There will be blood..
According to Amnesty International’s January 2008 report, more than 90,000 people are believed to have been killed in Darfur since 2003. This local militia supported insurgency has displaced the people of a nation in millions – a staggering 2.3 million people have been internally displaced. They have found refuge in one of the 65 camps established for internally displaced people also referred to as IDP’s.
Since the rebellion in 2003, more than 200,000 are feared to have been killed /executed by the Janjawid – a militia comprising of gun totting nomadic Arabic speaking African tribesman on camels or horseback; ruthless criminals and butchers who have, since 2003, hacked away any opposition to their progress of annexing villages in Darfur.
Darfuris have been at the forefront of international NGO’s that have been trying to re-habilitate this ethnic demography from the scourges of genocide that has been their curse for the past few years.
There’s nothing I can write here that you haven’t read already. But every now and then one comes across a searing account of this brutality – a story that needs telling if only to de-sensitize us urbane and progressive people so we can mobilize our individual efforts and voice our protest, if only for the sake of humanity.
A friend who works for a British company located in Khartoum, Sudan often wonders how the lure of position and money dragged him into the quagmire that is Afro-Islamic politics. Say’s he, “..there’s no ignoring the veil of oppression and treachery regardless of the Gora Saabs (the fair skinned Brits)..this is no place to earn a living, never mind how much you hope to rake in..”This despondent vegan writes intermittently to describe the vagaries of everyday life (including, in lighter vein, how difficult it is to get local women to date since Islam prohibits anything of the nature unless one draws a temporary contract).
A local newspaper reported 17 missing people from one of the local camps for the internally displaced populace. They were on their way from Khartoum to one of the camps and were abducted along the way by the Janjawid militia. The militia demanded they cough up $105,000 since they had trespassed into Janjawid controlled territory. For a nation that lives mostly below poverty line, the IDP’s couldn’t possibly imagine paying the said amount as ransom. They were hence tied and made to walk continuously for 3 days to a base camp occupied by the Arabic Janjawid.
They were tied to trees at the entrance of the camp (the oldest among them being 55 years old and the youngest being 8 years old). For 65 days, they were beaten and sodomized with whips, chains, gun butts and were given one meal a day. On their release, it took the 17 severely traumatized and wounded refugees 3 days to crawl their way back to the camp where the locals had by then, managed to raise half the ransom. 71 days post the abduction; no one could’ve imagined the brutality their scars spoke of.
But even more horrific than the above are stories of torture and rape that women in camps have to endure. Within the confines of the camp, there’s always the fear of being preyed upon by frustrated and angry males. Women have always been soft targets and are often treated as spoils of a battle or dare; they have always been the victims of conflict and have been subjected to extreme gender based violence.
There are more women in camps than there are men (some have been killed while others have abandoned their lot to escape into neighboring countries). When the Darfuris were attacked to drive them off their lands, murder and rape were the order of the hour. Women were raped on an as yet unprecedented scale – some were raped and tortured and kept in Janjawid camps for entertainment of the militia. Rape was the choice of weapon for the Janjawid militia to humiliate and punish those they attacked – their women often being raped, multiple numbers of times in public.
Life outside the camp is as distraught as inside of it. The militia preys on women who wander outside the camps to gather firewood and are often raped on the spot. These (the rapes) have a dual purpose – to humiliate the clansmen within the camps as well as to remind the refugees that they’re not safe, no matter where they seek refuge. Men don’t ever venture outside to collect firewood since they will me murdered without the slightest hesitation – women are left to recount their tales of horror so as to maintain psychological repression.
Amina reported one such account of militia brutality to an Amnesty International spokesman.
In May 2007, Amina and five other friends, aged 13-16, left their camp to collect firewood. They had all been cautioned by their parents and camp elders to remain within safe distance should the militia attack. Ostensibly, the girls started to gather dried wood from around the periphery of the camp.
Suddenly, 3-armed men in Khaki uniforms (a Janjawid trademark) appeared out of nowhere and started to greet the girls (“Al Salaam Aleikum“). Sensing danger but maintaining their calm, the girls responded (Waa ‘Aleikum Salaam). One of the men asked Amina for water but all three turned away when she mentioned she had none. Just as the girls were about to leave, the men re-appeared (wearing Jallabiyas instead) and started to taunt them. When they tried to escape, the militia fired at them slowing their progress. They walked over to Amina and started to beat the Khadim (slave). Two of the men then started to tear apart her tawb (cloth) and began to rape her in plain view of anyone who chose to watch. Amina passed out while still being raped and awoke to find her naked body covered in urine.
She was later discovered by her brother who, accompanied by his mother, took Amina to the local police station to report the case and fill in the Form 8 (used to report cases of rape/torture against women). Not only did the police refuse to listen, they detained Amina’s brother for four weeks without any hearing (he was tortured in prison for the duration of his stay).
Today, Amina is married but bitter still about the indelible scars of that fateful afternoon. Although there’s little she can do but try and forget, she’s resolute about murdering the men who raped her – their faces etched forever in the recesses of her mind.
Amina’s story is a drop in an otherwise poisonous ocean of wrath and anguish that is the fabric of the victims of genocide in Darfur. Darfur remains one of the worst humanitarian and human rights catastrophes – a story you won’t ever want to recount. Infested with disease, plague, malnutrition, extreme poverty and rampant crime, Darfur needs your help NOW.
If you’d like to help voice your protest, please visit: www.amnestyinternational.org
Take a minute to sign an urgent petition at: http://action.savedarfur.org/campaign/savedarfurcoalition
To find out how you can help, please visit: http://www.helpdarfur.org/
Help Darfur NOW by signing a petition at: http://instantkarma.org/InstantKarma.html
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