Violence in Darfur, Sudan, gains Brethren, international attention.

The Church of the Brethren has responded to genocide in the Darfur region of western Sudan with grants to aid victims of the violence. A total of $75,000 has been given in two grants from the General Board's Emergency Disaster Fund. The Brethren Witness/Washington Office has issued an action alert on the tragedy.

The violence "is being carried out by nomadic tribes that were armed by the Sudanese government," said Roy Winter, director of Emergency Response, in the grant request. "More than one million people have fled their homes to escape the looting, house burning, destruction of crops and animals, killings, and rape." Another 175,000 refugees have fled to neighboring Chad. An estimated 30,000 to 148,000 people have been killed, according to the action alert, which quoted the US AID prediction that 350,000 more face death from disease and malnutrition. With roots as far back as the 1980s, the violence pitted Arabic nomads against black African farmers and villagers and was linked to Sudan's decades‑long civil war between the Arabic and Muslim government in the north and Christian and animist rebels in the south.

Brethren funds will assist Church World Service in reaching a goal of $1,750,000 for food, medicine, water, sanitation, agricultural input and tools, and counseling for 500,000 of the most vulnerable in Darfur. Winter warned that gaining access to those in need has been difficult and some areas remain inaccessible. Only half of the 100 refugee camps in Sudan were receiving aid as of mid‑July. Aid workers reported continuing violence and atrocities despite visits by United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan and US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Religious and humanitarian organizations have focused attention on Darfur, hoping to persuade the Sudan government to halt the violence. "The needs in Darfur and Chad are immense under any circumstances, but with the recalcitrance of the Sudanese government, the situation is of untenable and tragic proportions," said Dan Tyler, East Africa director for Church World Service.

The Brethren Witness/Washington Office has joined with organizations advocating for the violence to be designated "genocide" by the United Nations, a word that carries specific meaning under international law and requires international intervention. The US Congress already has designated the Darfur violence genocide. For information on an upcoming UN resolution on Darfur, and how to advocate for the victims of the violence with the US ambassador to the UN, call the Brethren Witness/Washington Office at 800‑785‑3246 or e‑mail washington_office_gb@brethren.org.

The Church of the Brethren has worked for decades in Sudan, with the New Sudan Council of Churches (NSCC) in the south and the Sudan Council of Churches in the north. General Board staff have served with both councils doing relief and development work, theological education, and administration. The church also supported a project translating the Bible into a Sudanese language. Haruun Ruun, executive secretary of the NSCC, was a guest at Annual Conference this year.

Source: Newsline 7/30/2004
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