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<H1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 20pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">People’s
Health in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place
w:st="on">Darfur</st1:place> – Dependent communities<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></H1>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><B><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><o:p><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><FONT
face="Times New Roman" size=3><EM>The author wrote this article after having
worked for six months as a humanitarian worker in the war-torn region of
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Darfur</st1:City>, <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region></st1:place>. At present the international
community is debating a possible UN intervention in <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sudan</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
Humanitarian intervention itself, although valid in complex emergencies, has
serious side effects and can even leave the community fully dependent on
international aid. The article promotes ‘appropriate’ intervention with a focus
on individual communities. Besides assisting the affected individuals,
communities must be supported in claiming their right to health as part of a
larger human rights approach, holding the duty bearers accountable for the
violated and neglected health determinants. </EM></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoBodyText style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><EM><FONT size=3><FONT
face="Times New Roman"><SPAN lang=EN-GB><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></FONT></EM></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><FONT
size=3>Total excess mortality in <st1:place w:st="on">Darfur</st1:place>, over
the course of more than three years of deadly conflict, significantly exceeds
450.000.</FONT><A title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1"
href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn1" name=_ednref1><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[i]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><FONT
size=3> At present an estimated 2.0 million people have fled their communities
in <st1:place w:st="on">Darfur</st1:place>. This document does not appeal to
these numbers as indicators for stronger humanitarian involvement, international
justice or intervention of UN forces or the like. Others have done this already
on broader scale, with only limited results so far, though efforts are
continuous and meticulous in their analysis</FONT><A title=""
style="mso-endnote-id: edn2" href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn2"
name=_ednref2><SPAN class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN
style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[ii]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><FONT
size=3> </FONT><A title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3"
href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn3" name=_ednref3><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[iii]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><FONT
size=3>. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><FONT
size=3><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-style: italic">At
present the international community is pressuring the Sudanese government
to</SPAN><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"> accept UN forces on
Darfurian ground. The mandate such a force should have is the subject of heated
debate. The UN Security Council advises sending troops and enforcing the current
AMIS forces under a Chapter VII resolution, which would allow UN troops to use
armed forces to protect civilians<A title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4"
href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn4" name=_ednref4><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[iv]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A>.
The Sudanese government nevertheless opposes this resolution, arguing that with
the current Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) the UN mandate must be limited to
‘peace’-keeping forces (A chapter VI resolution):<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>to monitor the implementation of several
elements of the DPA, such as disarming the Janjaweed and other militias, and
voluntary return by the internally displaced community under the promise of
community compensation by the Sudanese government. This proposed ‘peace’-keeping
mission would be more or less similar to the one present in South Sudan, where
the UN is enforcing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) on <st1:place
w:st="on">South Sudan</st1:place> as signed in January 2005<A title=""
style="mso-endnote-id: edn5" href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn5"
name=_ednref5><SPAN class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN
style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[v]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A>.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><FONT
size=3>The partial signing of the peace agreement in <st1:place
w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Abuja</st1:City>, <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Nigeria</st1:country-region></st1:place> by the parties involved and
under strong mediation of the African Union was being viewed as a success by the
international community. Despite this agreement, and partly as a result of it,
peace has not reached the displaced people of <st1:place
w:st="on">Darfur</st1:place> yet. The <st1:place w:st="on">SLA</st1:place>
faction led by AdulWahid ElNur, representing the <I>Fur </I>community, has not
signed the agreement, as equitable representation at a national and regional
political level is not included in the agreement. Wahid ElNur points to a
crucial issue, the fact that ‘the root cause of the <st1:place
w:st="on">Darfur</st1:place> conflict is a political one. Inequitable share in
power has always been a disadvantage to the region of <st1:place
w:st="on">Darfur</st1:place><SPAN class=MsoEndnoteReference>’<A title=""
style="mso-endnote-id: edn6" href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn6"
name=_ednref6><SPAN style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[vi]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A></SPAN>.
