How is war impacting the lives of people in Sudan?
An interview with Victoria Eluzai, founding member of the Sudanese Young Women Empowerment Network (SYWEN).
Janice Duddy, AWID, Resource Net, Friday File, Issue 192, 27 August 27 2004

The crisis in Sudan continues. In May of this year the Sudanese government and Sudanese People's Liberation Army, the main rebel group in the country, signed a historical peace deal. This deal was hailed by the UN Secretary-General as a ''major step forward''. It included three protocols on power-sharing and administering three disputed areas in the country and is hoped to be a first step to ending the 21 years of civil war in Sudan (http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/05/26/sudan.peace.accord/).

However, this peace accord did not address the conflict in western Sudan's Darfur region that has lead to a humanitarian crisis. In Darfur the Arab nomadic ethic groups, who are known by their victims as the Janjaweed, are fighting against the two largely African rebel groups in the region. Although the Sudanese government has disclaimed connection to the Janjaweed, Human Rights Watch has collected documentation to prove otherwise. They state, ''the Sudanese government has armed, recruited and supported the Janjaweed militias that have participated with government forces and government aircraft in campaigns attacking civilians and villages in Darfur since early 2003. These attacks constitute crimes against humanity and ¡§ethnic cleansing'' (http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/08/27/darfur9268.htm).

The impact of this conflict on the people of Darfur has been atrocious. Amnesty International explains, ''The attacks have led to the displacement of at least 1.2 million persons. At least one million people have become internally displaced persons (IDPs) and been forced to move to the vicinity of towns or big villages in Darfur, and more than 170,000 have taken refuge across the border into Chad. Others, of which the exact number is unknown, are in hiding in mountains, valleys
or areas held by armed political groups.

Massive human rights violations committed in the region include: extra-judicial executions, unlawful killings of civilians, torture, rapes, abductions, destruction of villages and property, looting of cattle and property, the destruction of the means of livelihood of the population attacked and forced displacement. These human rights violations have been committed in a systematic manner by the Janjawid, often in coordination with Sudanese soldiers and the Sudanese Air Force, with total impunity, and have targeted mainly members of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups and other agro-pastoralist groups living in Darfur. Many of the crimes committed in Darfur constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity'' (http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engafr540762004).

I had the opportunity to communicate with Victoria Eluzai about the current situation in Sudan. She is a founding member of the Sudanese Young Women Empowerment Network (SYWEN). SYWEN's mission is, ''SYWEN shall join and seek networking with other players dedicated to the smooth transition and transformation of the Sudanese community from war to a sustainable and durable peace that offers the enabling environment for active and constructive citizen action through the empowerment and
inclusion of women, youth and children as major stakeholders of the general civil welfare and fueling agents of the overall civic energy''. Interview with Victoria Eluzai AWID: As I understand it there have been two major conflicts in Sudan, the conflict in the South and the conflict in the Darfur region? What is the basis for these conflicts? Are these conflicts linked in anyway? How are they different?

VE: In my opinion, both of these conflicts are grounded in one big conflict between the minority government of Khartoum and the politically, economically and socially discontented people of Sudan. These people have lived through a history of exploitation, oppression, inequality and injustice at the hands of a series of exploitative governments that entertained expansionist ideologies, employed divide and rule tactics, while tactfully and equally disregarding and even attempting to eradicate the rich African cultural and religious diversities across the nation. Events like war in the South and now war in Darfur are just symptoms, or a tip of an iceberg, serving as living proof of the adverse living conditions these people are subjected to.

I therefore, would choose to look at the two wars as the continuation of one big struggle against inequality, injustice and oppression. It is just that the time to call ¡§enough is enough¡¨ is not unified due to many other factors mainly including divide and rule tactics from the government of Khartoum. While not wishing so, I must say I will not be surprised if another pocket of Sudan ruptured into war unless things REALLY change -- as the leader of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) puts it we surely need a NEW SUDAN.

With regards to linkages of the two conflicts -- Although the South has a feeling and understanding of what Darfur is going through I would not regard the two as having direct official links such as in terms of vision, ideologies and objectives.

