Community Rally for Darfur

Several evenings ago, I accompanied my neighbor to a community rally to raise money and collect clothing for the children in Darfur: Save Welaid Darfur 2007. The founder of Sudaneseonline.org, one of the most popular websites in the world, sponsored the rally, and my friend Amira, an actress who frequently visits Salmmah, was emcee for the evening.

Several very impressive and important people attended. Minni Minawi, the former leader of the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM), stayed for about two hours before speaking and departing. After signing the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) in Abuja in 2006, Minni became an advisor to President Bashir here in Khartoum. The SLM crumbled shortly thereafter, as 19+ commanders from the SLM who did not support the DPA left the organization to form their own: the National Redemption Front (NRF). Many here say the SLM has since become a GoS paramilitary group, and is no longer fighting on behalf of the Darfurian people. Minni was seated three feet from me, and my friend Ayman snapped this photo of him with me in the background. Mahjoub Shareef, a renowned Sudanese poet, also spoke, and two bands played: one was a local group who sang in Arabic, the other was from the south and did a tradition performance with drums in Dinka (southern tribal language).

The news of progress made in the Darfur peace process here is scattered and skeptical at best. As I watch the BBC report on TV that the GoS has committed to a hybrid peace-keeping force of United Nations and African Union troops, I read in the local newspapers that President Bashir is creating many stipulations about the composition of these forces that are intended to severely limit the ability of the troops to maintain peace in Darfur. Many African countries are weary of sending additional troops, and of course, African troops are exactly what President Bashir is demanding. Reports range from October 2007 to May 2008 for the deployment of the hybrid force, creating further skepticism that such a force will be effective in stabilizing the region. And on the Darfur rebel side of things, it appears that the movements of the JEM (Justice and Equality Movement) and NRF are splintering into more and more fractions every day and they are increasingly attacking aid workers and convoys.

Being here, I now better understand why the urgency and attention placed on Darfur by the international community is oftentimes frustrating to the people living here. The rest of Sudan is busy working to rebuild the south, which was decimated by 20 years of war, working for women’s and children’s rights, health and education, and in many cases, just working to survive. Meanwhile, international funders are currently only interested in funding programs and aid for the women and children of Darfur. It is as though, once again, the international community is exhibiting attention deficit disorder and is just following the catastrophe of the moment, neglecting to commit funding to the development and education work that is so critical to security and stability here in the long run.