In Sudan, Death and Denial

[gottaB]

By Emily Wax
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, June 27, 2004; Page A01

MORNAY, Sudan -- There are tents here that no parent wants to visit. They are called feeding centers, shady rectangular units where children fight death. Sitting on a mat and holding his son's frail hand, Mohammed Ishaq and his wife, Aisha, have been here five days, nursing 9-month-old Zohar on drops of water from a large pink cup, praying that somehow he will survive.

Zohar spits up the water. His cough is rough, and his thin skin clings to his ribs. His withered left arm is connected to an IV. He is suffering from malaria, complicated by malnutrition. Near him, other parents rock, nurse and pray for their babies, who are passed out or moaning, their eyes rolled back as they vomit emergency rations of corn and oil.

Six hundred miles to the east in the capital, Khartoum, Mustafa Osman Ismail, the foreign minister of Sudan, stretched back in his plump leather chair in an air-conditioned office overlooking the Nile.

"In Darfur, there is no hunger. There is no malnutrition. There is no epidemic disease," he said in an interview. Yes, he conceded, there is "a humanitarian situation." But the hunger, he said, was "imagined" by the media.

In Sudan, Death and Denial....

***

Also see Screams of Sudan's starving refugees

For ongoing news and commentary, check the blog passionofthepresent.org

[rpannier]

1. Mustafa Ismail is full of...

crap. Always has been, always will be. He's sort of a cross between John Ashcroft (Ismail is an Islamic fanatic) and Candolezza Rice (a bold faced liar, who shills for the admin).

[gottaB]

3. "If this is genocide, where are the mass graves?" he has said

Definitely part of the problem.

[usrbs]

2. I've just written to Kerry, Clinton and my reps

asking them to take action on Darfur. We should all be doing this. Another genocide is taking place before our eyesm for God's sake!

[JI7]

8. Kerry has released a statement more than once on this during the campaign

calling on bush administration to take action.

[Mnemosyne]

4. My heart is broken for the innocents. May forgiveness be.

[psychopomp]

5. Where is the int'l call to action?

Why has there not been movement on this, at least from the EU?

(Of course, the US is otherwise too preoccupied to look into this situation and the allegations of Sudanese complicity in Al Quaeda mechanations give our gov't another reason to look away.)

[gottaB]

10. EU involvement is a complicated issue

At the moment the Germans and the Brits are leading on this issue. The EU has pledged relief money, applied some diplomatic pressure, and has been fully supportive of the AU (African Union). The AU has brokered cease-fires, but it lacks the muscle to enforce them, and it's monitors have been fired upon by Janjaweed. There has been talk of contributing peacekeepers, but in all honesty I think in Europe like in the US there is not much political support for sending troops.

[psychopomp]

11. The inertia is shameful

Just like what happened in Rwanda. This inaction is an indictment of humanity.

[bleedingheart]

6. All these people are dying because of Oil

Please someone correct me if I am wrong but I recall reading an article some time ago about there being a cultural divide in Sudan. There are the rural Sudanese who happen to live in the area of the country that has the Oil...and there are the Sudanese who are culturally different (can't remember why) who are a bit more savvy who wish to control that oil....

Mass starvation and death of the people who may want their share of the oil....well that just works out for both the Sudanese who want the oil....and the multi-national oil corporations...

Unfortunately I don't see anything being done about this situation...and that is what grieves me because there are going to be a lot more children dying as their parents watch helplessly.

[havocmom]

7. One of the 'Lost boys of the Sudan' is now an intern for AZ Congressman

Kolbe. The young man worked for my sister and with my daughter. His story is an amazing saga. His resilience is also amazing. The horrors he survived, the things he has witnessed and the escape journey he made as a very young lad whose father was killed because he was a leader of his people, well, I am glad he is alive to tell the tale. Glad he has made use of opportunities to learn and grow. He has style and grace. He plans to study law, business, government, public health policy and return to his home to help rebuild his country.

http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/metro/22017.php

<snip> In his 23 years, University of Arizona junior John Thon Majok has escaped wild animal attacks, nearly died of thirst and witnessed the deaths of many friends. He has also maintained faith, worked with discipline and is now headed for Capitol Hill.

<snip> "The United States is a land of opportunity, but if you don't use it, it can knock you," said Majok, who leaves Tuesday for a position as one of two Washington, D.C., summer interns for Arizona Congressman Jim Kolbe, a Republican from Tucson. Four other summer interns will work for Kolbe's Tucson office.

<snip> "If you wait too long the opportunity might go away," he added. "This is the right time for me, and I thank God for all the possibilities and opportunities he has given to me."

<snip> Kolbe selected Majok for the unpaid internship based on an application process that asked candidates to write a position paper on two political issues. Majok chose quality health care and illegal immigration, arguing that both are in serious need of policy reform.

I am very glad Kolbe has John in DC. He is a very bright, personable young man and will do much for his people just getting this story out to more and more. He is an inspiration and a very practical young man. He works so hard and is very caring.

One day, when someone in the office where my daughter works was whining and complaining about something, John popped his head into her cubicle and asked, with a smile on his face, " ******, is it as bad as seeing your best friend eaten by a lion?" That was not the worst he has seen by a long shot.

Mark my sister's words, John Majok will be another Nelson Mandela, such are his gifts. We need to help these people survive. Some of them walked so very far to get here to learn, grow, and enlist our help that their people might live and enjoy liberty and peace.

edited to add: John is busy in DC
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040526-111102-4678r.htm

[mom cat]

9. So much for my petty complaints. Thanks for your post.