Your
money saves lifes in Darfur
Did
you know that the European Union is by far the largest donor to the
crisis in Darfur? The European Commission alone is the largest cash
donor, and has given €105 million this year so far. In addition
to financing 60 % of the costs of the African Union peace keeping
mission, the Commission is also working closely with the United Nations,
members of the Red Cross family and non-governmental organisations
such as Ireland’s GOAL, Médecins Sans Frontières
(MSF) and OXFAM to meet urgent humanitarian needs. Recently
I visited Darfur on a fact finding mission for ECHO – the
Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office. In addition to food,
ECHO funds practical equipment – jerry cans, wood and plastic
sheeting – for the refugee camps, finances health care and
helps to overcome the practical logistical problems of moving supplies
around the dangerous countryside.
There
is no such thing as a “five star refugee camp” in Darfur
or Chad. Conditions are basic, but at least the displaced people
living in organised camps have access to shelter, food, water and
medical care. Some conflict-affected people in this vast region
have still not received aid – insecurity and the rainy season
are not making the delivery job easy.
When
we visited Zamzam camp its 14,000 strong population had just got
bigger. More than two hundred new families had recently arrived,
fleeing the fighting a few kilometres north. They were constructing
shelters with branches and plastic sheeting given to them by aid
workers. Some of the new arrivals needed urgent medical treatment.
We
visited the EU-funded health clinic – a large white tent with
a queue of colourfully dressed women and children waiting patiently
outside. Some of the women had arrived a few days ago due to fighting
in neighbouring villages. The Spanish doctor inside certainly had
her work cut out for her. A day earlier they had received 35 new
families at the clinic. With the start of the rainy season, the
number of malaria cases is increasing. Respiratory infections, skin
problems and diarrhoea are all common.
One
of the women in the queue had brought her baby for treatment for
stomach ache. It turned out that when the baby was born she refused
to drink breast milk. The mother has to feed her with an extract
made from sorgum, the local staple food. This unusual diet had not
only given the little one stomach pains, but also a high risk of
malnutrition. At least in Zamzam, malnourished children will receive
treatment, thanks to the therapeutic feeding centre run by MSF Spain,
with support from the European Commission.
Segail
Tobai’s baby almost has chubby cheeks now, although the yellow
hair resulting from severe malnutrition is still apparent. He was
admitted to the Zamzam therapeutic feeding centre because he had
problems eating with his other brothers and sisters. He is now undergoing
the second phase of nutrition treatment. Segail did not seem very
happy when we asked where her other children were: “I have
two boys and two girls. They are staying with their father. At least
we have good neighbours and they will help our family. The aid workers
told me that I would have to stay at the clinic with my baby for
one month. This is very difficult for me but I had no choice.”
We
went to pick up a young girl - seven and a half months pregnant
- for her medical check up. The expression on her face told a sad
story. She was one of more than one hundred girls that were gang
raped at their school in Tawila, Northern Darfur. She will be cared
for through her pregnancy and birth at the camp clinic, but her
greatest desire is to continue her studies. As a single mother,
she will have to rely on the generosity of her family. Who will
look after the baby while she studies, and will she be accepted
back into the community? These problems will not go away when the
conflict is over.
The
priority for now is survival, and EU taxpayers’ money channelled
through the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office
(ECHO) can help with that. When Heawa Idris first arrived near Kutum
from Amarala (about one hour by donkey) she set up with her family
in some empty huts. Her family had to leave so quickly that they
could not take any belongings with them. She says it is much better
to live in the camp than to squat in the hut. She received some
plastic sheeting to make a tent, and some food and soap. Here in
Fatta Barnu her family can get water from the hand pump and use
the latrines.
But
life is not easy when your camp is surrounded by fighters. Three
days ago some men went too far from Fatta Barnu and were ambushed.
Armed men stole everything they were carrying: money, plastic sheeting,
even the clothes they were wearing.
For
Seref Marou, the chief community leader in Kasab camp near Kutum,
home is not an option, yet. “But if one day it is safe again,
our homeland is better than here”. What will you do if someone
says it is safe again? “I will go there myself. If I do not
come back then my people will know not to follow.”
Greta
Hopkins, former QCEA Programme Assistant
Return
to contents
Eurosatory
A
similar article appeared in the September edition of Around Europe
in French. Eurosatory
is the largest international arms fair in Europe and every two years
exhibits every item imaginable used by armies (official and private).
Usually the protests against this arms fair are handled by the Community
of the Arche de Lanza del Vasto (a Gandhian Community with a chapter
promoting nonviolence) but this year all the non-violent organizations
concentrated their energies on the first international fair for
Peace Initiatives at La Villette in Paris that opened 10 days before
Eurosatory.
To
me, Eurosatory is a scandal : I know we will not be able to stop
the manufacturing of arms – but – we can try to stop
these exhibits of arms exhibited like refrigerators in an Ideal
Home Exhibition.
So,
regardless I decided to do it on my own, France Yearly Meeting having
concluded that all their work would be done for La Villette. They
did offer to pay my train ticket to Paris though. Basta!
I happen
to be a victim of 2 World Wars. My grandfather in 1918 (and his
brother and 6 cousins) and my father in 1940 so I wasn’t going
to let this pass in silence. The French press never says a word
on Eurosatory so there is complete silence from the media.
I wrote
to 156 Christian publications, monthlies and weeklies, helped by
a woman on the staff of La Vie which once was called La Vie Catholique.
I faxed and phoned various small radio stations and in particular
RCF (Radio Chrétienne Française) as well as some rather
“left” publications, for example : “Politis”.
