Genocide in Darfur, Sudan.

Genocide in Darfur, Sudan.

What is Genocide?
• [Genocide means any of the following acts committed
with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national,
ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
• Killing members of the group;
• Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of
the group;
• Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life
calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole
or in part;
• Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the
group;
• Forcibly transferring children of the group to another
group.

Background
• The current crisis in Darfur began in 2003. After decades of neglect,
drought, oppression and small-scale conflicts in Darfur, two rebel
groups - the Sudanese Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/M) and the
Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) - mounted a challenge to
Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir. These groups represent
agrarian farmers who are mostly non-Arab black African Muslims
from a number of different tribes.
• President al-Bashir's response was brutal. In seeking to defeat the
rebel movements, the Government of Sudan increased arms and
support to local tribal and other militias, which have come to be
known as the Janjaweed.[1] Their members are composed mostly of
Arab black African Muslims[2] who herd cattle, camels, and other
livestock. They have wiped out entire villages, destroyed food and
water supplies, and systematically murdered, tortured, and raped
hundreds of thousands of Darfurians. These attacks occur
with the direct support of the Government of
Sudan's armed forces.

The Children of Darfur
• Children were ask to recount their
experiences of the genocide by the
Sudanese government.
• They did so drawing pictures!

It's often said that nothing is truer
than the words of a child.

Adam was 15 when his village in Darfur was attacked.
He is now 18. On the back of the drawing, he has
written, "Look at these pictures carefully, and you will
see what happened in Darfur. Thank you."
1

Bakhid was 8 when his village was attacked. He is now
11. This illustration shows tanks and sophisticated
pickup trucks from the Sudanese army coming in
support of the Janjaweed militia. The Janjaweed militia
fires on civilians and sets the houses aflame.
2

• Mohamat was 8 at the
time of the attack and is
now 11. This drawing
shows Sudanese forces
and Janjaweed militias
attacking a village and
shooting civilians. Under
the bodies, Mohamat
has written "mort," which
means dead in French.
At the top left-hand
corner of the drawing,
Mohamat has written
"ataque village,"
indicating that this is the
drawing of an attack on
his village.
3

• Mohammed, the child
who drew this picture,
was 8 during the attack
on his village,
Mukshasha, in 2003. He
is now 12 and living in a
refugee camp in eastern
Chad. Here, attackers'
skin color is lighter than
that of the victims,
denoting an ethnic
aspect in the attacks.
The villagers are also
fighting back with spears
and arrow, while the
Janjaweed and
Asudanese forces are
attacking the villagers
with machine gun
4

• This drawing depicts an attack by
Janjaweed on a village. In the left of
the picture, underneath the attackers,
the child artist has written "janjinwite."
5

• Abdoul was 9 when his village in Darfur was attacked. He is now 13. At the
top of the picture a boy is thrown into a fire. The picture also shows a
government plane bombing the village. In the center of the illustration, a
man has a bag over his head in advance of being shot and killed. At the
bottom of the picture, a soldier appears to be cutting a man's head off.
Women, with hands tied behind them, are being marched off at gunpoint. A
woman with her possessions on her head leaves with her two children,
pursued by two soldiers.
6

• It's not certain that Sudan
will turn over the two
suspects facing accusations
at the international criminal
court. Regardless, the crisis
in Darfur continues at 110
deaths a day, according to
the British paper The
Independent. Evidence
such as these children's
drawings indicate that the
world can no longer ignore
the tragic situation in Darfur.

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