It has been said that when God views from heaven atrocities that go the Sudan, the angels weep and the saints begin to cry. It is totally impossible not to be moved by the reports coming out of western Sudan/Darfur, as a humanitarian crisis of immense proportions unfolds.
Well over 1 million people have been forced from their homes and are now having to survive in the makeshift refugee camps that dot the desert sands, punished by the harsh sun and virtually unbearable conditions.
Well over 30,000 people have been systematically killed, while thousands of women and young girls have been brutalized and raped since early Sudanese President Lt. Gen. Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir has alconsistently denied complicity in the western debacle, even as aid groups have to Khartoum’s numerous efforts to hinder relief work in that region. In all actuality, there are two wars going on in the Sudan: a civil war between north and south, and the genocide of the west.
Although sympathetic, many of us here in the United States have little or no knowledge of Sudan, its history, or what’s really going on there. So, let’s take a look at a brief history of the Sudan.
Geography
Africa’s largest country is located in the northeastern part of the continent, directly south of Egypt. It has a 400-mile coastline on the Red Sea. Eritrea and Ethiopia lie to the east, and Kenya, Uganda and the (Zaire) lie to the south. The western border is shared with the Central African Republic, Chad and Libya. The Sudan is almost one-third the size of the U.S.
Its terrain is generally flat, with mountains in the east and west. According to the Bureau of African Affairs, the northern part of the country is mostly desert, while the southern part is more tropical. The Nile River system flows through the country from south to north. The White Nile and Blue Nile rivers meet at Khartoum to form the Nile River.
Population
The population of Sudan is estimated at about 25 million, with a little more than 4 million people living in metropolitan Khartoum, the capital. (Over 1 million displaced persons from the southern war zone live in shantytowns around Khartoum.) Five regions divide the northern part of Sudan, which includes most of the urban areas. The populations of these regions are mostly Arabic-speaking Muslims, but within the heart of Northern Sudan live the Nuba.
The Nuba are an anomaly to the central government, and are very proud of their “Africanness” (source: Persecution in Sudan). The militant central government of President Omar al Bashir and Hassan al-Turabi have tried to annihilate the Nuba since seizing power through a military coup on June 30, 1989. For seven years, the Nuba were sealed off by the government forces of Khartoum, while the people of the Nuba tribes, moderate Muslims, Christians and tribal animists (tribal, with tribal religions and beliefs) faced genocide in the west.
The southern region, with a population of 4 to 6 million people, is mostly rural, with a subsistence economy. Many tribal groups live in the south. The largest of these groups is the Dinka, whose population exceeds well over 1 million people.
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