Sudanese scuffle symbolic of disregard for own

Can you describe the scene that you saw at the Abu Shouk refugee camp in Darfur?
It is a vast desert area with shelters that are well constructed, better than just tents. They have some semi-permanent shelters, which is a positive and a negative sign, because it indicates that they don’t really have much hope of moving these people back to their homes.

The people here are afraid to talk about the violence against them.

There is also little suspicion about the conditions today. There were a lot of men there and this is basically a camp for women and children. So, we don’t know who was brought in and how much was show and tell.

Rice did talk to some women and some relief workers. There are about 1,000 relief workers here now. Thirty private relief agencies are funded by the U.S. government in one fashion or another.

They are getting food and water. But there is still a very high death rate from both disease and malnutrition. There are at times as many as 80,000 people in this camp.

Earlier today they brought in 300 Rwandan troops; they were airlifted in by American military planes, to join the group of African Union monitors. They are armed, but they are not permitted to use their weapons. So they are basically observers who can try to be a deterrent against violence, but they are not really peacekeepers. 

This Rwandan force will number about 400 now; 300 arrived today and another 90 were already on the ground before. Eventually there will be 7,700 African Union monitors. The U.S. hopes that they will be a deterrent against more violence, but a lot of people on the ground think that is wishful thinking. 

So is there definitely a sense at the camp that these are sort of permanent camps and that they will not be returning to their villages anytime soon?
Yes, they are not going anywhere soon. I spoke to a number of women who said that they have been here for as long as 18 months and they are afraid to go back to their villages. Most of their villages have been destroyed — 2,000 villages have been destroyed. 

There are several hundred-thousand refugees across the river in Chad. There are perhaps as many 180,000 to 200,000 refugees here in Darfur, in northern Sudan. 

Conditions are very, very tough. It is the dry season, but actually part of the reason why conditions are so horrible is because it is supposed to the rainy season. But right now it is incredibly dry. Disease is also a big problem — cholera, yellow fever and malaria.

Has it been a very emotional trip to actually go see the devastation in Darfur first-hand?
I think it was emotional. Rice was greeted by a group of children who were clapping and chanting “Welcome, Condoleezza.” That was very touching, and then at the same time, the physical conditions at this refugee camp here in the desert are very tough.

She met with some of the woman privately, so that they could talk to her in some confidence and tell her their stories. But, they are afraid of retaliation. She was very reluctant afterward to speak about what they had told her. 

She talked to relief workers, she met with officials, and she met with the military. So, she touched all bases, but I think that she knows that this process will be one small step at a time. 

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