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Darfuri Refugees Make Plea on Behalf of Blue Nile, Southern Kordofan

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Darfuri Refugees Make Plea on Behalf of Blue Nile, Southern Kordofan

Posted by Enough Team on December 1, 2011

Darfuri Refugees Make Plea on Behalf of Blue Nile, Southern Kordofan

Editor’s Note: Guest blogger Gabriel Stauring is reporting from the ground in Chad, where he is visiting Darfur refugee camps with the Enough Project’s Darfur Dream Team. His post is part of the campaign launched this week by Sudan Now to call for emergency assistance for survivors of ongoing Sudanese government attacks.

"All they know is killing, raping, and looting," my friend Adam, a refugee from Darfur now living in a camp eastern Chad tells me. After a week of visiting camps, the product of the Khartoum's regime systematic campaign against African tribes in Darfur, I am hearing something quite remarkable from the victims of what has been declared genocide by the United States government: They are asking for the world to respond immediately to the urgent crisis—not in Darfur, but in the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile.  

Another Darfuri friend, an Umbda (camp leader), talked about what a harrowing experience it was for him and over 7,000 other people from his village and surrounding area to escape the destruction of their village and then being chased by the Janjaweed until they barely made it to Chad. They had to leave many people behind, the Umbda told us with tears in his eyes. He said that now the exact same things are happening to people in the Nuba Mountains, and that many have no way to escape. He pleaded for the international community to respond.

As Darfur continues to be bombed, and its people continue to be oppressed, Darfuri people say they feel a connection with the other attacked and marginalized people of Sudan and are standing in solidarity with them—particularly in Blue Nile and South Kordofan. In these regions, aerial bombardments have killed and displaced untold numbers of civilians, and local farmers’ inability to plant crops during the attacks is now leading to an impending famine.

The people of Darfur have seen their children being killed, their mothers and sisters being raped, and their homes destroyed in Darfur. They cannot stand for other groups of people in Sudan to be going through the same.

We’re trying to spread the word, and you can, too. My organization is a part of Sudan Now, and this week we’re running a new campaign to pressure U.S. policymakers to take action and raise awareness in the public. I hope you’ll take a moment to watch our latest video and share it with your friends and family.

For all the Adams and Umbdas of Sudan, we must not let this horrific violence go unnoticed.