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.
In a posting on New York Times columnist Nick Kristof’s blog, the newspaper’s editors published an email written yesterday by a South Sudanese aid worker trapped in a UNMIS camp in Southern Kordofan. The message chillingly describes how national staff have been “left behind” while international staff were evacuated. A reader of the ominous blog post aptly commented:
Dear Editors,
Given the readership and influence of the New York Times, I would imagine that replacing the front-page story of Representative Weiner's 'chaotic final scene' with a headline linking to this email would be a prudent decision.
Sudan expert Eric Reeves stresses to the readership at The New Republic the very important distinctions between the Sudan Armed Forces’ recent offensive in Abyei and the still unfolding crisis in Southern Kordofan. He writes:
But alarmingly, it’s not yet clear whether the Obama administration appreciates the enormous differences between South Kordofan and Abyei, and in particular the potential not just for ethnic clearances but large-scale ethnic destruction. Khartoum had exerted de facto military control over Abyei for several months, and there was little chance the Southern SPLA would respond militarily. But those Nuba who are members of the SPLA feel that in fighting they will be defending their homeland, and their resistance will be intense.
Writing for the Aid Netherlands blog, Cassandra Clifford describes how the lack of enforcement of national laws – due to the failings of government authorities and cultural appropriateness – is largely to blame for the endemic sexual violence against women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Carne Ross, a former British diplomat and founder of the non-profit diplomatic advisory group Independent Diplomat, shares some insights in the Guardian about what people can do to support popular uprisings against oppressive regimes, beyond just calling for their own governments to ‘take action.’
Film blog The Playlist interviews Congolese filmmaker Djo Tunda Wa Munga, whose recently released feature debut “Viva Riva!” is set and was shot in Kinshasa. The crime thriller has gotten mixed reviews (gratuitous violence is the common criticism), but Munga makes some interesting points about the challenges and potential of filming in Congo, and discusses some other projects in the works.