(Page 2 of 5)
As a clinician and public health worker in the IDP camp setting, it is essential to understand that children are the most sensitive to adverse environmental conditions. If a population is like a big tree, the kids are the leaves right on the edge. When the leaves start falling off and the kids start getting sick or dying, they signal that something is wrong with the population. When adults become ill and die, it is already quite late and many of the children will have already died by then.
In September 2004, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell declared that “genocide has been committed” in Darfur. To your knowledge were there perpetrators of genocide residing in or near the camp?
The Sudanese government was working in conjunction with a rogue, government-sponsored militia called the Janjaweed, comprised of tribal Arabs, all armed on donkeys and horses. They were responsible for much of the violence committed against the non- Arab, black inhabitants of Darfur. Mass killings were carried out and villagers driven away from their homes to the camps. Without question, the people living in the camps still felt unsafe to go back to their homes. It was widely believed, and true, that the Janjaweed were out in the frontier. In fact, the Janjaweed informally patrolled the outside of the larger camps. When IDPs left the camp in order to find food or sticks for shelter, they would likely be killed upon encountering any Janjaweed. So, not only did IDPs not feel safe going back to their villages, they did not feel safe simply leaving the confines of the camp. Unfortunately, they had to regularly leave and risk their lives because there was not enough of an NGO presence to meet all of the needs for survival in the camps.
Some critics say that humanitarian relief work can prolong conflicts if relief workers provide goods to perpetrators of violence. What are your views on this position in light of your experience in Darfur?
When MSF goes into a setting, we are completely neutral and feel strongly about treating whoever is in need. For this reason, we are often allowed access into conflict zones. To only provide care to, say, the IDPs, would put us on the side of the IDPs, and against the Janjaweed. This would be a very dangerous situation to be in. That being said, the majority of people receiving care were IDPs or residents of the town. We were not providing significant medical resources to the Janjaweed to perpetuate the conflict. However, there were a couple of instances in which the Janjaweed were ill with some sort of traumatic wound and they were treated, but that was just the way it had to be.
<<Previous | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Next>>