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The Sudan
Crisis: Understanding the war in Darfur
By Krystin Fischer '05
On Feb. 10, Dr. Ali B. Ali-Dinar from the African
Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania visited Villanova to
lecture on the crisis in Sudan. The title of the lecture was “The Sudan
Crisis: Understanding the War in Darfur” and it was open to the Villanova
community. Ali-Dinar stressed that the war, which has been lingering since
the 1980s, erupted out of frustration and negligence. The problems are
escalating because there is a lack of knowledge from outside world with this
major issue.
Ali-Dinar spoke of his personal travels to Sudan
where he interviewed citizens and spoke with marginalized members of the
community who expressed their fear and concern about the current situation
occurring in their backyards. The problems are ethnically based and there
has been a revival of racist sentiment. The government has armed Arabs and
sent them to border the south, stimulating civil tensions. There has been
resistance by the Sudan Liberation Army, but fighting has not ceased between
the Arab troops and the Black Sudanese. Gender discrimination is also
playing a part in the war in Darfur. There is very little economic
opportunity and a lack of positive political involvement for the people of
Southern Sudan. Many view the government as the real enemy in the war
because of the behavior they have demonstrated since fighting broke out.
In the
past in Sudan, problems would surface and be taken care of by traditional
means of negotiation and compromise. However now, with firearm technology on
such a rise, fighting and violence have ensued between the south of Sudan
and the rest of the country. The issues are continuing to worsen and Ali-Dinar
fears that with little commitment to this cause from the world, disaster
lies in the future for the people of Sudan. Ali-Dinar urges all people to
take the time to research this crisis in order to spread awareness and
educate the population of the issues. Ali-Dinar is disappointed in how the
United States has responded to the war, leaving promises for aid
unfulfilled. Although he recognizes that the United States has been
preoccupied with other foreign affairs recently, he is certain something can
be done to solve this massive challenge. |