Nevertheless, I perceive linkages related to lessons learnt through the experiences of the South. For example, and as a matter of opinion, given the common history of oppression and appreciating that the pressure to rebel in Darfur had already began to mount time back in history even before the declaration of the current Southern rebellion it may not be wrong to say that Darfur was finally triggered and inspired by the achievements of the Southern movement as crowned by the historical frameworks of agreements reached in the ongoing peace discussions between Khartoum and the SPLA/M.

On a different note Darfur may also have banked on the continuity of the Southern war because that gave it military advantage over the split forces of the government, which were mainly in the South. Equally the government took advantage of the cessation of hostilities in the South to redeploy its forces and divert its built-up and accumulated military equipment, preparedness and energy to peruse war rather that peace in Darfur.

There are differences between the two conflicts. Among others I would see that the two wars of the South and Darfur differ under the following perspectives:

History
Although the history of oppression is the same the history of political events and involvements of Darfur differ from that of the South. Thus, the trend of ideologies and political arguments for Darfur are not the
same as for the South.

Religion
Khartoum used religion a lot in its propaganda for divide and rule mainly to crush the Movement in the South, which is predominantly of Christian and African beliefs, while at the same time capturing sympathy from the Islamic world. This propaganda worked to distort the world's eye from the truth of inequality, injustice and oppression. People in Darfur are Moslems and were affected by this faulty distortion and believed the agenda for the South not only excluded them but also worked against their own faith and they too were used by Khartoum and thus were active participants in the conflict against the South.

Vigor
Having been part of and active in the trained government forces, the military skills and power of the Darfur Movement achieved significant
results in a shorter time prompting the government to respond with
relative vigor. The government's merciless response may have also been
encouraged by fear and dread for another autonomous breakout.
Declaration point:
As mentioned earlier and for most of the factors explained above the
timing to openly and officially declare a movement against Khartoum in
Darfur was much delayed from that in the South.

AWID: How has conflict impacted the population of Sudan?
VE:
• Millions of people were killed in Sudan due to the conflict, even more were uprooted and scattered from their homes as displaced persons in other parts of the country or into exile in other countries.
• Generations of children were born during the war and grew up to be traumatized adults under very adverse and inhumane circumstance. They barely survived, with very little parenting and without basic care.
• Literacy levels are very low and there is no technology, rendering the people vulnerable to diseases and exploitation in the face of globalization.
• Poverty is very high and the majority of Sudanese families and individuals living inside the country earn zero dollars per day and these include civil servants and government officials who are not linked to international organizations - thus, tendency towards corruption is dangerously threatening.
• Economic retardation, environmental degradation and destruction of physical infrastructure coupled with extinction of public services like schools, markets, and hospitals for prolonged time, save for emerging efforts which heavily rely on international humanitarian aid, left the people in an era of confusion and desolation.

AWID: How have women been impacted?
VE:
• Women are the mothers, sisters and daughters of men killed or disabled in the war. Women also suffered death and maiming in cross fire, landmines and air bombardments. They face war atrocities of sexual, social and psychological abuses.
• Prostitution and early marriages have become a solution to many girls as well as a justification for ill placed ideologies from male opportunists.
• In the long term women have become victims of sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS although the latter needs a lot of research in order to reveal statistics.
• Wives and daughters whose husbands and male custodians can not tolerate the humiliations they went through, either due to
misunderstanding or psychological failure to cop,e have suffered divorce and disowning which has made their lives even harder.
• The loss of men has created many female-headed households, which is a deviation from the normal traditional set up. This comes with many complications in a still male dominated culture. In addition this sudden pressure and demand on the women who were not traditionally, technically nor psychologically equipped and prepared to take up the new role is very challenging, sometimes so challenging that they collapse and give up to desolation.
• Women literacy levels are lower than prior to the war. The war only added to and retarded the process of transformation away from unfair cultural practices that inhibited women's and girl's education. Thus, women's welfare, representation and participation in the emerging New Sudan are under great challenge.

