In Darfur, aid workers find faces behind the statistics of violence

Published: 2007-11-05

ZALINGEI, Sudan (CNS) -- Amid reports of people killed and displaced in Darfur, two women -- one strong and vocal, another quietly resolute -- represent the human costs of the crisis in western Sudan. Representatives of U.S. and European aid agencies recently met with the two during a visit to Darfur. For their safety, they are identified only by their first names. One of the women, Fatima, was a fighter. She acted as something of a leader and spokeswoman for those angry over conditions in one of Darfur's numerous camps for the uprooted. With roughly a third of Darfur's 6.4 million residents now displaced, according to U.N. estimates, the camps are becoming permanent fixtures in Darfur. Fatima decried the unease and tension in her camp, which she compared to conditions in a prison. She cited continued threats of rape, murder and assault by government and allied Arab Janjaweed militias outside the camp perimeters. Another woman, Mariam, is 40 but looks 10-20 years older. A relative newcomer to the camps, she was displaced eight months earlier in attacks against her village that resulted in the deaths of her husband and son-in-law. The attacks, she said, were perpetrated by the government and the Janjaweed militias. "It's a difficult life," she said. "We don't have anything." Mariam's main concern was that her five children and granddaughter were cared for properly.

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