The situation in Darfur, Sudan, is going from bad to worse for millions of displaced and vulnerable people. Paul Barker, CARE's country director for Sudan, discusses the crisis, prospects for peace and what it's like to work in a country in conflict.
Paul Barker, center, with CARE staff members in Zalinji, Sudan. (2006 CARE Photo)
Darfur alone has an area as large as the state of Texas, while Sudan is as big as the entire United States east of the Mississippi river. This makes CARE's work in Sudan very complicated from a logistical point of view. Even if there was peace in Darfur, it would be difficult to operate here because of the sheer size of the country.
From the capital Khartoum to Darfur is a two-hour plane ride. Because of insecurity, most areas where we work can only be safely reached via helicopter. Criminal gangs and rebel groups are a big threat to NGOs like CARE. Agency vehicles are a particularly attractive booty, in addition to radios and satellite telephones. Darfur is a very insecure area and I would not want to romanticize any one side of this conflict. The current insecurity and government bureaucracy make our work especially hard and slow us down significantly.
Another important point to make is that Darfur is a very diverse area. Most of the images that we see in the news are from North Darfur, where the landscape is dry and sandy. Much of South and West Darfur is more savannah-like, with forests and hills. Most of CARE's programs are in South and West Darfur. Access to rural areas is a real problem. I arrived in Sudan and made my first trip to Darfur in mid-August, during the rainy season. We traveled from Nyala to Kass by road and nearly became stuck in a couple of the mud holes that flooded long parts of the road. It was a really different landscape from what I had expected.
What do you do when you cannot reach certain areas of Darfur?
We sometimes do have to suspend our operations in particularly insecure areas. Before such a departure we try to provide the communities we serve with several months of rations so that they can better weather the difficult period. Because of the insecurity on most roads, we use commercial transporters to move food and other items using local trucks. We do not allow our vehicles to travel on rural roads after 4 p.m., and our staff members have a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
How do you keep staff morale up?
I like to travel as much as I can and visit our programs. My first trip to Darfur was three days after arriving in country. I want to understand how the staff feel and what problems they face. I want to let them know that their work is extremely valuable to us. It is not easy to visit often because many of our staff are scattered over a large area.
Many of our Darfur staff are themselves internally displaced. They have families and relatives who live in the camps. In Sudan, CARE has staff from many different ethnic groups. As you can imagine, there are many viewpoints on the conflict and what is happening in their country. But I am impressed at the ability of our staff to be guided by CARE's vision and make the service of the poor and disenfranchised their highest goal.
How do people in camps perceive CARE and other aid agencies?
In general CARE is well-perceived throughout Darfur due to our large and longstanding food aid, water supply and relief programs. One of the big differences between Afghanistan, where I worked with CARE for five years, and Darfur is that in many areas of Afghanistan it is absolutely not safe to be seen as NGO or humanitarian workers. In Darfur the NGO identity still provides staff with a degree of protection. Radio and vehicle thefts do plague our work from time to time, but generally they are not accompanied by a desire to hurt aid workers.
The situation has become more complicated since last May when the Darfur Peace Agreement was signed. Before May, all the internally displaced people in the camps were united through their shared suffering experience. After the signing of the agreement people have been more and more divided along ethnic and political lines. Security in the camps is getting worse. Traditional leadership in the camps is being challenged by younger men. CARE staff experienced two security incidents this summer in Kalma camp that made us temporarily suspend operations there for a few weeks. But our staff meets often with the leaders of the camps to deal with any tensions before they become a problem.
How effective are African Union troops?
For the time being the best option to address the security concerns is to hope for a strengthening of the Africa Union force currently in Darfur, and the strengthening of its mandate. This force is already here, it is legal and it has troops from a dozen African countries. Of course, it is also weak, not very effective and, most importantly, not seen as neutral by most displaced people. Due to the African Union's refusal to talk to non-signatories of the Darfur Peace Agreement it is seen as aligned with the government of Sudan. I would hope that over time a stronger mandate for the AU force would be negotiated and it would be able to provide a level of genuine protection to the victims of human rights violations.
There is a lot the Africa Union force could do to improve their engagement with people who are internally displaced. They could talk more with villagers and displaced people to learn their concerns. They could intervene when they see the animals of nomads devouring the un-harvested crops of farmers. They could actively pursue a dialogue with groups who did not sign the Darfur Peace Agreement. It is encouraging that the new field commander of the AU forces appears to be determined to give his troops a more proactive role in protecting civilians.
Do you see the conflict getting worse?
Unfortunately, most people here are not optimistic at this point. Most of the signs that we see from our end are not encouraging. The government seems intent on achieving a military victory in Darfur, and rebel groups seem determined to use their weapons to achieve their ends. Guns are not going to solve this crisis. There is a need for a more negotiated approach if peace in Sudan is ever going to be achieved. I hope that the government of Sudan will eventually see the wisdom of accepting more international assistance to broker and monitor peace in Darfur. The cornerstone of any long-term peace in Darfur must be a long-term, transparent dialogue between the various groups involved in the conflict. The international community must support such a dialogue in any way possible.
Read more about CARE's work in Sudan.
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