perpetrators of genocide will disarm
and restrain themselves." If, Mr. Reeves insists, there is not "a
meaningful international force" deployed to protect the survivors in
Darfur, the international community will sigh too late and say, alas,
that peace treaty was "a meaningless piece of paper."

My own view is that unless there is a willing coalition of nations
going outside the United Nations and into Darfur to rescue those still
waiting for deliverance, a message will be sent to other nations that
destroy their own people. And Mr. al-Bashir will become the patron
saint of these future perpetrators of genocide.

President Bush, more than any other world leader, has done a lot,
though not enough, to prevent the extermination of the black Muslims
of Darfur. With that record, he can, despite all his other problems,
gloriously enter history by moving to exterminate this genocide by
helping to organize a coalition of willing nations while there is
still time.

Chad under siege?

WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- The government of Chad is under
political siege, juggling mounting hostilities with the Sudanese
government as the lives of 200,000 Darfur refugees stashed away in its
countryside hang in the balance.

Without aid from the international community, the government contends
it is likely to face an emerging war with neighbor Sudan, who has been
seeking to destabilize the country over the last three years.

'Sudan`s ultimate goal is to change the regime of Chad before settling
the issue of Darfur,' said Mohammad Adam Bechir, Chad`s ambassador to
the United States, in a recent interview with United Press
International. 'They want to settle the issue of Darfur in their own
way. They want to put in Chad a government that is pro-Sudan and puts
both the refugees and the rebel groups in a sandwich, so they don`t
have much choice but to accept whatever the terms of settlement the
Sudan government is ready to give.'

Until now, the Sudan government has been vehemently opposed to
allowing international forces to enter its borders, including the
war-torn region of Darfur. In a statement from the Sudanese Foreign
Ministry last week, the government said 'any forces, if that is agreed
upon, would be a force for supervision and not a force for peace
implementation.'

But on Tuesday, the government said it would allow a joint African
Union-United Nations assessment team to enter Darfur next week to
evaluate any additional needs of the African Union Mission in Sudan
(AMIS) and the requirements for a U.N. peacekeeping force.

The 15-nation U.N. Security Council will begin their 10-day trip on
Monday, visiting Khartoum, southern Sudan, refugee camps in Darfur and
Chad and African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

'You have to have the assessment team on the ground in order, as a
precondition really, to have an expanded force there and eventually a
U.N. peacekeeping force,' said Sean McCormack, spokesman for the U.S.
State Department. 'They do need to try to get a handle on the
violence. All the parties need to meet their obligations under the
Darfur Peace Agreement. But the only way that you are going to really
address the security situation in the immediate term is to have that
expanded mission, to have that U.N. mission. And the decision by
Khartoum to let in the assessment team is a step along that pathway.'

U.N. spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Stephane Dujarric,
confirmed plans Wednesday amid mixed reports that the peacekeeping
mission would arrive in Khartoum for consultations next week before
heading to Darfur to 'see for themselves and plan for an eventual
takeover to a U.N. team,' and 'assess what the AU force needs now.'

It is expected that it will take roughly four months to deploy
peacekeeping troops after the joint mission has had time to assess the
situation.

'The speed with which we deploy will depend on how quickly the
governments give us these troops. So we will be looking at a couple of
months. By a couple of months, I mean four months or so,' Annan told
reporters at the United Nations Wednesday.

The United Nations has previously warned that a catastrophic situation
could still worsen in Darfur unless the international community
bolsters the U.N.-backed African Union peacekeeping mission there. The
roughly 7,300 member African Union force in the region has been
largely unable to halt violence, despite a peace deal signed on May 5.
The agreement was designed to stop the fighting that has killed nearly
200,000 and displaced roughly 2.5 million since 2003.

Bechir explained that Sudan`s tactics to isolate member states and
play rebel groups against each other has contributed to the lack of
efficiency by the African Union.

'The African Union has been mediating this issue, and the African
Union, I`m afraid, doesn`t want to be blamed or point fingers to any
of its member states,' said Bechir. 'And that`s why this limits the
efficiency of the African Union as a mediator or serious judge of the
problem.'

Fighting broke out in Darfur in 2003, after rebels complained that the
region had been marginalized by the central government. Rebels
affiliated with the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and
Equality Movement attacked Sudanese government facilities. Janjaweed
militia, with support from the Sudanese government, responded by
launching attacks on Sudanese civilians.

Chad, which has already cut off diplomatic relations with Sudan, has
repeatedly called on the international community to send peacekeeping
forces to the region.

'We were the first mediators,' said Bechir. 'We mediated between the
rebel groups and the government. It has taken more than three years of
mediation to reach a signed agreement.'

But with limited means and Sudan`s eagerness to destabilize the
country, Chadian authorities argue that the situation facing refugees
and the ongoing genocide in Darfur also falls to the responsibility of
the international community.

'Under these circumstances, Chad can no longer play as the mediator.
This is now the role of the international community. Our president
kept asking continuously; this is not the responsibility of Chad
alone. Our position is very sensitive. You can only go so far. We have
very limited means in Chad. We ourselves are in danger,' said Bechir.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

UN Threatens to Cut Off Refugee Camps in Chad

May 27, 2006: The UN is threatening to cut off supplies to some refugee camps unless Sudanese rebels stop using the camps as bases. The Sudanese rebels often have family in the camps, and usually come into the camps wearing military uniforms (the favorite attire of both the Sudanese paramilitaries and the rebels on both sides of the border.) Chad is responsible for security at the refugee camps, but because of the expanding civil war in Chad, the army is too busy trying to keep president Deby in power, to worry about refugee camps. Chad's security forces were never very efficient in the first place, but now the border with Sudan is apparently wide open for any truckload of guys with guns.