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Darfur voices
达尔富尔之声
Hello, I'm Marina Santee.
And I'm Joshua Leo. Welcome to Spotlight.This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier forpeople to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Darfur, Sudan. The name means, 'the landof the Fur'. It is a large dry area in the west of Africa's largest country.And it is an area of serious conflict. The conflict started there in 2003. Itbegan as unrest about land and ethnic differences. Some groups claimed theright to the land for farming. A different ethnic group wanted the land forkeeping animals. The Sudanese government supported one group against the other.And this led to military attacks on many villages in Darfur.
Since then, estimates say that over twohundred thousand people have died. And many more have fled from theirhomelands. Today people are still suffering. But the world seems slow to dealwith this terrible situation. On today's Spotlight programme, we hear theopinions of some people who want to see an end to the situation in Darfur. Theybelieve that now is the time for change. Ruby Jones met some of these people inLondon:
Hundreds of people have come to Londontoday. Why? Well, the situation in Darfur is now so terrible. And organizers arehoping that their actions will influence the situation. They hope thatgovernments will listen and work together to bring change.
Later Ruby told us why people had come toLondon that day.
They had come to protest. They wanted moreaction to end the conflict in Darfur. I talked to some people who came toLondon to demonstrate. One young girl said:
"If we protest enough then peoplewill know what is happening. And if everyone knows, then they might stopit."
One young man from Darfur had come to theUnited Kingdom to escape the conflict. He spoke about his homeland:
"The country is broken; everyone isdying. There is no justice. They kill children and they kill women and they doanything they want because they are all criminals. People say that there ishope for Darfur. But up until now there has been no hope. There is nojustice."
People from all different religions joinedtogether to protest. Some Jewish students told me why they were there:
"This is a matter that is very closeto our hearts. It is something that we feel strongly about because of theHolocaust - the death of millions of Jews during the Second World War. It justfeels like history is repeating itself. And we want to protest againstthat."
What is it like for people who live andwork in Darfur?
Sara Andrews lives in Darfur. She isworking for Tearfund. Tearfund is a Christian aid group. It has workers in manydeveloping countries across the world. Sara is responsible for training healthworkers. She tells us a story about one of her friendships:
"Today I sat down with a Sudanesewoman. She wanted help with her English. She told me a story. One day, somepeople attacked her when she was walking to work. They beat her and kicked her.She still has problems now because of her injuries. It broke my heart. Thiswoman is my good friend. And I did not know about her suffering. I began tothink that similar attacks must have happened to many people in this country.And I thought about the people's amazing will to survive. They want to succeedeven more in their life now because of what they experienced in the past. Itold my friend that she was very brave. She agreed. This story made me cry. Butit also gave me hope. And it is often hard to find hope in this land."
Fatima lives in Al-Salaam camp. It is nearthe capital town of north Darfur. Al Salaam means "peace". But forthe fifty thousand people who stay at the camp, there is little peace. Theylive in small shelters made of dry grass. They do not always have enough water.For them it seems as if time has stopped. It will only start again when theycan return to their own homes and villages. Fatima is a young mother in thecamp. She says:
"The enemy soldiers killed my husbandin front of me. They drove a car over him. I have nothing left, but myspirit."
General Martin Luther Agwai is thecommander of a new peace-keeping force. This force is a combined UnitedNations-African Union project. At the time we recorded this programme, thesoldiers were preparing to go to Darfur. If and when they arrive, the Generalwill be responsible for the largest peace-keeping process in the world. He willhave twenty thousand soldiers and six thousand police under his control.General Agwai knows that he has a hard job to do. He says:
"I am worried because people expect alot. They will expect us to do something by tomorrow. But they do not knowabout the situation. And it has not changed very much at all. And I do not seeit changing much even up to the end of this year."
But the general is a man of hope. Hebelieves that all the different groups in Darfur can come together and sign apeace agreement. But governments around the world need to support him as muchas they can. They need to provide his soldiers with equipment and supplies. Ifthey do not, then the general's job could be long and hard - maybe impossible.
The Bishop of El Obeid is a leader of theChristian church in western Sudan. He wrote this prayer:
"Most powerful God. You promised tohear your people when we pray in faith. You have seen the suffering of ourpeople in Darfur. We pray for you to touch the hearts of people. We pray, LordGod, that the different groups will unite and talk about how peace can happen.So, the terrible crimes of war will stop - and people will not be treateddifferently because of their tribes.
We pray this through the Lord, JesusChrist, who is alive today. Amen."Many voices, one hope - that peace will come tothis troubled land. And that the better future people wish for will happen.
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