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| August 9, 2008 |
Today we made it to Koukou! No small feat in the rainy season. We drove about an hour to the the first of two major wadis -- swollen, fast flowing , muddy rivers. Awaiting us at the wadi's edge were two 200 gallon oil drums, loosely roped together. We piled our stuff and a load of supplies for the camps onto the drums and two people dragged it (with a rope) across the wadi. It took several trips. It was hot and Bec couldn't resist taking a swim. She helped the guys pull the ropes.Once across we walked for about 4 kilometers then hitched a ride on a donkey cart for the remaining 2 until we arrived at 'the big wadi'. It is dauntingly wide but the sight of two humanitarian vehicles waiting on the other side was cheering. Again there were barrels but with planks on them this time so we loaded our supplies on board and made fewer crossings.
I have just returned from Goz Amir refugee camp -- its about 45 mins drive from Koukou. The terraine is beautiful -- lushly wooded, monkeys scampering here and there, kids herding goats and cows but also swimming in muddy rivers, we shared the tracks with lots of people, mostly riding donkeys.
At Goz Amir we met with the camp leadership, both male and female (separately) . They had been waiting all day. The ICC call for the arrest of Omar Al-Bashir is just HUGE with the refugees. It is the first thing they bring up -- and their last words as we depart. Their faith in the ICC and their HOPE that Bashir's brutal reign will finally end is heartbreaking. They asked me to "implore the international community to arrest Omar Al-Bashir so that we can go home." Over and over in each of the camps I have visited the refugees are demanding the arrest of Bashir. They believe their voices should be heard. They are the victims. They don't believe that there can possibly be genuine peace or security as long as Bashir in power. He is still "hunting us" they told me. This camp has been attacked 3 times by Janjaweed. The camp leadership told me they are in constant contact with IDPs , their brothers and sisters in Darfur. They say the IDPs cannot speak out or they will be killed but they speak for them.
I feel we havn't been vigorous enough in pushing for the ICC indictment. We cannot be intimidated by the AU or by "experts" ,such as Alex De Waal. They are WRONG.
It was also interesting to hear how vehemently the refugees oppose the AU. They don't trust them. They told me the AU is allied with Al-Bashir. They say the AU has never protected them and never will. They don't want more of them or the all-African hybrid . That is not the answer, they told me. They want 'Europeans'. They are thrilled with EUFOR. "Eufor 100%!!" they say. And they do feel safer with Eufor here. YAY Eufor!! They listen to BBC news all day and at night too since the ICC announcement. They are so VERY hopeful that the arrest will happen and then peace will follow, and the JJwd will be disarmed and maybe part of the oil money could be used to help them rebuild what was destroyed.
Another problem they spoke of is that Arabs are now living on their land, including Arabs from Niger. They know this because they have sent family members back for news. I will write more tomorrow. Generator being turned off.
BTW-the refugees told me that those Darfuris who refused to join in the (compulsory) celebrations of Al-Bashir (when he was in Darfur ) are now being killed.