Violence continues to drive Darfur farmers into crowded camps

Published: 2007-08-08

ZALINGEI, Sudan (CNS) -- For years, Fatma Omar resisted leaving her farm near the village of Omra, despite repeated raids by Arab militias. At times she and her family would flee to hide in the desert for several days until it was safe to return home. Then in mid-July the attackers came again, this time, she said, killing her husband, raping her and burning their thatched home. With her four children, the eldest 13 years old, she walked for 15 days through the countryside of Darfur, Sudan's westernmost province, reaching the Hassa Hissa camp in Zalingei July 27. As she waited for U.N. camp managers to provide her a card for food rations, she borrowed a tarp and stretched it across the weathered walls of an abandoned hut. Then she sat down in the dust in front of her new home and stared across the landscape in the direction of her old life. "Now I've got nothing," she said, her hand aimlessly drawing circles in the sand. In Darfur, more than 2.2 million people have been displaced by government-backed Arab militias. Most of the displaced are African farmers who share the same dark skin, Muslim faith and Arabic language with their attackers.

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