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Protect South Sudan’s Future

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The children in the world’s youngest country are suffering. South Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war for almost 5 years now. The rivalry between the armed forces and opposition groups has led to the widespread displacement of about 2 million people and has forced around 2.5 million to move to neighboring countries. Recent reports estimate that the death toll is around 380,000. South Sudanese children have faced the worst of the war’s consequences— from malnourishment and lack of education, to abduction and forced military action. The physical and emotional pain that the children must bear leads many to question the potential for progress in the country.

Child Soldiers:
The armed South Sudanese forces and opposition groups are both guilty of abducting and forcing child soldiers into war. Both have been reported to take children, mostly teenage boys, from their parents and detain them in overcrowded rooms. The children are given no proper nourishment but are still forced to be trained as soldiers. In the midst of their training, they are forced to commit heinous crimes like gang rape, infanticide, and arson, an escaped soldier told Human Rights Watch.

The trauma that these child soldiers are forced to undergo at such a young age prevents them from having a childhood. For the soldiers who do escape and come back to society, very few find their real families and homes. Many depend on shelters to provide food and education. An escaped 17-year-old child soldier who was interviewed by the Human Rights Watch is now starting primary schools. He states, “If I learn, I will be independent and able to do things on my own. Maybe I can become a leader”.

Rape and Child Marriage:
It has been reported that the Sudanese army, Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), has committed about 80% of the document 987 child murders as of June 2018. The child soldiers of SPLA were also involved in 90% of the gang rapes of the reported 658 women. These statistics demonstrate that violence against women and children has been used as a weapon of war in order to prove the SPLA’s dominance over an entire society.

Additionally, child marriage continues to be a common occurrence in South Sudan in the midst of the war. Recently, men have begun to use social media to sell their brides. In a recent Facebook post, a picture of a 17-year-old girl was shared with her father claiming that she would be sold to the man with the highest dowry. The winner was a wealthy businessman who gave the child’s father “over 500 cows, three luxury cars and $10,000 dowry.” The child was reported as the “most expensive woman in South Sudan.” Facebook eventually had the post removed but not until it was too late. This was one of the first recorded instances of online auctions and points to a dangerous future.

Education and Disease:
In the midst of these issues, all children suffer from malnutrition and disease. Since the beginning of violence, children faced the highest rate of food insecurity, which is expected to deteriorate furthermore. The lack of food inhibits the growth of these young children and affects their development. Additionally, many children are out of school, making them more vulnerable to violence and capture. The stunted growth and lack of education they receive questions the possibility for success of South Sudan’s future. If the children are unable to eat or attend school, what will South Sudan’s future look like?

The combination of issues that the youth suffer in South Sudan makes them one of the most suffered groups of people in the civil war. Especially when considered collectively, these issues render the children of South Sudan one of the world’s most vulnerable populations. These children do not get to experience a childhood and likely will not be able to prepare for the future of South Sudan.

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aishaAisha Saleem is a member of the STAND Communications Task Force. She is a first year at Barnard College in New York, and is undecided about her major. She is passionate about human rights and interested in urban studies.

Redefining the Path of Women in Ethiopia

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After the resignation of Mulato Teshome, the Ethiopian parliament unanimously elected its first female president, Sahle-Work Zewde on October 25, 2018. Although most of the executive power lies within the role of the prime minister, her election holds social significance. It represents Ethiopia’s path to redefining the role of women in its patriarchal society.

Zewde was born in the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa and attended University of Montpellier in France. She started her diplomatic career by serving as an ambassador to Senegal, Dijbouti and France. She was also a permanent representative of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Before being elected, Zewde was working for United Nations. She was appointed as the Head of the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU) by the UN Secretary General in June 2018. Here, she was also the first women to be appointed this position. During her appointment she was credited for “strengthening partnerships between the United Nations and African Union” (quoted from the UN Secretary General). On October 19, just days before her appointment as president, she celebrated the 18 year anniversary of resolution 1325. This was a “women, peace and security agenda” formed by the African Union to establish efforts to allow female voices be heard.

It is clear that Zewde will bring her interest and experience with female empowerment to Ethiopia. Even in her acceptance speech she even said, “If you thought I spoke a lot about women already, know that I am just getting started.” Her statement reflects a historically patriarchal society where women are constrained to their domestic sphere. It has been previously noted about women’s inability to participate in athletics, because they were challenged by social and religious norms. For this reason, it is controversial that Ethiopia has recently elected fourth president of the nation as its first female president. In addition to Zewde’s election, about half of the prime minister’s cabinet is women. Sehin Teferra, co-founder of the Setaweet movement, mentions that this “critical mass” will change Ethiopia’s future. She recalls that “appointing one or two women would not have made the change”.

