Io and Ngos: Socially and Economically Connecting

¶ … IO and NGOs: Socially and Economically Connecting us Globally

In September 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 50,000 deaths in Darfur since the conflict's beginning, mostly by starvation; in October, its head gave an estimate of 71,000 deaths by starvation and disease alone between March and October 2004. Even recently, though the conflict in Sudan no longer dominates the headlines, the conflict is far from over. From January to May 2005, the international humanitarian aid organization, Doctors without Borders/Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) teams treated over 500 persons for violence-related injuries and 278 women for rape (MNT 2005). It is clear from these disturbing statistics that there is a humanitarian crisis happening in Sudan, while all governments, especially its own, are contributing to what is happening. With regard to the Sudanese government, "In April the UN Inter-Agency Fact Finding and Rapid Assessment Mission reported a strategy of systematic and deliberate starvation being enforced by the Government of Sudan. They have also been known to withhold vital documents such as visas and travel permits" (Smith & Walker 2004). Furthermore, in the United Kingdom, it is speculated that "pension money is helping to prop up Sudan's dictators" (WP 2005). The official stance of the UK government was echoed in the Queen's Speech on May 17th of 2005, "My Government will continue to push for a resolution of the conflict in Darfur" as well as the statement made by Baroness Symons of Vernham in February of 2005 who suggested, "The UK is committed to helping the Sudanese achieve a sustainable peace in Sudan,"(4Hansard 2005) but while the UK government has supported the Dafur situation monetarily, it has done little to affect change, as we presently see that the situation has not concluded. As the Aegis Report suggests, "Under pressure from other member states at the UN Security Council, it was convenient for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) not to address the political issues and questions about security, no-fly zones and ending impunity. Instead, the UN and member states hid behind the humanitarian aid effort" (Smith & Walker 2004).

The scale of the situation in Darfur has again and again reached the definition of "genocide" but it is continually disputed by the UN. Writers of the Aegis Report were told over and again by refugees coming over the border to Eastern Chad from Darfur: The Janjaweed want to steal from us, kill us and destroy us, because we are black. Amnesty International documented numerous references to racist language in interviews with refugees. The following is just one example of many: You blacks, you have spoilt the country! We are here to burn you. Ethnic targeting is obvious. Arab villages stand unharmed within sight of destroyed African villages. USAID satellite imagery showed that villages were still being destroyed in large numbers during August despite the stated threat of UN sanctions (Smith & Walker 2004).