The World's Most Wretched Victims

By Roy Nielsen

Peace is coming to Sudan. After more than 21 years of genocide, major protocols were signed on May 26, 2004. Now the warring parties are just hammering out the details.

It took a long time to get to this point, due in large part to the indifference of the world community. Few spoke out while the world's longest civil war raged. In the past few months, however, the Sudanese have received more coverage in the mainstream media than ever before. This is not only because one of the most war-torn regions of the world will finally experience peace, at least in the southern part of the country. The slaughter continues in the Darfur region of Sudan, and it has become hard to ignore the morbid irony of simultaneous peace, reconciliation, and genocide coexisting in the same country.

It was a textbook case of modern genocide, with its integral component, the astonishing indifference of the West. . . The civil war had been waging for nine years and the imposed famine had wiped out hundreds of thousands. (Famine is Khartoum's weapon of mass destruction.)

The current interest in Sudan, such as it is, was nearly nonexistent for two decades while millions were slaughtered, millions more were uprooted, and tens of thousands of women and children were enslaved. It was a textbook case of modern genocide, with its integral component, the astonishing indifference of the West. Christian Solidarity International (CSI), a human rights group based in Zurich, was one of the first aid organizations to enter Sudan in 1992. The civil war had been waging for nine years and the imposed famine had wiped out hundreds of thousands. (Famine is Khartoum's weapon of mass destruction.) At that time, the mayhem was known to governments and human rights groups but the public was still unaware. CSI was in the forefront in raising awareness during the Clinton Administration, and progress was made. By the end of Clinton's presidency, news reports were telling the world about the deaths and suffering. When George W. Bush entered the White House, a new group of Christian leaders, mostly from the evangelical right – such as Franklin Graham and the Institute for Religion and Democracy (IRD) – had joined up to increase public awareness and press government leaders.

The initial interest in Sudan by these Christian groups was due to religious persecution issues. The government's National Islamic Front regime was oppressing the Christian “infidels” in the south of the country. CSI and the American Anti-Slavery Group brought the story of Arab slave raids to the attention of the world. Thousands of women and children had been turned into sex slaves and chattel, which then attracted the attention of African-American Christian and civil rights leaders, such as Rev. Walter Fauntroy and left-wing radio talk show host Joe Madison . The role that Christians played in helping to bring peace to Sudan cannot be overstated. If it were not for Christian leaders pushing the U.S. president, it is not likely there would have been peace negotiations. Some have said that President Bush's concern for Sudan is about religious persecution and the massive death toll, not about oil, which others have claimed is the primary focus.

Recently, international observers have again been speaking out about the ongoing violence in the Darfur region, as if in a panic. Days before the signing of the peace protocols, an International Crisis Group report, Sudan: Now or Never in Darfur stated that “Without immediate action, ‘Darfur 2004' will join ‘Rwanda 1994' as shorthand for international shame.” On April 16, The Washington Times published an editorial titled “Remember Rwanda, Act on Sudan.” Most recently, a June 16 editorial on Darfur by Nicholas Kristof in The New York Times pointedly stated, “if [these] people aren't victims of genocide, then the word has no meaning.”

Our history of dealing with genocide is frustrating and, frankly, repugnant. Once the killing begins, rumors start and then the human rights groups begin to send their reports to the international community. Our government has always been skeptical of these reports at first and reluctant to accept them. Finally, the death toll becomes too huge to ignore. It must be discussed. The debates about the definition of “genocide,” the perpetrator's right to sovereignty, and, the most important question, “what is America's vested economic interest,” can take months, even years. In the meantime, hundreds of thousands perish while praying to be saved from their terrible fate.

The indifference followed by long debates within our government has prolonged the suffering significantly in every instance of genocide, ever since the U.S. signed the United Nations Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. It is not just the horror of the killing itself that frustrates us and makes us feel appropriately guilty. It is the indifference and foot-dragging that we see in retrospect.

Our predictable laments are becoming clichés. “How could this happen?” “Never again.” It is the same in Sudan. On June 6, The New York Times reported that the Bush Administration is trying to determine whether a true genocide is occurring in Sudan. “Such a determination would increase the pressure on the United State . . . to more actively intervene in the region. . . There is disagreement within the administration on whether the situation in Darfur rises to the level of genocide.” But there is little disagreement among the expert observers. Respected authorities and human rights groups from around the world are calling it genocide. “Ethnic cleansing” has been our loophole. Despite the peace treaty, we must continue to speak out.

[C]hurches are now playing an important role in offering aid to those in Sudan as well as the Sudanese refugees throughout the world. One might say that the major denominations are best at giving humanitarian aid. Politics has not been our strong suit.

The major mainline Christian denominations have significant membership in the Sudan: the Episcopal/Anglican population in Sudan numbers 2.5 million. However, these mainstream churches have followed the lead of Christians from the far right and left. Through most of the past two decades the efforts of mainline denominations were minimal when compared to these activists. More recently, the Episcopal Church and others were involved in the passage of the Sudan Peace Act and the divestment of holdings in companies doing business with Khartoum. These churches are now playing an important role in offering aid to those in Sudan as well as the Sudanese refugees throughout the world. One might say that the major denominations are best at giving humanitarian aid. Politics has not been our strong suit.

Considering the hideous violence and terror, which the Sudanese suffered for such a long time, it is difficult to understand how their case remained so obscure. Over the past decade, our government needed to be pushed every step of the way, with the Christian community arguably in the lead. Peace is coming to Sudan. But based on the regime's history, it is not likely to be a complete peace. The Khartoum regime observes a perverse form of Islam that includes the stoning of unwed mothers, cross amputations, and crucifixion for criminals and non-criminals. With the known reluctance of the international community to care, reports of peace in Sudan will give us one more reason to look away.

And the Sudanese face yet another humanitarian disaster. There are millions of refugees poised to return home as soon as it is safe. Their numbers will overwhelm the country and hunger and disease will follow. Sudan will continue to have the distinction of being the most wretched place on earth.

You can help our brothers and sisters in Sudan through your prayers, political activism, food, and medicine. Some parishes throughout the Episcopal Church, USA have established programs to help Sudan. The Episcopal Peace Fellowship's Sudan Interest Group is creating a fund to provide food and medicine to returning refugees. If you would like to know about these programs or to share information about others, please contact me (below). Together, we must continue to keep up the pressure on our government and the world community. We cannot afford to be tempted by the current “peace” to revert to a silence that encouraged the devastating genocide.

Roy Nielsen is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and holds an M.Ed. in non-profit management from Cambridge College (Mass.). He is a member of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts' Committee on Peace and Justice. Roy's work on Sudan includes public education and the creation of a fund to support the Sudanese community, which seeks to support the Lanjini Girls Academy in Lui and other important development projects. He may be reached by phone at 508.238.5449 and email at wr.nielsen@att.net .