Children’s Fate Focus of Fifth Global Day for Darfur

Refugee Rights News
Volume 4, Issue 3
May 2008

Five years into the war in Darfur, the world greeted another Global Day for Darfur. On Sunday, April 13, thousands of activists and concerned citizens came together in more than 30 countries worldwide to shed light on the dire situation in Darfur. The theme revolved around children, and the fact that children in Darfur under the age of five have yet to experience a peaceful environment. The Day’s logo, a white child’s handprint inside a red stop sign, clearly conveyed the message that a stop has to be put to Sudanese children being caught up in bloodshed and victimized by displacement and killings in Darfur.

A group of children’s authors including J.K. Rowling and Judy Blume marked the day by releasing a letter demanding the world to bring childhood back to Darfur. Celebrities, including actor Matt Damon and Thandie Newton, were pictured destroying emblems of childhood to highlight that childhood is under attack.

“The people of Darfur are hungry for change,” said Dismas Nkunda of the Darfur Consortium. ”They have been the victims of a belligerent government and an inept international response. Above all it has been children who have suffered and it is they whom we must now rally to protect before we lose an entire generation to violence.”

As previous Global Days for Darfur the event was organized by an international coalition of human rights groups including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Save Darfur Coalition. Many Darfur Consortium member organizations organized events amongst which were the following:

Egypt

The Arab Program for Human Rights Activists, in collaboration with the preparatory committee of human rights organizations to save Darfur organized a solidarity event with the children of Darfur to stop or assuage their suffering.

The event took place at the Paramisa Hotel, Dokki, Egypt on Sunday, April 13. The activities were attended by journalists, writers, artists and civil society organizations, and included an art exhibition of Sudanese and Egyptian artists, children’s drawings and pictures that reflected the extent of the human suffering of the children of Darfur. A documentary film about Darfur was also shown, followed by a round table discussion which was chaired by both Sudanese and Egyptian children. The children presented a letter of objection to the participating artists, acting as “ambassadors of goodwill.”

Ghana

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) organized a seminar in collaboration with the Forum on African Affairs, a student group at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana.

This program was well advertised on the university campus, and the event was attended by political science students, academics, lecturers and members of the university community in general. Members of the general public were also present.

The screening of a documentary on the situation in Darfur underscored the fact that women and children are the worst affected by the crisis. Professor Kwame Karkari, Executive Director of MFWA, presented a paper entitled “The Responsibility of Intellectuals in the Search for Peace in Darfur” and discussed the different dimensions of the crisis and the many reasons why humanitarian issues arising out of the conflict must be confronted by intellectuals.

The presentation provoked a lively discussion after which a joint statement by MFWA and the Forum on African Affairs was issued. The statement was widely distributed to local and regional media and was reported widely in the Ghanaian media, including newspapers and radio stations.

Senegal

Recontre Africaine pour la Defense des Droits de l’Homme (RADDHO) and the West African Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons Network (WARIPNET) organized a series of activities in Dakar. These activities focused on the promotion and protection of the rights of Darfurian children. A roundtable was organized that discussed the humanitarian and security situation of Darfurian children in general, as well as in the camps specifically. RADDHO and WARIPNET worked closely with inter-governmental organizations such as UNICEF, international organizations such as Save the Children, and African and Senegalese grassroots organizations in organizing the roundtable. The main objective was not only to draw public attention to the situation of the Darfurian child, but also to call upon Senegalese diplomacy to address the case of Darfur while promoting the rights of children and encouraging a continuation of their positive actions.

A video screening preceded the roundtable. The video screening focused on Darfurian refugees and the internally displaced. It was an opportunity for the audience to hear the testimony of Darfurian victims of forced migration and the different problems they are facing. A photo exhibition on Darfurian refugees and internally displaced persons was also part of the event. Various radio talk shows addressed the situation of the children in Darfur and the peace process in general.

South Africa

On April 12, the Human Rights Institute of South Africa (HURISA), in collaboration with the South African Human Rights Commission, the Darfur Consortium and the Save Darfur Coalition, hosted a gathering to commemorate the 5th anniversary of Global Day on Darfur in Newtown, South Africa.

This event focused on the children of Darfur who reached their 5th birthdays without ever having known peace. Most of the participants were youth, who first heard a series of presentations educating them about the situation in Darfur. The children then broke into groups reflecting on how what they learned about Darfur affected them and how these issues should be addressed. Many of the young people who attended the event reflected on their relative privilege as South Africans, and on their need to support those less fortunate. They reminded each other not to be wasteful, and of the importance of giving humanitarian aid. One young man suggested that South African President Thabo Mbeki should sit down with Sudanese President Omar El Bashir and speak sternly with him. Another young woman reflected that many of the problems in Darfur were linked to those in South Africa—for example rape, which she noted might be particularly widespread in Darfur, but was a serious problem in South Africa as well. Following these reflections the organizers reflected on the importance of understanding and connecting with other parts of Africa, an opportunity that many of them were denied growing up under the apartheid system, which tried to isolate South Africans from potential allies in independent Africa.

Following the speeches, the children participated in the creation of a banner, in which each person added their painted handprint and signature. Participating children also received reading materials and T-shirts. A live band provided cultural music at the event.

What’s next?

With 1.8 million people under the age of 18 affected by the violence in Darfur an entire generation is at high risk for poor health, malnutrition and significant psychological and social problems. The effects of displacement, separation from family, violence, and continuous fear make the young of Darfur vulnerable to violence, sexual assault and recruitment by armed groups.

The Darfur Consortium and other concerned NGOs called on all parties to the conflict to stop attacks on civilians immediately in order to create an environment in which children can live without fear and achieve their dreams for the future.