Zewde plans to use her new appointment to raise issues to female empowerment for the next 6 years. Sehin also states that despite having as much power as Ahmed, Zewde’s diplomatic power will allow her to ultimately change power given to Ethiopian women.

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Aisha Saleem is a member of the STAND Communications Task Force. She is a first year at Barnard College in New York, and is undecided about her major. She is passionate about human rights and interested in urban studies.

Where is Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed?

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The election of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed created hope for Ethiopia’s future. Even though it has been less than a year since his appointment, he has already instituted multiple changes and proposed  more in the near future.

Despite the hope engendered around the rise of Ahmed, his authority was questioned when ethnic violence rose in Western Ethiopia. Although ethnic violence has been consistently common and its mitigation central to Ahmed’s campaign, recent conflicts are becoming  much more violent than before. The most recent conflict occurred on the border of Oromia and Benishangul-Gumuz region, an area of contention for two of the nine ethnic divisions in Ethiopia. The violence reportedly began after officials from Gumuz were killed while visiting Oromia. The unrest was primarily instigated by youth gangsters wielding firearms and knives who set around 1,560 houses on fire and killed at least 44 Ethiopians. These attacks have displaced up to 90,000 Ethiopians, all who fled to save their life. In leaving their homes and belongings behind, most of these Ethiopians have had to rely on other agencies for support. The Director of National Disaster Risk Management, for example, has so far provided food and assistance to the displaced families residing in the Western zone of Oromia. The commision also reportedly called on the federal government to send troops before violence escalated but received no response.

On the other side of Oromia border, clashes continue between the Somalis and Oromos . These two areas are the largest regions in Ethiopia, sharing a border of about 1,400 km. Moyale which is adjacent to the Ethiopia-Kenya border, has witnessed some of the worst violence in the past three to four months. Moyale, although one region, is separated by the Oromia on the west and Somalis on the east. In July, tensions elevated when Oromo’s brought weapons into Somalia and razed villages to the ground. Adan Kulow, a humanitarian expert, notes that the instigation of this violence was little more than an effort to reclaim land. Many people died from the fire and many others fled. Those who have fled are reportedly still displaced, making Ethiopia a country with one of the highest rates of internally displaced peoples  in the world. One Somali victim of the attack, Mohammed Abid remembers the Oromos “laughing and taunting us in the Oromo language.” Abid claimed to see men being shot in the face in front of their wives and wonders where the prime minister was during all of this.

In response to these clashes, protests occurred on the streets of Ethiopia’s capital earlier this month. During this time, the Ethiopian government allegedly shut down the internet service for 40 hours. It was the second time the internet was shut down, both reportedly occasions of political unrest. Although Ethiopia does have a low Internet percent usage, the restriction of the internet primarily affected the journalists who needed to use it to communicate and publish their work. An Ethiopian blogger, Atnafu Berhane, reported that this shutdown aimed to control the spread of political developments within Ethiopia. However, Abiy’s has pushed against such restrictions.

As Abiya is promising change for the future, he should be doing more to address the violence instigated by the Oromos. It is clear that ethnic violence has reached an extreme with the introduction of armed groups. Instead of merely downplaying the violence and blaming unrest  on guerrilla groups, the government should address the needs of the people. Witnessing the rise of vigilantes, we’re left asking: where is Abiy Ahmed and why isn’t he keeping his promises?

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aishaAisha Saleem is a member of the STAND Communications Task Force. She is a first year at Barnard College in New York, and is undecided about her major. She is passionate about human rights and interested in urban studies.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Paves the Future for Ethiopia

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The ethnic divisions within Ethiopia have physically separated Ethiopians for the past century, making it difficult for the government to rule over the nation. Most of the 80 diverse ethnic groups speak different languages and have varying customs, making it even more troublesome for leaders to communicate with their  people. However, there are new hopes set for the future of Ethiopians as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed attempts to enforce several liberal policies to nationalize all Ethiopians.

Ahmed’s upbringing— his own father a Muslim Oromo and his mother Christian—  shaped his identity and understanding of the differences and conflicts between ethnic and religious groups in Ethiopia. This, coupled with his education, has allowed him to create a modern and liberal political agenda that creates a promising future for Ethiopians. Although it has only been a few months into his term, Ethiopians around the world are calling it  ‘historic’.

