Stories from the people

In my research, I found a story of a twenty-two year old woman, Nora, who lost her parents and uncle to a Janjaweed raid on their village in 2004. She is the oldest of ten children and has to support her family by working in the field collecting grass. One day while out in the field, “two men with guns pinned her down, took off her clothes and gang-raped her.” She was living in a refugee camp at the time this happened (Refugees International video 2007). It helps illustrate how poor the living conditions are for the people in Darfur during this crisis. They are put into these refugee camps to help protect them from the rebels and the Sudan government, but the Darfurian refugees still do not have the resources or power to protect everyone.

A man who barely got away from the Janjaweed when they burned his village remembered the scene saying, “Every man over fifteen years [of age] are killed, pregnant women are cut open in case they are carrying a boy” (Refugees International Video 2007). Imagine watching your husband, father, brother, or boyfriend being murdered right in front of you and you are forced to watch. Picture the suffering and agonizing pain on a mother-to-be’s face as a machete opens her womb to reveal the tiny figure of an unborn child. These people endure so much suffering yet find a reason to hope that someone will hear their story and make a difference in the situation at hand. Through the loss of their home, food, and spirits, these innocent people die to create “what might be described as ‘genocide by attrition’” (Reeves 2).

Story from: “Darfur.” Genocide Intervention Network. 2008. 22 Nov 2008.
<http://www.genocideintervention.net/educate/darfur>
Story of Halima Abdul Kalima
"She and her 10 year old sister, Sadia, were gang raped and tormented for two days. Before leaving, the attackers shot and killed young Sadia for refusing to give-up her donkey.
"Halima and others fled the village. But several months later, once Halima had given birth to baby Noorelayn, the janjaweed attacked and captured Halima along with six other women while they were collecting firewood.
"They threw her baby to the ground, raped, beat her and yelled,
"'You blacks are like monkeys. You are not human.'"
—Nicholas Kristof, “The Face of Genocide,” The New York Times, Nov. 19, 2006

Hear some of the stories from the people who are living in the genocide:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_jjTJ19WgE&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdR9SB4yPOo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCeKK8F3gRY&feature=related

This video is partially in another language, but what I really want you to pay attention to is the man's story. He is speaking English but has an African accent.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N1fBPmlQ7I&feature=related

This video helps to put a face to the people I have been talking about in this blog.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLZ4ci1c59c

This video contains drawings from children in Darfur depicting what they see going on around them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXdWDM4fmRY&feature=related