Cross posted from the Huffington Post

In recent weeks several commentators have declared the Save Darfur movement variously as no longer useful, confused, or stuck in the past. Such assertions belie a misunderstanding of what the Save Darfur movement is all about. Darfuris continue to suffer, and as national elections and the referendum on independence for South Sudan grow closer, it is clear that the problems of Darfur will not be solved in the absence of major governance reform in Sudan, and conversely that the myriad of problems facing Sudan cannot be resolved until peace is secured in Darfur. Resolving the Darfur conflict is critical not just for the people of Darfur, but for the future of Sudan and the stability of the entire region. Rather than being past its expiration date, the Save Darfur movement is needed now more than ever.

The Save Darfur movement is perhaps, along with the anti-apartheid movement, the most successful domestic mobilization on a non-military international issue in American history. When the genocide began in 2003, few Americans knew of Sudan, let alone the distant region of Darfur. By raising awareness and communicating public outrage about the genocide to Congress and the Bush administration, the movement helped secure funds for one of the largest humanitarian operations in the world and hundreds of millions of dollars of US support for the eventual deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force. These actions have saved tens of thousands, if not millions, of lives, and have helped salvage millions of civilian livelihoods devastated by years of conflict and forced displacement.

As the conflict has evolved, the Save Darfur movement has matured. Mass janjaweed attacks on villages no longer take place with any regularity; prior to the recent Jebel Marra offensive, violence (thankfully) was at an all-time low, according to the United Nations. Our critics contend that our movement has refused to acknowledge that the face of the battle has changed; that we are adrift unless villages are burning and wells are being poisoned. We not only acknowledge that the contours of the conflict have changed, we welcome it. But success in raising domestic awareness of the issue and putting pressure on the Sudanese government to stop the most visible abuses does not mean that our work is done – in fact, much hard work remains.

According to UN estimates, 2.7 million Darfuris (a number equivalent to the population of the President’s home town of Chicago) remain in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. Over 4.7 million Darfuris rely on humanitarian aid. Compounding matters, levels of insecurity have only increased in recent months. A column of over sixty UN peacekeepers was recently disarmed and held overnight by parties allegedly unknown on its way to investigate claims of civilian deaths and displacement. Darfuri civilians, international aid workers, and UN peacekeepers all face daily threats of banditry; all (ironically) depend on the Sudanese government for protection, which it fails to provide. The scourge of rape plagues the IDP and refugee camps. Darfuri civilians cannot leave these designated areas of relative safety and return home because their safety is not guaranteed, and the protracted length of the conflict has made repatriation an uncomfortable and complex prospect, particularly for the hundreds of thousands of children who have grown up knowing nothing but insecurity.

While fewer Darfuris die today from direct violence than in 2003-2005, pervasive violent banditry, combined with the ever-present dangers of poor sanitation and hygiene, contaminated water supplies, and irregular food distribution poses daily risks. President Bashir demonstrated one year ago how quickly he can threaten the humanitarian lifeline when he expelled 13 international aid organizations, which collectively represented 40% of the humanitarian capacity in Darfur. Additionally, the Government of Sudan has failed to disarm the janjaweed and small arms’ trafficking has become a grave concern, so Khartoum easily could resume mass direct attacks if it desired. As I write, it is unclear what the current status of the fighting between Sudanese government forces and rebels in Jebel Marra is, or whether civilians have been intentionally targeted. Humanitarian agencies estimate over one hundred civilian casualties and tens of thousands of displaced civilians, but have been forced out by obstructionism and insecurity. The resulting silence is itself a condemnation of the lack of peace in the region.

In short, Darfuris today face different, but no less dangerous, challenges and they still depend upon international support to survive. Thus, there remains a political imperative for activists to continue to draw attention to their plight and engage with relevant domestic and international actors to build the political will to address both the immediate needs and the underlying cause of the danger.
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