AWID: What is the current situation in Darfur?
VE: To the latest of my knowledge the situation in Darfur remains bad. There is no evidence of true will nor intention from the government to halt the conflict. The Janjawid horror continues to spread. Protection forces from the government continue to harass the innocent in the displaced camps who are suffering more than the combatants. Attempts for peace talks have failed as of last week because the government would not yield to conditions from the Darfur forces. Hunger is threatening many lives and access to relief continues to be inhibited by the government. People¡|s lives are still at stake.

AWID: In Western media we have heard Darfur referred to as the next Rwanda. Do you feel that this is a fair statement? Why or why not?

VE: Western Media has its own motives and participation in any affairs of interest. Declaring Darfur as the next Rwanda is a statement that may have some justification, yes. Especially looking from the Janjawid expedition, which is a government using one tribe to crush another tribe just as in the case of the Hutus against the Tutsis. However, what raises my eyebrows is why has Media waited until Darfur to start making comparisons with Rwanda when over the last 20 years the same thing has been happening in South Sudan. The government was supporting one tribe against the other as exemplified in cases like Murahleen/Murle/ Nuer against the Dinka and or even attempts like Mundari against the Bari and so on.

AWID: What does the recent signing of the peace deal mean for Sudan? How has it impacted the different conflicts in Sudan?

VE: The signing of the peace is a great historical event for Sudan. It marks the beginning of a new era if all the terms of the agreement are implemented faithfully and with a spirit of nationalism. For the South and the areas included in the liberation package it is like independence. If successful, the people will be liberated and are going to realize their own autonomy in governance as well as enjoy their full right to identity and resources for the first time in the history of Sudan since colonial times.

AWID: Has the peace deal changed people's day-to-day lives in Sudan? Is there optimism that this peace deal will hold? Can you see any stumbling points that could derail the peace process?

VE: I suppose it is too early to start assessing the impact of the peace deal in terms of the people¡|s day-to-day life. Save for the protocols, which to me are merely frameworks of agreements on contentious issues, the implementation details and the practical implications of these protocols to the different people of Sudan are yet matters of concern. Moreover, the dissemination process of this deal to all the people is yet to be undertaken, meaning that the majority of the people have not understood the details of the protocols. On the ground in southern Sudan the ordinary citizens continue to live the same life way they lived during the war except for a sense of security, mainly felt through the slight lifting or improvement on freedom of movement.

Yes, people are optimistic about the deal. On the ground people are eager to know the details of the deal to start effecting their own plans. Many Sudanese in exile are planning to move back. Fox-holes and bomb shelters, which used to be the living rooms of people in Sudan, are deserted and filling up with dirt and grass ¡V a measure of relaxation due to sense of security. Sudanese are coming up with ideas of progress and civil society is revitalizing. People are crying education, even the old Mamas wish to contribute. I read hope and I hope that these hopes will not be betrayed.

I observe that the war in Sudan may have been triggered by the behavior and attitude from the hostile government in Khartoum towards the different people of Sudan. However, the conflict opened avenues for many different ideologists to take opportunity and participate with the hope of achieving their own interest. Thus, it is my hope that all of the expectations of people with various interests have been met or at least covered reasonably in word, documentation and action. Otherwise the peace deal could turn out as an agreement on paper between the individuals and parties involved in the discussions, rather than the realities for all the different Sudanese people. From that perspective then I may say I do foresee stumbling points.

AWID: What roles have women played in the peace process?

VE: Speaking for the South, women scarcely played much role, if I will be allowed to express my personal view. To say there was an effective effort to solicit and include the views of women and an effort to represent interests in the peace processes I would rather hold my doubts. It is my hope that the predominantly male forum took care to remember and affirmatively represent women in the processes. I am aware that in its constitution the Southern Movement has taken an affirmative action to include women by subsidizing 25% quota of participation for women in the government and 75% to everybody. How this is reflected in the peace deal and to be implemented are modalities yet to be worked out.

