What does a small child have to do to survive in South Kordofan, Sudan?

Children in Kauda, South Kordofan, Sudan, shelter from a passing Antonov, 2012. Photograph: Peter Moszynski

Hi everyone,

What does a small child have to do to survive in South Kordofan, Sudan?  This photo says it all.  How can we possibly even begin to imagine what it is really like for them to be in this horrific situation?  The accompanying question is, why do we continue to do so little to help them?

An eerie silence suddenly descends upon Kauda’s market as people scan the skies for the source of the distant yet all-too-familiar throb of Soviet-manufactured plane engines.

“Antonov!” the cry goes out, and people scatter, diving into the nearest hole or scrambling for cover wherever they can. After a few minutes the engines fade and people get up, dust themselves off and attempt to get on with what passes for normality for the beleaguered inhabitants of Sudan‘s Nuba mountains.

“Women and children usually constitute the largest number of casualties from these bombing raids,” says Ahmed Kafi, local co-ordinator for one of the few international NGOs that still maintains a presence on the ground. “Most of the men and older children learned long ago to take cover when they hear an Antonov approaching, but the younger ones often run in panic and there is nothing in the world that can prevent a mother from chasing after her children.”

From “World again turns blind eye to people of Sudan’s Nuba mountains,” by Peter Moszynski

Then this morning’s news:  Two Antonovs dropped 28 bombs in the town of Kauda in South Kordofan.  Amazingly, no one was reported as having been killed.  A few days ago in the village of Eieri a family of five was not as lucky.  They were killed.

Here is one little helpful thing you can do.  Ask the UNSC, AU and US to Provide Civilian Protection in Sudan. To sign the petition, click here.

Thank you.

Barbara English
Executive Director, Living Ubuntu
http://livingubuntu.org
(949) 891-2005

Protests in Sudan: death, disappearance, and the dread of not knowing

Students demonstrate outside the Ministry of Justice, over the deaths of four students from war-torn western region of Darfur in Gezira state, at Khartoum. ((Reuters) (December 9, 2012)

Hi everyone,

A few months ago, protests in Darfur got personal for me.  As the reports of government forces using live fire on demonstrators and mass numbers detained, one of my Facebook friends, living in South Darfur, suddenly didn’t have a profile on line anymore.  With no response to my email query to him to find out if he was okay, I was left with an overwhelming feeling of dread and helplessness.

There were myriad explanations and I knew he might be just fine.  Yet, just in case, I reviewed, and reviewed again, the names of those who had been killed.  I was relieved to not see his name listed, but that was the extent of info I had access to.  He re-surfaced after a few silent weeks and told me he had indeed been detained for five days.  He said it was the Government of Sudan that had taken down his Facebook profile and this of course had been my fear.  His communications had an undertow of lack of safety far more than what I had ever heard from him before.  It took a while, but he eventually managed to get out of the country and I continue to live with fingers crossed for his safety.  Silence in between emails can feel very long.

For many years I have heard stories of those who have been “disappeared” in many different countries of the world.  This was my first personal experience of realizing that I might have a friend who so-to-speak “disappeared”, leaving me in the uncertainty of not knowing what had happened, and not knowing if it involved yet another act by a malevolent, genocidal government.

Fortunately, my friend was released, able to communicate, and leave the country.  Yet, the brief silence left a deeply embedded experience of what it is like when you just don’t know.  For some, over the course of a lifetime, they never get to know what happened to those they love.  If ever there was an act of cruelty to inflict torment without direct contact, leaving family members to just not know anything has to rank very high on the list of most extreme cruelties human beings can do to one another.

With that as background, protests continue in Sudan and in many of them, those from Darfur continue to be targets.  Some protestors were killed;  some disappeared.  And somewhere others sit wringing there hands, feeling a sense of dread and helplessness, not knowing what happened to their loved ones.

Barbara English
Executive Director, Living Ubuntu
http://livingubuntu.org
(949) 891-2005

You don’t give hair extensions to people in a war zone… or do you?

Do we need to change how we think about what refugees need and what qualifies as legitimate humanitarian aid?  IRIN recently featured, SECURITY: New report on R2P challenges humanitarians.  Ironically, civilians successfully fleeing conflict on their own is often the best means of civilian protection available.

The report also indicates that sometimes the requests for assistance are not what one would expect.  After escaping near death, refugees often wanted “non-necessity” items to preserve ceremonies and traditions.  Guitar strings, bead and hair extensions were deemed important for wedding celebrations, music and dancing.  After losing the home they knew, it makes sense that it is genuinely important to be able to preserve that which is familiar, life-affirming, and solidifies a sense of belonging and community in their displaced location.

