Here at Enough, we often swap emails with interesting articles and feature stories that we come across in our favorite publications and on our favorite websites. We wanted to share some of these stories with you as part of our effort to keep you up to date on what you need to know in the world of anti-genocide and crimes against humanity work.
- Wangari Maathai’s opinion piece in the LA Times asks the question, “Where are Africa’s Obamas?” It also calls on Africans to view the new American president as an exemplar of the leadership the continent needs. “The time for excuses for poor leadership is over. Africans must not sit back and expect that Obama will lavish aid and attention on the continent simply because he has a Kenyan father. They should demand the leadership they want rather than accept the leadership they get,” she wrote.
- As we noted yesterday, a statement from the U.S. embassy in Khartoum highlighted the deteriorating conditions in camps for displaced people in Sudan. The statement mentioned that Zam Zam camp in North Darfur is particularly at risk, as thousands flee recent fighting in South Darfur and the region begins to cope with the expulsion of the aid agencies. Reuters recently published this slideshow that gives viewers a glimpse into life at Zam Zam.
- The New York Times posted a video drawing attention to the prevalence of rape among Zimbabweans fleeing to South Africa. Women are often targeted by gumagumas, men who offer to guide them across the border and then rape or steal from them. The Times’ Barry Bearak powerfully narrates.
- Enough’s Maggie Fick has been blogging about how the anticipated overflow of refugees from Darfur will affect the humanitarian situation in neighboring Chad. While the conditions are increasingly desperate, we thought the BBC slideshow “Trapped in Chad,” captured the strength of the people who have journeyed across the border, and the captions offer an interesting narration of daily life.
- Amid rising concerns about the severity of the humanitarian crisis caused by the expulsion of aid agencies in Darfur, ReliefWeb published a fact sheet with updated statistics about the areas and numbers of people affected, as well as some calculations of the amount of aid given to Sudan by various donors.