Author: Laura Heaton

Michael Abramowitz, Director of the Committee on Conscience at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, sent this account from Kigali, where he is attending events to commemorate the 15-year anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. KIGALI, April 7—Silence fell over the thousands who gathered on this picturesque hill in Kigali as Karasira Venuste began the simple story of what happened to him and some 5,000 other Tutsi near this exact spot 15 years ago: “Evil people killed many of us in unspeakable conditions.” The hush was punctuated only by the occasionally audible sobs and cries from those in the audience for whom ...

This week is a thoughtful and quiet one in Rwanda. Businesses close early, people travel to their home villages to be with family. “I’m just staying inside,” said a close Rwandan friend I spoke to yesterday over the phone. “I don’t want to be around so many people. At this time of year, I usually just want to be alone.” April is Rwanda’s memorial month, during which the country pauses to commemorate the 800,000 lives lost during the genocide of 1994. Yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the start of the most intense period of violence, the roll-out of what’s ...

The two aid workers abducted in Darfur on Saturday night have been in touch with local authorities and contacted their colleagues at Aide Medicale Internationale, news reports said today. "They are in good shape," foreign ministry official Ali Yussef told AFP. "We are making every effort to free them in a peaceful way." The unidentified pair - a French woman and a Canadian woman - was kidnapped from the AMI office in Ed el-Fursan in South Darfur along with two Sudanese guards, who were quickly released. The incident is the latest in a spate of violence against aid workers recently ...

Fifteen years ago today, a plane carrying Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana and Burundian President Cyprian Niayamira was shot from the sky in Kigali, Rwanda. The assassination of Rwanda’s president was the rallying call which set in motion well-laid plans to target the country’s Tutsi minority and its sympathizers. Within hours of the crash, local militias began to carry out the most brutally efficient genocide in modern history. An estimated 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in three months. Click here to hear an archived radio report from April 7, 1994, in which U.N. force commander Lt. General Romeo Dallaire ...

Senator John Kerry, (D-MA), the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is heading to Sudan next week, the senator's press secretary confirmed. Kerry plans to visit Darfur and Khartoum. The announcement comes amid heightened attention to Darfur from the Obama administration, following up on a pledge made by the president during his campaign. Last week, President Obama met with Darfur advocates and lawmakers at the White House in a send-off for Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, the new U.S. special envoy to Sudan. Gration arrived in Khartoum last Thursday, and has since made headlines with his very conciliatory tone toward ...

Reuters AlertNet recently ran an article that provides a unique perspective on the expulsion of humanitarian aid organizations – from the viewpoint of an aid worker forced to leave. "Almost exactly a month ago, we were expelled from Darfur. Since then we have spent most days trying to get in touch with friends and colleagues there, hoping to find out what is happening in the communities which we had to leave behind. The reports we are getting from the camps are increasingly alarming. Over the past six years, people living in the camps have been bombed, raped, robbed and forced ...

French agency Aide Medicale Internationale reported today that four of its staff in Darfur were kidnapped last night. Two expatriate staff remain in the custody of unidentified gunmen, while the two Sudanese guards were quickly released. The AMI office targeted is located in Ed el Fursan, in an area of South Darfur that's seen an uptick in violence lately. The kidnapping is certain to further the concern that creating insecurity for international aid agencies is part of Khartoum's strategy. President Bashir has called for all humanitarian aid to be "Sudanized" within a year ...

New U.S. envoy to Sudan Scott Gration visited ZamZam camp today and had this to say about the humanitarian situation in Darfur: "I came away very concerned about what I saw and believe that we are on the brink of a deepening crisis in Darfur." With basic supplies like water dwindling, Gration said that gaps left by the aid agencies expelled by President Bashir in March need to be filled quickly. Despite the Sudanese government's claims to the contrary, Gration said that the aid groups still on the ground cannot fill the immense needs alone. "We have to come up ...

Retired Major General Scott Gration is wrapping up a second day of meetings with leaders in Khartoum on his first "listening tour" as President Obama's new envoy to Sudan. News reports highlighted the conciliatory tone General Gration took in initial meetings, but from Gration's own words, it's clear he wants to emphasize that the onus is on Sudan's leaders to maintain this spirit of partnership: "I come here with my hands open and it will be up to the Sudanese government to determine how they want to continue with that relationship, hopefully it will be with a hand of friendship, ...

Here at Enough, we often swap emails with interesting articles and feature stories that we come across in our favorite publications and on our favorite websites. We wanted to share some of these stories with you as part of our effort to keep you up to date on what you need to know in the world of anti-genocide and crimes against humanity work. CFR published a Q&A with Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese business man and founder of telecom giant Celtel, which discusses the effect of the financial crisis on African economies and connects the dots between transparent business, good governance, ...