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I have watched with keen interest the participation and contribution by the African Youth, especially those of us working in the area of conflict and peace related issues to the happenings in Sudan, but what I see goes beyond my imagination. We have failed to make concrete statements, especially in all our peace networking groups. Must group moderators remind us all the time of our duties? Jean Ives made the first contribution and asked all of us to join in raising our voice against the ethnic cleansing of the blacks and innocent souls. I have seen many young Africans wanting to join one committee or the other, but what do we want to achieve in the committee when our brothers and sisters are being slaughtered daily?
What kind of economic development do we want to achieve when the environment is not conducive? Nigeria, Ghana and others are not in war but do their Presidents sit down to address the pressing economic developmental issues of their homes? No, instead, they are holding meetings and mediation talks between warring parties. As I am writing this, the African Union (AU) is in a summit of inter-Sudanese peace talks on the Dafur crisis. This is because whatever affects the head affects the body. African Youth must raise their voice by contributing to aid the state of affairs in Sudan, DRC, Burundi and other warring African countries. Meaningful statements and ways forward must be issued or suggested presently.
The year 1956 ushered in the independence of the country known as Sudan (gotten from the Arabic word ‘Bilad al-Sudan’ meaning Land of the Black) A child that was born that year should be making his/her 48th birthday celebration, but what kind of birthday celebration do we expect such person to have since 37 years of their productive life, they have witnessed high scale killings, rape and destructions of property? The country has enjoyed peace for just 11 years. In a recent British Broadcasting Corporation interview, a 75-year-old man in Sudan has resigned to faith. He said the people have been promised peace several times yet nothing close to that has been shown
Some weeks ago, about 150 Congolese Tutsis were massacred at the Refugee camp in Burundi. The Hutus extremists from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were suspected for the killings. Since then, there has been tension in the Great Lakes region. Rwanda and Burundi have threatened an offensive against DRC, this is another sad situation putting into consideration the fact that about 2 million lives was lost in a five-year war in DRC that formally ended last year. Even with that, ethnic violence still has a place in the eastern part of that country. Burundi’s 1993 civil war is just by the corner, while Rwanda is still healing the wounds of 1994 genocide where about a million lives were mowed down.
In my last contribution titled Sudan in Focus, quoting from the United Nations report, it was stated that 30,000 people have been killed and about a million displaced from their homes. The present figure is now over 50,000 while the numbers of people displaced are now over 2 Million. Those in Refugee camps all over live at the savagery level of civilizations.
The current problem started in February last year as a result of the rebels demand for more rights for the non-Arabs in Dafur, the western part of the country as a result of marginalization of other race by the Arabs. Since then we have been battling how to resolve the crisis. The Janjaweed militia group set up and bankrolled by the Government is reported to be a bloodletting monster determined to eliminate the entire black race. Although the Sudanese ruling Government has denied the allegations, their inability to disarm the deadly force shows their insincerity to the resolution of the conflict. The Al-Bashir’s Government preference for the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, intervention to that of the African Union also show her lack of concern for her kinsmen. The AU has started sending peacekeeping force to the Region. The UN has threatened economic sanctions. In fact, they have given Sudan a 30 day ultimatum to rein in the Janjaweed. This ultimatum will expire on the 29th August, 2004.
African countries are still battling hard on how to meet up with the global market of civilization, the conditions set by world banks and other financial institutions for economic building are very crushing. There is serious famine, majority of us are living below poverty line. The little resources we have are always been channel into one crisis or the other. President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria in his opening address to the warring parties on Monday at the Summit of inter-Sudanese peace talks in Abuja said "Africa cannot continue to be the problem child of the world, known for its pitiable pictures shown around the world of miserable-looking children and women, dying of malnutrition and diseases as a result of wars and internal crisis".
My dear brothers and sisters in the struggle, the responsibility of ensuring the return of peace to Sudan and other warring African countries should not be seen as that of African Leaders or AU alone. It is the collective responsibility of all. We are actually the custodians of our destiny. Please don’t lose hope, lets keep the fire burning. We must rise up to the challenge. Maybe the warring parties will heed to our voice or our brothers and sisters being used to perpetrate this evil against humanity will suddenly see reasons in our effort and say “No” to those at the helms of the sad event by dropping arms.
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adedayo thomas
ADEDAYO THOMAS,NIGERIAN.COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKER.MAJOR IN THE USE OF PARTICIPATORY LEARNING &ACTION TO RESOLVE FOUNDAMENTAL HUMAN ISSUE ESPECIALLY CONFLICT IN AFRICA AS IT AFFECT THE YOUTH,GIRLS AND WOMEN
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