Darfur Lesson Plan

• the Janjaweed are the government militia; they are mostly armed gunmen in Darfur comprised of nomadic Arab tribes who have long been at odds with Darfur’s settled African farmers
• Feb 23 2003 was the “starting point” of the conflict – the DLF takes credit for attacking public headquarters
• This isn’t the beginning of the fighting. Prior to this event, rebels had attacked police stations, army outposts, and military convoys, and the government engaged in massive air and land assaults in retaliation on the rebel stronghold.
• But why are the rebels attacking the government??

• Darfuri groups (JEM/SLM) accused the government of oppressing non-Arabs in favor of Arabs and is neglecting the region

•  There has been tension in Darfur, which means land of the Fur, for many years over land and grazing rights between the mostly nomadic Arabs and farmers from the Fur, Massaleet and Zagawa ethnic groups

• April 25, 2003 – SLA/JEM attack a fort in Al-Fashir – this is the turning point both militarily and psychologically; this is where the Janjaweed were unleashed

• The government realized that they needed a new strategy because they were defeated badly the attacks

• They devise a new. 3 part strategy:

• Military Intelligence

• the air force
• the Janjaweed

• the Janjaweed were armed with paramilitary equipment and quickly gained the upper hand

Picture Slideshow

- these are photos from Darfur’s internal refugee camps

The Quick Facts:

• 1.6 million people have left their homes (not enough food/water.medicine)
• 200,000 have been killed (some report up to 400,000) as of 9/2006

- This includes both killings and deaths from the conditions (starvation…)

      Why do you think there is a discrepancy in the number of deaths?

With much of Darfur inaccessible to aid workers and researchers, calculating how many deaths there have been in the past three years is impossible.

• Over half of the villages in Darfur have been burned to the ground
• 200,000 people are living in refugee camps in Chad

What do you notice about where the refugees are going?

-these refugees are camped out along the borders though so they are still very vulnerable

- they are limited to the border because Chad is worried that the fighting will spill over since Chad has a very similar ethnic makeup as Darfur

• Rape has been used widely as a weapon of war with women and girls prone to sexual violence when they go out of the camps to look for firewood or fuel

-     In June 2005 the World Food Programme of the United Nations said that 3.5

million people in Darfur need food aid (over half the population)

• The violence is ethnically based because the Arab Janjaweed are fighting against the Black villagers – it is not religiously based because nearly everyone is Muslim
• The attacks by the Janjaweed and the Sudanese government have intended to destroy the Black population

• What is the Sudanese government doing about this ongoing battle?
• The government denies backing the Janjaweed but they have supplied money and weapons to them
• The government also is saying that the “crisis” is exaggerated and not as many people have died; it is no genocide
• The Sudanese government has agreed to allow the African Union to have “observer” troops in Darfur. These troops do not have the ability to intervene to prevent violence or protect civilians. They can only act as observers.
• there are the 7,000 African Union troops that are allowed no to help but they are not enough to cover the area. Also, there is not enough money to fund the operation much longer.

• The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened an investigation in May 2005 try to bring the people who are responsible for the genocide to justice.

What is genocide?

- the deliberate and systematic murder of an entire political, ethnic, or religious group.

But what exactly classifies genocide?

Is anyone trying to help?

• Lots of aid agencies are working in Darfur but they say the international community has not given them enough money.
• They also say the government has been blocking their access to Darfur by demanding visas and using other bureaucratic obstacles. Sudan says these have now been removed.
• The government and the two rebel groups signed a ceasefire in April but this has not held.
• Two further agreement were recently reached in Nigeria, brokered by the African Union, on banning military flights in Darfur and on humanitarian aid.
• Some 300 African Union troops are now in Darfur on a very limited mandate.

How can you help?

*Raise Awareness

*Fundraise

*Contact Leaders

        -White House

        -Congress

        -Local Officials

*Join/Start a Student Action group

• Do you have any suggestions of what the United States can do? (Short Debate)

-appoint jobs to the students (pro/con/mediator)

• What makes this situation more important than problems we have in America? (if it is more important)
• Why do we only hear about the AIDS crisis in Africa and not much about Darfur?
• Does the United States have a responsibility to help?

* Bold questions are questions to pose to the group.