One of Ahmed’s most recent controversial and clever tactics included a three-city tour in America in which he talked to thousands of Ethiopians about a unified identity. His knowledge of English in addition to Oromo, Amharic, and Tigrinya allowed him to directly speak to the Ethiopians. He urged the importance of identifying as an Ethiopian, stating that “if you want to be the pride of your generation, then you must decide that Oromos, Amharas, Wolaytas, Gurages, and Sites are all equally Ethiopian.” This is a direct reinforcement of his famous campaign slogan “Break the Wall, Build the Bridge”, which is a reference to his agenda in nationalizing the people of his country. The Minnesotan crowd, mostly with Oromo Ethiopians, cheered, even sporting apparel representing Ahmed’s slogans and their Ethiopian pride. Minnesotan Ethiopians expressed a sense of relief and joy that Ahmed came directly to America to speak with them.

Another agenda item was to discuss the reforms regarding violence in Ethiopia. The recent violent outbreaks between two Ethiopian ethnic groups, Ormo and Somali, led to thousands of displaced families and injured people. This was labeled as a ‘humanitarian crisis’ by the Minnesota Council City Member, and Minnesotans urged change. Although Ahmed has not resolved the issue at hand, he has made an important step towards preventing future conflicts by discussing it. Additionally, he has closed the Makelawi detention center, which has been consistently described as a ‘torture chamber,’ and which is infamous for the detainment of the chairman of Oromon Federalist Congress Bekele Gerba. Many of its prisoners were transferred into the Addis Abbeia detention facility, and some were even released. This is a big step towards human rights reforms, which has consistently been pressured upon ever since its multitude of human rights violations.

In addition to visiting American cities and interacting with fellow Ethiopians, Ahmed also spoke with Vice President Mike Pence about issues concerning another East African country: South Sudan. South Sudan is known for its past history with Sudan and the current displacement of 4 million people due to its internal civil war. Ahmed expressed interest in South Sudan’s oil resources and considered the opportunities for economic prosperity for both countries. The Grand Renaissance Dam, expected to more than double Ethiopia’s current electricity production, is scheduled to be completed in a few years, however, Ethiopia still needs oil to power it. Ahmed proposed an economic agreement that he seeks to pursue in the future.
In pursuit of such an agreement, Ahmed has recently welcomed all South Sudanese with open arms, following the Kenyan police attack on South Sudan. As the Kenyan police tortured and displaced thousands of families, the South Sudanese looked towards Ahmed for comfort as he was recorded praising his East African identity and South Sudan itself, stating “we are brothers” and  “South Sudan is a great country, and you will need it in the future”. His praise of South Sudan came from his understanding of what civil war can do to a country. He also further introduced the idea of identity, claiming “we are members of the East African Community”. The sense of unity that Ahmed brings gives hope to the future of the Ethiopian and Sudanese relationship and their respective economies.

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aishaAisha Saleem is a member of the STAND Communications Task Force. She is a first year at Barnard College in New York, and is undecided about her major. She is passionate about human rights and interested in urban studies

Inspiring Action: One Million Bones at Swarthmore College

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Vija Lietuvninkas writes about her experiences organizing a workshop on "Perceptions of Genocide." Vija is a rising junior at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania majoring in Peace, Development, and Gender Studies. 

The death of a loved one invokes intense emotion in those left behind. The grief process may be long, and the memory of the person is not often forgotten. Why, then, when genocide involves hundreds, and even hundreds of thousands of deaths, does it seem to leave those not directly affected so unfazed? How can such tragic events go hardly noticed by the global community so often? It seems that the higher the numbers go, the less affected people are.

For the final project in my Philosophy class Human Rights and Atrocity, two of my classmates, Aly, Marina, and I created a project through which we provided people the opportunity to understand genocide in a more real and emotional way, to counteract the idea that, “The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of millions is a statistic.” Our goal was to use art and thoughtful discussion to provide a space in which people would be able to understand genocide in a different way than they would normally understand it.

In researching the intersection between art and genocide, I stumbled across the One Million Bones project and felt that it had great potential and fit perfectly with the theme of our own class project. Overall, the motivation for the event is encapsulated by Carl Wilkens’ quote: “When we do something with our hands, it changes the way we feel, which changes the way we think, which changes the way we act.” In addressing the issue of genocide, where so much suffering has been the result of inaction, inspiring action is the ultimate goal.

Marina, Aly, and I organized an event at Swarthmore College called “Perceptions of Genocide: A Workshop,” during which Sana Musasama, an artist and art professor at Hunter College in New York, spoke about her experiences in Cambodia over the past six years. After the speech, the attendees participated in making bones out of plaster gauze and newspaper for the One Million Bones project.

In planning and publicizing the event, I had several people ask me why “Genocide Awareness and Prevention month” even exists. The simple answer is that as horrific as genocides are, little attention is paid to them. Consequently, designating a month to focus on genocide directs people’s attention toward the issue. While many don’t question the importance of “awareness,” promoting “prevention” is more tenuous.

