And All the While People Die

Humanitarian aid in Darfur is still under attack. Two more aid workers have been kidnapped and many more live in constant fear. The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) intends to address this problem, but is this enough?

Humanitarian aid groups are threatened.

With the second incident of kidnapping of aid workers and the violence erupting in Darfur due to lack of supplies, humanitarian workers in the region are under constant threat and having a hard time providing sufficient aid to the people of Darfur. They are without sufficient personnel and funding, and are watching their collective efforts deteriorate before their eyes. If the situation is not addressed soon, there may be up to 1.5 million displaced people in danger of starvation and/or death by disease.

Currently, the aid groups are being blamed for collaborating with the ICC in its successful effort to indict Omar Al-Bashir, Sudan's head-of-state, on war crimes and issue a warrant for his arrest. This has led the Sudanese government to cease cooperation with international aid groups. They are delaying the acceptance of new groups and, indirectly causing the deterioration of an already unstable situation.

On the 4th of this month, two Aide Medicale Internationale workers from Canada and France were kidnapped at gunpoint. This is the second in what seems to be a series of abductions of aid workers. They were taken overnight from their compound in Ed El-Fursan. The kidnappers demand $200 USD for the safe return of the hostages.

The expulsion of the 13 groups and the threats to remaining ones has left the people of Darfur helpless and desperate. The international community has condemned the expulsions, but Sudan is unwilling to budge and does not seem to be caving to the pressure. If anything, Omar Hassan Al-Bashir is flaunting his freedom and his allegiances to the rest of the world. Yet again, he is allowing genocide by attrition to consume the Darfuri population.

What is the next move?

A U.S. Special Envoy was sent to the region to assess the situation. One envoy member, Scott Gration, said the expelled groups are not likely to return and that they need to focus their efforts in three ways:

• By building up the existing groups.


• Through recruiting and funding new groups, especially ones from Arab nations and Western Nations in good relations with Sudan.


• And by speeding up the visa processes for current aid groups applying to enter Sudan.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) announced on Friday that they have a plan to send "urgent and continued aid services" to the region. They plan to help rebuild the war-torn western regions and to help refugees return home. To accomplish this they want to coordinate cooperation between the Muslim NGOs in Darfur and the UN's expelled aid groups. There are 25 Muslim aid groups currently in the region that are based in OIC member countries. This is nearly 20% of all existing aid in Darfur, and coordination of this 20% with outside sources could produce very promising results. The OIC, however, is also in full support of Al-Bashir's defiance of the ICC. They believe it was a poor move on the international community's part. Hopefully their plan can make up for this divergence in arguments which has left a third party, the Darfuri people, caught in the middle and left in a very vulnerable situation.

Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures

With the expulsion and closures of 16 of aid groups the population of Darfur grows increasingly desperate. Several issues worry the remaining aid workers and the people of Darfur as well.

• Speculators have predicted that water supplies may diminish in a matter of weeks. All water is pumped to the surface from wells and boreholes, and, without the fuel supplies provided by aid groups, they will soon cease to operate.


• Many health clinics have closed and outbreaks have already begun. Diarrhea is speading in Zam Zam camp and meningitis has infected the people in the Kalma camp.


• Food was already a scarce commodity, but now, with the expulsion of many groups, the World Food Program (WFP) is left alone to take on the difficult task of feeding millions of people.


• People are fleeing the region, yet again, leading the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS) to declare the food security of both Sudan and Bar El Ghazal under imminent threat.

In the light of these circumstances, things are projected to get increasingly violent in the region. On March 14, 26 people died in the Southern region of Darfur. Conflict broke out between the Hibaniya and Al-Falata tribes over cattle raiding. Conflicts of this type are believe to flare up all over Darfur as supplies quickly disappear. In a region rich in weapons and desperate people and lacking law and order, deaths can only be projected to increase until stability and security is brought to the people.

Aid Workers Fear For Their Lives

The situation in Darfur is spiraling out of control. Aid workers are in imminent danger of abduction, expulsion, resistance and even murder. Immediately following the issuance of the arrest warrant for Sudanese leader Al-Bashir, 13 foreign aid groups were expelled for "spying" for the ICC. The IRC (International Rescue Committee), WPF (World Food Program), and WHO (World Health Organization) are among those expelled. This has only further agitated a volatile situation.

The victimization of aid groups did not stop there. Five Medecins Sans Frontieres workers were kidnapped in Darfur on the evening of 11 March 2009. Two were Sudanese and released immediately, but Marilyn McHarg (Canadian), Mauro D'Ascanio (Italian) and Raphael Meunier (French) were held for three days before being released and returning home. During that time, the aid group was forced to recall all their workers in the region.

On 23 March 2009, in a remote village called Kongo Haraza, further violence resulting from the situation led to the murder of a Sudanese worker for a Canadian aid group in Darfur. Two days prior, gunmen entered Adam Khatir's house demanding a satellite phone. Khatir would not comply and was beaten as a result. When the men returned, they came demanding Khatir's life. A total of 12 aid workers have been killed in Darfur in the past year.

Aid groups have also been targeted in car jackings, ambushes and the like in the last month. However, according to a BBC article, "Aid agencies say they will not cease operations in Darfur, despite spiralling security risks in the area." Some groups have been forced to flee and there has been visible decline in aid to the region. Many more have remained. Those who have fled ought not be criticized, but those who have remained ought be praised for their courageous efforts to fight inhumane treatment of fellow human beings. Hail NGOs!