Screening of “In My Country” on Saturday, December 3

Hi everyone,

Last June, a few of you were at my house for a screening of “In My Country”.  This film is based on the true life accounts of journalists covering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in post-Apartheid South Africa.  One reason I have always liked the film is that it does a great job of illustrating what Ubuntu really means.

Among those in attendance that night were, Isaac, Wai and Simon, friends from the Sudanese-American community living in San Diego.  Also with us that evening, Awichu, a new friend originally from Uganda.  As I looked around the room that night, I realized there were only a couple of us that had been born in the U.S.  With life stories based in many different countries, the conversation after the film that night spontaneously took on some of the toughest issues we face in this life:

• What does it take to heal?
• How do we manage to genuinely forgive?
• Is reconciliation always possible?
• How do those themes get applied when entire countries have been torn apart for decades?

After the great experience of exploring “Ubuntu” together, it was Simon that was the first to suggest we screen the film for their community down in San Diego. We are going to do that on Saturday, December 3rd, and we would really like for you to come join us that night.  All details are below and on the website.

Warmly,

Barbara English
Living Ubuntu
http://livingubuntu.org
(949) 891-2005

 

Screening of “In My Country”

What does it take to heal deep wounds and get to genuine peace and reconciliation?

Watch the trailer »

South Africa 1996.  The government has established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate abuses of human rights during the Apartheid regime.  These hearings serve as a forum for those accused of murder and torture to be confronted by their victims…

Saturday, December 3
4p Potluck
5p Screening and discussion

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
3725 30th St.
San Diego, CA

Cost:  Free
Join us for an evening of food, conversation and contemplation.
We will have homemade Sudanese food at the potluck. Feel free to bring a dish :)

For more information, visit
http://livingubuntu.org/events

Any questions? Please contact us at info@livingubuntu.org or (949) 891-2005.

“A beautiful and important film about South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It will engage and influence not only South Africans, but people all over the world concerned with the great questions of human reconciliation, forgiveness, and tolerance.”
– Nelson Mandela

* * *

South Sudan Independence Celebration this Sunday, July 10th

Hi everyone,

South Sudan Independence Celebration in San Diego this Sunday, July 10th. Click for more details.

A mere five days after our own 4^th of July celebration of Independence Day in the U.S., the world’s newest country will arrive.  This Saturday, July 9th, South Sudan will officially be a new, independent nation.  To mark this historic occasion, the Sudanese community in San Diego is planning a massive celebration this Sunday, July 10th.

Here are the details:

South Sudan Independence Celebration: FREE!!

Sunday, July 10th

1:00p – 8:00p

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
3725 30th Street, San Diego, CA

Program includes: Music, traditional Sudanese dances, speeches from community leaders, performances by the Sudanese youth, home-cooked Sudanese food and more… Over 400+ people are expected at this event.  Click here for more information.

Independence comes with a mixture of sentiments.  Cause for celebration is inter-mingled with knowing that these remain times of tragic suffering and great uncertainty for many in various parts of Sudan. This weekend we come together in support of the Sudanese people and hold hope for peace and healing.  One way to demonstrate that support is to attend one or more of the events (see below) they have planned in San Diego.  We hope you will join us at the festivities this weekend.

Unfortunately, we’re double-booked on Sunday and will be the late-arrivers in San Diego after our Summer Body Group: Finding Your ‘No’ in the afternoon.  There are a few from Orange County who will be driving down for the celebration.  If you’d like to carpool, please get in touch with us. 

Hope you can make it.

Barbara & Anshul
Orange County for Darfur, a project of Living Ubuntu
(949) 891-2005
ocfordarfur.org | blog | facebook

PS:  We are extremely grateful to GI-Net / Save Darfur for their support of this event.  Thank you :)

::: EVENTS PLANNED IN SAN DIEGO THIS WEEKEND :::

Friday July 8, South Sudan Independence Live Broadcast
9p-12a.  Sudanese American Youth Center in San Diego
Click here for more info »

Saturday July 9, South Sudan Independence Day Party
9p-2a.  World Beat Center, San Diego, CA
Come and enjoy the Biggest African Party of the Year and lets kick off the summer with an event that screams Africa, at the one and only World Beat Center.  Find out more »

Sunday July 10th, South Sudan Independence Day Celebration: FREE!
1p-8p.  St Luke’s Episcopal Church, San Diego, CA
The Sudanese Community would like to invite you to this family-friendly event to celebrate the new South Sudan’s Republic.  Click here for more info »

* * *

Good books and films about Genocide

Photograph by Rev. Wilfredo Benitez for Orange County for Darfur.

