2008 Woodie Awards
Panel on Sudan crisis
Landry Haarmann
Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: Features
"I come before you today because this issue is important," said Lecturer in Political Science Victor Archibong at the April 11 panel on the Sudan, an event that included an information session and a discussion between the speakers and the audience.
The panel mainly focused on the conflict at Darfur, but explored the issues, such as years of civil war, arbitrary map lines drawn when Britain left the Sudan, corrupt government and the discovery of natural resources, most notably oil, that have complicated the Darfur conflict.
The event, organized by senior Jini Kades, featured four speakers, Archibong, two Sudanese natives, Hamid Adbelrasoul and Kuanyin Abur, and UNCG student activist involved in the group STAND (A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition), Katie Mariategui.
A large number of topics were discussed. Mariategui focused on the numbers. Statistics estimate 500,000 people have been killed and 3 million displaced because of the Darfur conflict.
The panel also spoke about the difficulty of creating peace in the Darfur region.
Adbelrasoul, born a few miles from the Darfur region, talked about the corrupt government and their involvement in preventing peace. According to Adbelrasoul, the United Nations has passed several resolutions regarding Darfur, some of which would deploy U.N. peacekeeping troops into Darfur.
"(Sudanese President) Omar al-Bashir doesn't want the U.N. there because they can catch people guilty of war crimes," Adbelrasoul said. "This includes al-Bashir and his cabinet."
According to Abur, "The government is hurting its own people."
The government is reportedly giving guns to the Janjaweed, an Islamic militia that has been destroying villages, tearing apart families and killing people.
Also discussed was the lack of attention placed on the Darfur conflict.
"People may know what's happening, but they need to see what is happening," said Abur.
Media outlets have shown apathy towards the crisis in Darfur. In 2004, the Martha Stewart stock scandal got more airtime than the conflict in Darfur.
The panel mainly focused on the conflict at Darfur, but explored the issues, such as years of civil war, arbitrary map lines drawn when Britain left the Sudan, corrupt government and the discovery of natural resources, most notably oil, that have complicated the Darfur conflict.
The event, organized by senior Jini Kades, featured four speakers, Archibong, two Sudanese natives, Hamid Adbelrasoul and Kuanyin Abur, and UNCG student activist involved in the group STAND (A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition), Katie Mariategui.
A large number of topics were discussed. Mariategui focused on the numbers. Statistics estimate 500,000 people have been killed and 3 million displaced because of the Darfur conflict.
The panel also spoke about the difficulty of creating peace in the Darfur region.
Adbelrasoul, born a few miles from the Darfur region, talked about the corrupt government and their involvement in preventing peace. According to Adbelrasoul, the United Nations has passed several resolutions regarding Darfur, some of which would deploy U.N. peacekeeping troops into Darfur.
"(Sudanese President) Omar al-Bashir doesn't want the U.N. there because they can catch people guilty of war crimes," Adbelrasoul said. "This includes al-Bashir and his cabinet."
According to Abur, "The government is hurting its own people."
The government is reportedly giving guns to the Janjaweed, an Islamic militia that has been destroying villages, tearing apart families and killing people.
Also discussed was the lack of attention placed on the Darfur conflict.
"People may know what's happening, but they need to see what is happening," said Abur.
Media outlets have shown apathy towards the crisis in Darfur. In 2004, the Martha Stewart stock scandal got more airtime than the conflict in Darfur.
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