I had the opportunity today to go and listen to a couple of refugees from the Darfur genocide. There names were Ibrahim Mousa Adam and Daoud Hari.
Ibrahim grew up in the village of Jadara in Northern Darfur where he worked as a farmer and volunteered as a teacher. In July of 2003, Ibrahim’s village was attacked by the Sudanese Army and the Janjaweed. 80 people were murdered that day. 20 of those 80 people where family members of Ibrahim. Over 100 of his relatives now live in six different refugee and internally displaced persons camps in Darfur and Chad. He would like to someday have a job that allows him to move back to Jadara and help rebuild Darfur. He told stories of the atrocities that are happening today.
Daoud Hari comes from Musbat, a village in the northern part of Darfur, where he worked with his family raising sheep and camels. Daoud fled his village in Darfur after months of bombings by the Sudanese government. When Daoud reached a refugee camp in neighboring Chad, he risked his life by re-entering Darfur to translate for the New York Times, BBC, and National Geographic and aid workers. Last summer, Daoud was arrested on false espionage charges with Chicago Tribune reporter Paul Salopek and subsequently tortured. He spent one month and ten days in prison. His attitude was such that he expected to die every day. He was released only when Mexico Governor Bill Richardson negotiated their release. The United States soon after granted Daoud refugee status. He has recently testified before Congress three times.
Both Ibrahim and Daoud spoke about the many injustices happening each and every day in Darfur. They spoke of how help was needed today not tomorrow on behalf of the estimated 2 million displaced refugees of Darfur. 3.5 million rely on international aid to survive every day. To date over 5,000 villages have been bombed and burned down, over 400,000 Darfuris have been murdered.
I listened in amazement and wonder at their courage and passion. The horror they have experienced and seen is far more than humanity should bear. But Ibrahim and Daoud don’t back down. They fight back not with more killing and atrocities. The fight back with the stories that will change the future of an oppressed people. Their ammunition is not bullets but stories of real people.
So the war continues. The Sudanese government and the Janjaweed fight with ammunition and bombs and the Darfuris fight back with stories of atrocities.
The question is how can we make a difference? You can click on the Save Darfur link. You can write, email the President of the United States or UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said,
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
He also said,
“The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.“
So what is your voice going to say about the injustices happening in the world? I would love to hear your voice.
Voices from Darfur
