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| February 22, 2009 |
Suad and Halima-Darfuri heroes
Goz BeidaAlmost 2 years ago, two young sisters, Suad and Halima were in the fields near the refugee camp gathering firewood when the Janjaweed attacked attacked the two. Halima was just 9 at the time. In order to spare her little sister, Suad ordered her to run while she led the attackers in the opposite direction. Suad was gang raped. Nicholas Kristof and I separately found Suad two years ago in a refugee camp in Goz Beida. She was still suffering from injuries to her body and trauma. But Halima was safe. For the time being.
Nick found Suad again on his recent trip to the Darfur/Chad borderland. But Halima was not there. Now eleven years old, Halima had left the relative safety of the camp to try to find their parents, back in Darfur. Suad does not know what became of her or even whether she is still alive. To see the video included on Nicks site click below.
Nick writes;
"My Sunday column is about one of my Darfuri heroes, Suad Ahmed, and her extraordinary (and possibly dead) sister, Halima. I admire them so much because for year after year in covering Darfur, I've met with presidents and prime ministers and foreign ministers and ambassadors, and mostly I've heard excuses. And then you find real moral leadership coming from two unknown sisters in a refugee camp.
The story also moves me because I have an 11-year-old daughter, the same age as Halima when she struck out alone across the desert to try to rescue her parents. And the thought of such a little girl undertaking such a dangerous mission sends chills down my spine. You can also see a video that Shayla Harris, the Times videographer with me, took of Suad here.
I truly believe that with the ICC arrest warrant of President Bashir coming down soon, we have a chance to end the slaughter in Darfur. But that will take real resolve - rather than just excuses- from officials and world leaders, and I hope that the example of Suad and Halima can build a little spine in those world leaders who will have to respond to the arrest warrant.'