Nevertheless, I must acknowledge the presence of the few women who participated and admit that as a woman I am proud they were there and appointed by the leadership of the Movement, meaning that their role was recognized by the leadership. I cannot tell how much influence they have impacted during the talks. But, I know that currently they have the assignment to workout, decentralize and deliver the protocols and their implications to the women at the grassroots level with the aim of including and involving all women in the realization and sustenance of the peace deal. I am aware that there is a mandate from the Movement and a lot of donor support to ensure these efforts work out successfully.

I also acknowledge with specific pride the role and strength of women living in government-controlled areas who sympathized with the Movement and participated effectively through advocacy and advice to the Movement. This is not to undermine the valuable contributions of other pro-Movement Sudanese women within the movement, in the Diaspora and elsewhere, whose role may have passed silent for different reasons or bypassed my own knowledge and attention.

I know that many statements have gone out and the international media and research institutions are playing a role in helping women in Sudan. I will seize this opportunity to speak for the rest of the women in these words:
• I denounce overdone concepts about the illiteracy status of women in South Sudan as being justified cause as to why women's participation in the peace process is below desirable expectations. If there is anyone who knows and holds a brilliant vision about the value of a durable peace for Sudan it is the illiterate woman who suffered all the atrocities and adverse living conditions of the war, reaping the fruits of its inhumane face, damages, bereavement and total effects for all the prolonged years. It is therefore, unfair and very wrong to think that this woman could not have had valuable ideas just because she did
not visit an academic classroom. She may not know the modalities of setting up a State and all its formal establishments but she knows what she wants as a fellow citizen and a woman living in this country, and is able to teach statesmen how to set up a better nation.

• Moreover, there was, and still is emerging, a huge taskforce of educated and intellectual women, especially amongst the younger generation, both within the Movement and in the Diaspora who are capable, willing, and determined to participate in re-building. But, they are either underutilized or not recognized for one reason or the other.

• Finally, yes, I acknowledge women in Sudan have been left behind in all aspects including education, participation in planning and decisions that pertain their own welfare and so on. Yes, they need support but we can support them best by recognizing and building them up rather than marginalizing and undermining their value.

AWID: Do you feel that Sudan has been neglected by outside nations? What would be your vision for the participation of the international community in the peace process of Sudan?

VE: Yes, until Darfur happened, I have always felt that Sudan has been neglected by other nations. I thought it took too long for other nation to see that the monster of humanity called antenov was indiscriminately wiping away many innocent and non-combatant animals and human souls, maiming the survivors and permanently damaging the future of the people in South Sudan. I thought the story of the hungry, skin-on- bones child crawling hundreds of kilometers to where food was being dropped, while a hungry vulture awaited this living corps to collapse played too long in the images of the mind before the world reacted effectively. I think too much happened and continues to happen before the world takes action.

I hoped that the international community would have learnt lessons by now, given the great number of global dramas of bad guys on the throne of state leadership. It is important to understand that the concept of state sovereignty is not a very brilliant idea when it becomes an opportunity for a crooked mind to mistreat and abuse humanity while defying and keeping away Good Samaritans from intervention. Therefore, my vision is that the international community would keep a keen and close interest and to monitor and supervise the implementation process to ensure no room is allowed for any party to abuse the deal. I hope that a global mechanism is developed and agreed on by the international community to overrule the provisions of state sovereignty when necessary in order to effectively and timely check and destroy ill intentions of bad leadership not only in Sudan but elsewhere.

AWID: How could the women's movement support the women and people of Sudan?

VE: The women's movement could support women and people in Sudan in many ways. However, for starters the following steps could be taken:
• Help the women/people in Sudan know more about what the women's movement is?
• Make efforts to come to Sudan, to learn what are the issues and needs of the women/people in Sudan, and to work in solidarity with the people of Sudan to address these issues.
• Among others ¡V a pressing need is the gap in education and the need for capacity-building for women, so that they can participate and contribute effectively for their own welfare and participate as a major part of the nation - constituting about 60% of the national population.
• Using women's organizations and individuals who are familiar with the situation in Sudan (including myself and our organization for example) as entry points for working in partnerships.
• Start fundraising for projects geared towards such objectives.

This interview can be found at http://www.awid.org/go.php?cid=255&theme=frontlines