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><FONT
size=3>The conflict in <st1:place w:st="on">Darfur</st1:place>, complicated with
a history of (religious) colonialism and ethnic differences, is an issue of
resource and power sharing. Some persons reason that causes for the conflict can
be found in the age-old disparities between tribes, sultanates and colonial
powers. (An argument that was used for the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the
mid-90s)</FONT><A title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7"
href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn7" name=_ednref7><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[vii]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><FONT
size=3> Despite these disparities a fragile balance existed for decades, as
different groups lived alongside each other, sharing and trading goods, cattle
and scarce products available in the dry savannah</FONT><A title=""
style="mso-endnote-id: edn8" href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn8"
name=_ednref8><SPAN class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN
style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[viii]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><FONT
size=3>. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><FONT
size=3>Since the big famine in the mid-80s in <st1:place
w:st="on">Darfur</st1:place>, families had to struggle<S> </S>to assure that
enough food was available for the families at the end of the season. Land had to
be shared by <SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">pastoral</SPAN> farmers,
who grazed their cattle on the barren soil and nomadic tribes that made the
annual passage from North to South in search of water and fertile land for their
cows and camels. Traditional landowners’ rights were in place, overseen by the
Sheirs of each tribe. Justice and reconciliation were made possible by means of
community tribunals<SUP>8</SUP>. In the current social disruption, the youth no
longer listens to community elders.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Instead, they solve their issues with Kalashnikovs. Although daily life
has always been a struggle in landlocked <st1:place
w:st="on">Darfur</st1:place>, and poverty has been endemic, people have found a
way to accept the ‘others’ in their environment. The current conflict is partly
a domestic issue<SPAN style="COLOR: blue">,</SPAN> but three mechanisms alter
the situation.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><B><SPAN style="COLOR: red"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><FONT
size=3>First, the colonial presence is still felt in <st1:place
w:st="on">Darfur</st1:place>. Since the independence of 1956 from the combined
Egyptian-English Government, <st1:place w:st="on">Darfur</st1:place>’s frontiers
and tribes have been divided among different countries. <SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">To the west</SPAN> is unstable
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Chad</st1:place></st1:country-region>, partly supported by the French
military, there to support stabilisation of the region. <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Chad</st1:country-region>’s frontier with <st1:place
w:st="on">Darfur</st1:place> divides <I>Zaghawa </I>and <I>Massalit</I> tribal
grounds</FONT><A title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn9"
href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn9" name=_ednref9><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[ix]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><FONT
size=3>. Darfurians never obtained the possibility to share power in central or
regional governments. The <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Khartoum</st1:place></st1:City> government has functioned and is
functioning as a colonial power in the Sudanese provinces. This was the case in
South Sudan and is still the case in Darfur and eastern <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region> (<st1:place w:st="on">Red sea</st1:place>
and Kassala provinces)</FONT><A title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn10"
href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn10" name=_ednref10><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[x]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><FONT
size=3>. The influence of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Libya</st1:place></st1:country-region> should also not be
underestimated. In the nineties, in its efforts to create an Arab league in
North Africa, its president colonel Ghaddafi sent troops through the Libyan
Sahel to support ‘Arab’ nomadic tribes in their domination of the other
Darfurian tribes. Through the economic axis that <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region> shares with <st1:country-region
w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>, by means
of industrial and oil investments and weapons trade, the military economy is
funded. The other axis, consisting of European countries and the
<st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.A.</st1:country-region>, has some interest in
the oil fields in southern <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Sudan</st1:place></st1:country-region>, which are being negotiated in
the CPA</FONT><A title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn11"
href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn11" name=_ednref11><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[xi]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><FONT
size=3>. The African Union is trained and supported by NATO; although no western
troops are on the ground, their weapons and military equipment have their origin
in western factories. <st1:place w:st="on">Darfur</st1:place>’s conflict is
<I>also </I>a good arms deal for the western governments</FONT><A title=""
style="mso-endnote-id: edn12" href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn12"
name=_ednref12><SPAN class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN
style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[xii]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><FONT
size=3>.<SPAN style="BACKGROUND: red; mso-highlight: red">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><FONT
size=3>A second issue is the globalisation process that has changed the world
rapidly over the last decade. Means of communication have skyrocketed, mainly
through widespread availability of Internet and mobile phone networks. Mass
commercial advertisement leads people into the consumption trap, bound by a
shared, unconscious, drive to obtain ever more products. Large number of
families have to keep up with the middle class and hence to be part of the
modern world. An ever-widening gap can be distinguished between the have and
have-nots. The middle class in Khartoum has more in common with its counterparts
in, for example, Dubai, Cairo and Amsterdam than they share with the
marginalized people in the outskirts</FONT><A title=""
style="mso-endnote-id: edn13" href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn13"
name=_ednref13><SPAN class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN
style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[xiii]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><FONT
size=3>.<SPAN style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic"> </SPAN>This pattern can also
be seen in the Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps and Nyala town. The camps
will slowly become permanent settlements, while Kalma IDP camp probably will
become a town on its own. At one point these outskirts and their inhabitants
will be forgotten – not because the population have lost their interest in this
chronic tragedy, but because life pushes families forward to continue daily
economic activities. These activities are necessary to survive in an urban
setting, where an average of 36 per cent of all households lives below the
locally defined poverty line</FONT><A title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn14"
href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn14" name=_ednref14><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[xiv]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><FONT
size=3> The population is not the one to be blamed, they take their part in the
system, <I>but</I> it leaves them easily to manipulate. In a sensitive,
ethno-religious environment, this comes in very handy – not only here in
<st1:place w:st="on">Darfur</st1:place>, but in many difficult places in the
world. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><FONT
size=3>Related to these consumption patterns is a rapid degradation of the
environment. As the Sahel expands, nomads in <st1:place
w:st="on">Darfur</st1:place> are forced southwards to find water and grazing
lands for their cattle, clashing along the way with the pastoral farmers over
the available land. Desertification can be seen all over the transsahelian
countries, provoking famine and disputes. The next wars will not be fought over
oil but over the access to safe water. The <st1:country-region
w:st="on">USA</st1:country-region> and <st1:place w:st="on">Europe</st1:place>
(or the OECD countries) alone consume more than 50 % of the world’s energy
resources</FONT><A title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn15"
href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn15" name=_ednref15><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN
class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[xv]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><FONT
size=3>. Global warming renders less space on earth (desertification, polluted
industrial areas, rising sea levels) available for human beings to guarantee a
safe livelihood to share resources. This degradation of fertile soils is a
recipe for more disaster. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><o:p><FONT
size=3> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: justify"><SPAN
lang=EN-GB style="FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB"><FONT
size=3>We now confront a complex emergency situation with only the means the
humanitarian community is able to provide. The response was and is still
necessary as people are in dire need. The actual provision of humanitarian
assistance is not in doubt, but the <I>manner</I> and <I>partition </I>is. The
humanitarian world has become big business <SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">as well. </SPAN>American and European donors
set restrictions to the funds and the way programs are carried out</FONT><A
title="" style="mso-endnote-id: edn16" href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn16"
name=_ednref16><SPAN class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN
style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[xvi]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><FONT
size=3>. For instance, the food rations distributed by the UN World Food Program
have to be procured through selected agencies</FONT><A title=""
style="mso-endnote-id: edn17" href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn17"
name=_ednref17><SPAN class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN
style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[xvii]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><FONT
size=3>. The majority of medicines that are used in primary health clinics are
obtained through European <SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic">agencies</SPAN></FONT><A title=""
style="mso-endnote-id: edn18" href="mhtml:mid://00000542/#_edn18"
name=_ednref18><SPAN class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN
style="mso-special-character: footnote"><SPAN class=MsoEndnoteReference><SPAN
lang=EN-GB
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Garamond; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: NL; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">[xviii]</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></SPAN></A><FONT
size=3>. International NGOs (INGOs) have flocked to confront emergency
situations, as these are the places where substantial funding can be obtained.
The tsunami in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Indonesia</st1:country-region>,
crisis in <st1:place w:st="on">Darfur</st1:place> and recent earthquakes are
good examples of this mechanism. The result is a humanitarian assistance that
leaves some communities dependent on the INGOs. In <st1:place
w:st="on">Darfur</st1:place>, the main assistance is focused on the IDP camps
around the three state capital cities of El Geneina, El Fasher and Nyala. The
countryside and rural communities lack this humanitarian assistance, as
insecurity is a realistic threat for humanitarian workers. What can be observed
is an <I>imbalance</I> between available services. The best example may be the
difference between the Kalma and Gereida IDP camps, almost equal in size (about
100.000 persons), and both located in <st1:place w:st="on">South
Darfur</st1:place>. Gereida town, overwhelmed by IDPs, is difficult to access
for NGOs and UN institutions, leaving a huge number of people in need of
shelter, safe water, food and protection. Kalma, on the other hand, highly
politicised, is conveniently located to Nyala town where most NGOs are based.
Two years after the instalment of Kalma and the start of a then already delayed
humanitarian response, the IDP population is stuck. With few micro-economic
opportunities and, for the moment, unable to return to their original villages,
destroyed or occupied by ‘others’, the IDP community is left with the sole
option to claim and maintain some rights and identity. One of these is the right
to be an Internally Displaced Person (and not someone who is ‘relocated’ or who
has ‘resettled’). This ‘victimized’ position into which people have been forced,
leaves a grim situation in the IDP camps. Families wait in queues for food,
water, and medicines to arrive, and shelters to be built, quarrelling and
fighting with each other in this stressful environment. Organisations focusing
on psychosocial rehabilitation, micro-economic activities and reconciliation
mechanisms are doing their best to reverse this trend. IDP camps, however, are
simply not the environments for community empowerment.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
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