The CAAT (Campaign Against the Arms Trade) published my letter but
it was a lady in Brittany who sent a copy of it to me…
Georges
Krassovsky, an elderly and well known world citizen and Pacifist
militant was a great and continual support especially since Christmas
2003.
Saturday
June 12. Corien Van Dorp (ex Peace Secretary of the Netherlands
Yearly Meeting) came by car with huge sticks (and me by train with
white fabric) and we made the white flags. She left at the end of
Monday afternoon because she is a dentist and could only take off
one day from her job.
Annick
Bonemeau from Morlaix (Brittany), an ex-friend of the “Arche”
and always faithful to our Eurosatory protests came on Tuesday afternoon.
We were joined that evening by Ian Kirk-Smith, a Quaker and film-maker
for the BBC in Belfast and also a faithful Eurosatory protester.
He joined us at the “Caroussel” in the Louvre Park where
there was a general reunion of all the pacifist groups taking part
in protests at Eurosatory.
One
of Ian’s films was up for an “Oscar” and there
was to be a huge reception at the Savoy Hotel. Ian chose to come
to Eurosatory instead. After 30 years of war he knows that it is
only with negotiation that one can get out of a conflict, not with
arms.
Annick
and Ian stayed until Thursday 5.30 pm and Friday I went alone just
as on Tuesday am. We had on our “T” shirts that the
“Arche” had made for us a few years ago with “arms
fair” crossed out by a red X on the front and on the back
“Vente d’armes” (Arms sale) and a white flag,
an idea of Georges Krassovsky’s that I had found so good when
he came to our protest at Le Bourget when Eurosatory was there.
It is really quite effective !
Ian
came with a blue poster on which “Quaker Protest for Peace”
was printed in white and I had a banner 50 cm wide by 1 m long that
I had painted. At the top was a bunch of bombs tipped in red, two
of which had red (blood) dripping down. Underneath was a white bird
(a dove) covering its head with its wings, to protect a branch with
leaves that it held in its beak from the blood falling on it and
on the ground.
Not
a single word was written on the banner with this expressive picture.
In silence, with our flags and Ian holding a handful of the Quaker
Peace Testimonies that he had photocopied (in English) we, to our
surprise, had a great impact and many people came to talk to us
and many comments were quickly said as they passed by us.
Libby
Perkins and Georges Krassovsky had both send me entrance tickets
to this fair and Annick and Ian went in separately. Ian was astonished
by the tremendous size of this salon, and Annick by the total asseptic
impression that this exhibition gave off.
Here
are some of the positive comments that we heard :
An
official in the CGT (General Confederation of Labour) of a company
with a stand emerged looking haggard and on seeing us said : Ah!
You are the only normal people I have seen today!”
“If
you knew how much money they are throwing about in there!”
“We’re
not selling arms, we’re just working here! Relax!”
The
police : “You’re late this morning, lots of people have
arrived already.” (Their way of saying they agreed with us).
A young
person to whom Annick had explained that we were standing up for
peace without arms replied,”That’s worth respecting.”
“Thank
you for being there”(and that includes some of the military
as well).
Friday,
at the point when most people were leaving, a Frenchman, very official-looking,
nice voice, on going past me whispered almost under his breath :
“I am sorry, I ask your pardon.”
And
the negative :
A large
American gentleman shouted at me : “Who’s paying you
?” Me : “Nobody, sir!” Him : “Yes, yes,
there must be somebody.”
A Frenchman
of a certain age : “With your ideas, there’ll be people
out of a job!”
I was
in the middle of saying that it is not with bombs that one makes
peace when a young middle class official went by, shook my hand
and said : “But what are we going to do for dosh ?”
The
churches are full of people like you!” We hear that at every
Eurosatory. “You folk know nothing!”
Never
let us forget that whoever manufactures something, wants to sell
it and that in order to sell it, you have to create the market for
it.
Yvonne
Kressmann
Return
to contents
Book
Review : Analysing Women’s Imprisonment, by Pat Carlen and Anne
Worrall
Analysing
Women’s Imprisonment, written by two leading authorities
in the field, provides an introduction to the issues surrounding women’s
imprisonment, mainly in the UK, and is the most up-to-date and concise
text for students of penology and criminal law available (published
in 2004). The book includes topics for discussion and essay questions
for students to work from. It
outlines the history of women’s imprisonment examining the
belief which grew out of the 19th century that a women who committed
a crime was ‘not bad, but mad’, and thus in need of
psychological help and secure hospitalisation. HMP Holloway in London,
England, was originally designed as a prison mental hospital for
women and still retains many of these characteristics. Leading on
from this, Carlen and Worrall examine feminist theories surrounding
the imprisonment and control by men over women, which also involves
issues of sexual assault and domination by male prison staff, and
sexual abuse occurring in childhood. This all gives rise to the
fact that a women’s experience of both prison and the criminal
justice system is very different to men’s.
Analysing
Women’s Imprisonment looks in detail at alternatives
to custody such as community service, house or hostel arrest, electronic
monitoring, and restorative justice. The book outlines the facts
and statistics of women in prison in the UK, and compares this with
international prison statistics of women. In both the UK and the
rest of the world there have been rapid increases in the numbers
of women in prison. Various questions are raised about the practicalities
of prison: Does prison work; What are women’s prisons for;
What groups of women are disproportionately represented in women’s
prison population; Should babies be sent to prison with their mothers?
Of
interest to Quakers is the authors’ interpretation of the
penal reform work of Elizabeth Fry. “From an initial desire
to improve living conditions and provide useful work and education,
Elizabeth Fry became more concerned with developing a technology
of reform which would involve constant surveillance, the erasure
of individuality and strict programmes of discipline.” These
techniques are still in use in the modern prison system today.
Sarah
Davies
Return
to contents
Back
to the main Around Europe page |