The “prevention” of genocide seems like a practically insurmountable task to be undertaken by people who may often be no more than voters in the scheme of politics and policy-making, so merely putting a label on the month of April as a month in which “we” will try to prevent genocide can seem like an inadequate, and even inappropriate, response. However, I believe that the role of genocide awareness is one that is critical in the prevention of genocide.

The more people who are aware of these atrocities, the stronger their voices are, and the more influence they can have on our policies. That is the ideal under which Naomi Natale, the artist behind One Million Bones, operates. Hoping to unify at least a million people in a symbolic gesture to show our government that we care about its policies towards crimes against humanity such as genocide is what she has aspired to. But, like many complex issues, the first step to preventing genocide is raising awareness and educating about it.

After all, how can you stop something if you don’t know it exists?

College Basketball Powerhouses Georgetown and Duke Come Together for Darfur

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By Stella Kenyi

This post originally appeared on The Hub.

BREAKING: President Barack Obama will attend Saturday’s men’s basketball game between the Georgetown University Hoyas and the Duke University Blue Devils, according to sources involved in the planning of the event.

This Saturday US college basketball powerhouses Georgetown and Duke will face off in one of the most anticipated games of the season. While the two teams battle on the court, students and alumni from both universities will put aside their rivalry and come together to support the Darfur Dream Team’s Sister Schools Program, an initiative which links American middle schools, high schools, colleges, and universities with sister schools in 12 refugee camps in eastern Chad.

The Darfur Dream Team was conceptualized following NBA star Tracy McGrady’s trip to Darfuri refugee camps in Chad with John Prendergast and Omer Ismail of the Enough Project. Their journey is chronicled in the documentary film

3 Points: Peace, Protection and Punishment

. McGrady and Prendergast will attend the upcoming game to unveil a video announcing the Darfur Dream Team’s partnership with Georgetown and Duke. Students and alumni from the two universities have pledged to raise funds to support two Darfuri refugee camp schools.

Over 350 U.S. schools have already signed up to support this initiative. Click here to learn how you can support the Sister Schools Program, and for more details visit www.darfurdreamteam.org.

Stella Kenyi is the coordinator for the Darfur Dream Team’s Sister Schools Program. 
 
The halftime video was directed and produced by Robert Padavick. Animation and Editing by Jeff Trussell.

 

900 and counting…

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Guest post by Gabi Arons and Nicole DeChello, Amnity High School

Nicole and Gabi here. We’re Amity High School’s Canvass leaders in Woodbridge, CT.

After the Pledge2Protect Conference, we were so inspired to head the canvass at our school, so we got right to work. Three very long weeks later, December 1st finally came. We had planned for Amity STAND club members to go into every classroom (therefore talking to EVERY student at Amity) and tell students about the National Canvass and ask them to sign pledges.

We have not counted the total number of pledges we received yet, but we are estimating having collected about 900 pledges in just the first day. We are so happy at our incredible start to the week, and hope to keep it up – our goal is to collect 2,000 pledges.

Check out our Facebook group “CT Pledges to Protect” for all our upcoming events. Feel free to e-mail and/or message both of us on Facebook if you have any comments, questions, or want to network or collaborate ideas, or just to talk about how amazing STAND is!

Join the movement to prevent genocide! http://www.ipledge2protect.org

Queens College: Dancing, learning, and canvassing

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Guest post by Jenn Polish, Queens College STAND

Good music, good company, a dance floor, and – oh yeah – awareness raising, fundraising, and pledging against genocide – made for an AMAZING night at Queens College in Flushing, New York. What we’ve lovingly dubbed our Peace Jam was held the night of Thursday December 3rd in the fourth floor ballroom of our Student Union Building from 6 to 10 PM.

Our amazing student hosts, DJ Toni Yo and DJ Nimo Iero, mixed up tunes from all across the Globe, facilitating amazing dancing all night. Interspersed in the frivolity was gender-illusionist performer MilDRED (www.dredlove.com), while student performers raised consciousness about the genocide in Sudan, the DRC, and the situation in Zimbabwe. We canvassed as people came in, and raised funds for Kids for Kids UK and Jewish World Watch’s Solar Cooker Project, which helps families from Darfur help themselves in culturally-sensitive and environmentally sound ways.

The next night, December 4th, QC STAND was at it again, with a special guest appearance from our SOC Josh Gwin from Hofstra University. He presented current information about the genocide in Sudan in a night dubbed "Darfur Today: Whose Tomorrow?" Thanks to everyone who came by, met fellow activists, learned, and canvassed!