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.
With Sudan election madness winding down—at least with regards to the actual balloting—take a moment to look at this elections slideshow put together by Foreign Policy. These photos draw you intimately into the polling stations, alongside expectant voters waiting patiently in the hot sun, vividly showcasing the experiences of a country dealing with its first, though flawed, multi-party elections in over two decades. The earnestness and struggle for political expression at the grassroots is apparent from these images, in spite of the formidable obstacles stalling the will for change.
Though not a country Enough usually focuses on, this engaging piece on Guinea in the April 12th edition of the New Yorker is a must-read for those concerned with crimes against humanity. Writer Jon Lee Anderson delves deep into the now-deposed Guinean president Moussa Dadis Camara’s psyche and surveys the political landscape of the country in the aftermath of the massacres and rapes instigated by the ex-leader against opposition demonstrators last September.
In a worrisome trend, Islamist groups in Somalia continue to impose draconian interpretations of Islam onto the Somali population. Most radio stations in Somalia recently complied with the orders of extreme Islamist group Hizbul-Islam to stop playing music on radio stations, a demand that the BBC says “has strong echoes of the Taliban in Afghanistan.” According to the New York Times, school bells were also recently outlawed because they sounded too much like church bells.
Despite the unpopularity of these measures, groups like the Islamist insurgency al-Shabaab continue to find recruits among the Somali population, perhaps because of the economic incentive they can offer. This Christian Science Monitor article examines the rationale of ordinary Somalis when offered to join the ranks of al-Shabaab, an organization of fighters that continues wreak havoc on the civilian population. According to an interview with an al-Shabaab defector, recruiters offer $400 up front for joining in addition to a regular salary—promises not easily turned down by the many Somalis deprived of basic necessities.
If you’re still clamoring to get more of a Sudanese perspective of elections, Al-Jazeera’s “Africa Blog” has provided continuous on-the-ground coverage of the process since the start of the campaigning period. The blog, which highlights Sudanese voices, will undoubtedly continue to provide quality reporting with ballot counting underway.