April was Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month. In honor of this, we compiled a Resource List of books and films themed around each of the past genocides that have commemorative dates in April, plus the areas that we cover.  We hope you will make use of this list as a way to both remember these genocides, and learn more about them.

In April we featured books and films associated with the genocides that have commemorative dates in April, and in May, the regions of our present day efforts.  In June, as a final point of focus, we are including books and films about genocide that are not tied to any particular geographical region.  This is the tenth post in this series, Genocide.

Recommended Books:

A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide, by Samantha Power
From 1993-1996 Samantha Power covered the grisly events in Bosnia and Srebrenica, becoming increasingly frustrated with the United States and their inability to counteract the genocide.  “The United States had never in its history intervened to stop genocide and had in fact rarely even made a point of condemning it as it occurred.”

Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing, by James E. Waller
From the Turks’ massacre of Armenians in 1915 through the Serbians’ slaughter of Bosnian and Albanian Muslims during the 1990s, the 20th century was an era of mass killing.  Social psychologist Waller develops a four-layered theory of how everyday citizens became involved.

Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide from Sparta to Darfur, by Ben Kiernan
Humans have been slaughtering each other for thousands of years, but only now is the field of genocide studies blooming.  This grim account of history notes remarkable parallels in the patterns of mass slaughter, from Carthage to Darfur.

Guns, Germs and Steel, by Jared Diamond
The book asks and attempts to answer the question, once human kind spread throughout the world, why did differ populations in different locations have such different histories?  The modern world ha been shaped by conquest, epidemics and genocide, the ingredients of which rose first in Eurasia.  The book’s premise is that those ingredients required the development of agriculture.

Mobilizing the Will to Intervene: Leadership to Prevent Mass Atrocities, by Frank Chalk, Romeo Dallaire, Kyle Matthews, Karla Barqueiro, and Simon Doyle
The recurrences of genocide and crimes against humanity around the world demonstrate that the international community has been largely ineffective in stopping mass atrocities.  Drawing on interviews with 80 key figures involved in American and Canadian responses to the Rwandan genocide and the Kosovo crisis, the book explains why and provides a roadmap for change.

Preventing Genocide: Practical Steps toward Early Detection and Effective Action, by David A. Hamburg
Analyzes the problem of mass violence, describes pillars of prevention, and concludes that focal points of knowledge and skill in prevention are essential to identify warnings and to prepare and propose appropriate responses before a genocide begins.  It recommends the establishment of international genocide prevention centers in strong institutions and outlines their tasks.

Talk with Tim Aye Hardy about Burma (Wednesday, June 8th at 6:30p)

Hi everyone,

"I was one of the lucky few. Up to 6,000 innocent protesters were gunned down, and many more were imprisoned or mysteriously disappeared in the night. I lost many colleagues and close friends." - Tim Aye Hardy.

Recently, TIME magazine featured an article with headline, UN Envoy: Burma Not Addressing Abuse.  Not that this is news, as the abuses within Burma are long-standing and ongoing.  In April, the Obama administration finally complied with a portion of the Jade Act signed into law in 2008 and appointed a Special Envoy to Burma, Derek Mitchell.  As calls for a Commission of Inquiry continue, how much of a difference will this recent appointment (presuming he is confirmed by US Senate) make for Burma?

Our thanks goes out in advance to our dear friend, Tim Aye Hardy, from the Burma Global Action Network.  Some of you may recall Tim from when he was with us in person for an event last July.  He has graciously agreed to give us an update, walking us through the twists and turns of the current situation in Burma.

At our next meeting on Wednesday, June 8th at 6:30p, Tim, who lives in NYC, will join us via Skype.  This special meeting will be held in Lake Forest instead of our usual location.  Here is the address:

Talk with Tim about Burma
Wednesday, June 8th @ 6:30p in Lake Forest, CA
(If you’d like to attend, please contact us at (949) 891-2005 or info@ocfordarfur.org and we will send you the address)

We have limited space for this meeting.  Hope you can join us.

Warmly,

Barbara & Anshul
Orange County for Darfur, a project of Living Ubuntu
ocfordarfur.org | blog | facebook