Wider View: Looking into Darfur

Terrorism is a concern all over the world, but its form varies from place to place.

Take Darfur, the westernmost portion of Sudan that borders on Chad.

Darfur has been suffering a deadly conflict since 2003, when two rebel groups developed: The Sudanese Liberation Army/ Movement (SLA/SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

These groups say they want economic equality for the people of Darfur, who, historically, have been left out of development projects in Sudan. As a result, they are the poorest people in the region.

East of Darfur on the banks of the Nile River lays the capital, Khartoum, where the British invested most of their money and energy in the 19th century. Consequently, the Nile Valley is the most developed and powerful region in the country.

Historical context

In antiquity, the north of Sudan used to be part of Egypt or Nubia, as it was then called, while the south was part of tribal black Africa. In the 7th Century, Islam spread through what is now the north of Sudan, which was eventually conquered by Ottoman Egypt in 1820.

During the 19th Century, France, England, and Belgium all claimed and colonized pieces of the region. Christian missionaries worked in the South, further discouraging Islam there.

Sudan became independent of Britain in 1956, but the historical divisions remained. Many of the victims in Darfur claim that it is an ethnic battle between Islamic "Arabs" and "black Africans." While it is more complex than this, the racial split cannot be denied.

Today’s conflict

Although the United Nations hasn’t recognized it as such, most aid groups and journalists say that what is happening in Sudan is racial or ethnic cleansing -- genocide.

The "Arab" tribes of the north have been in conflict with the "black African" farmers of the South for many years, but when the Darfur-based SLA and JEM surfaced, the conflict turned into a bloody war.

An "Arab" militia group called the Janjaweed (a colloquialism which means a man with a gun on a horse) responded to the SLA and JEM by killing "black Africans" and pillaging and burning villages in Darfur.

The Janjaweed, however, is not acting alone. The Sudanese government works directly with the militia, helping to arm and organize them.

About 400,000 people have been killed and over 2 million have been forced from their homes. Lucky refugees have made it to camps in neighboring Chad, while others wander the desert unprotected.

Another complication: OIL

In 2005, Sudan announced that it would begin to drill for oil. Large oil reserves exist in the south, and China is particularly interested. China needs oil to fuel its booming domestic economy, and has built a pipeline from the south of Sudan to the Red Sea, where oil tankers wait to ferry the valuable resource back to China.

China is also Sudan’s biggest arms supplier - so it is not exactly a neutral player in the Darfur conflict. In fact, the SLA and JEM try to destroy oil installations to prevent their enemy’s friend - China - from growing more rich and powerful.

What do you think?

The great humanitarian need in Darfur is irrefutable, but what is our role in meeting that need? What is the United States’ responsibility here? Do you see the Darfur crisis as a top priority? Do your representatives know what you think?

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Update Posted on: 11/5/2006