As The Children See It

For the children of Darfur, like the children of Beslan it is often easier to put into drawings what is difficult to express through words.

The Scotsman
HOPING to gain a greater understanding of the genocide in Sudan, researchers from the organisation Human Rights Watch travelled to neighbouring Chad in February to speak to refugees who had fled across the border.

Dr Annie Sparrow and Olivier Bercault wanted to concentrate on the adults in the group, so they provided the children with crayons and paper to keep themselves amused.

When the researchers had finished their interviews, they looked at what the children had drawn. Unbidden, they had drawn what was uppermost in their minds: scenes of unmitigated horror.



Ala' drew a scene he had witnessed in which a rebel soldier was shot in the genitals by a Janjaweed. Ali, a teacher in the refugee camp, explained that rebels were killed that way to emasculate them. "They [the Janjaweed] know what they are doing," he said.



"The Janjaweed came on camels and horses, very fast. Sometimes two on one camel, with guns. Many soldiers, with guns. This one is a machine gun. They were shooting us." He had also drawn another picture (not shown) of a man with a radio transmitter: "We needed help. There was no one to protect us," he said.


As I blogged about before NATO is considering a request by the African Union to send forces to the area, but Glen Reynolds is stating that France is expected to veto that request.

As tempting as it may be to focus all anger on France at this point they are not alone in their unwillingness to do what needs to be done to end this tragedy. The entire world has failed Darfur with it's impotence and someday we will have to answer for this.

Darfur Drawn - The conflict in Darfur through childrens eyes


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