Comments on: Re-Visiting North Darfur’s Arabs

By: OzQ8

OzQ8 — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 00:13:50 +0000

Making a trip back to Darfur after 22 years must have been very fascinating. Thanks for the very interesting recap of your visit.

Regards,

Abdulrahman

By: Johan Brosché

Johan Brosché — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 13:22:43 +0000

Hi thank you for an interesting article on a too little focus dimension of the Darfur crises. I wonder if you know which rebel groups that the Government clashed with 50 miles North of Kutum.

By: Alex de Waal

Alex de Waal — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 01:16:31 +0000

Nazir Saeed Madibu is in an unenviable position. He has endeavored to keep the Baggara Rizeigat neutral, while all sides in this conflict have tried to pull them in to the war. The government has been the most persistent and capable in its efforts to undermine his neutral stand, using its powers to manipulate local government and the native administration (tribal hierarchy) to diminish his authority–most recently by creating a new locality of Bahr el Arab, carved out from within his domain. Its aim is to bring the Rizeigat militia onto its side in the conflict. The SLM has also been recruiting from the Rizeigat. And most recently, as the most substantial Arab militia in Darfur (headed by Mohamed Hamdan “Hamiti”, from the Abbala Rizeigat, Mahamid section) has declared itself against the government, the stakes have suddenly become much higher. Nazir Madibu’s neutral space is eroding quite fast, and this is cause for alarm.

By: James Archer

James Archer — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 18:57:33 +0000

In your book with Julie Flint you talk about the crucial role Nazir Saeed Madibu had been playing in promoting what sound like the forerunner of the local deals that are now being made by Arab and non-Arab leaders, what has happened to him and the Rizeigat as you now say war may break out in south-east Darfur?

By: Alex de Waal

Alex de Waal — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:51:04 +0000

The Arab story in Darfur has yet to be told properly. From the outset, Arabs were victims of violence, displacement and dispossession. At the height of the violence in 2003-04, they suffered–though not with the scale or intensity of the major ethnic groups targeted by the government-directed violence. Both the SLA and JEM committed serious atrocities against Arab civilians. Very few Arab displaced made their way to displaced camps and few have been receiving international assistance.

The disruption to livelihoods and the impoverishment that has accompanied it cannot be separated from the traumas of violence and social disruption. This is why, in many areas, we see local-led efforts by Arab and non-Arab leaders to reopen markets, establish local defence pacts, and negotiate joint use of land and water resources.

Many Arabs also feel a deep bitterness at the way they have been used and discarded by the government. There is a movement called “the neglected [or forgotten] soldiers” whose name encapsulates that sense.

The majority of Darfur’s Arabs stayed out of the conflict, despite the efforts of both sides to drag them into it. Those efforts at neutrality are increasingly jeopardized, especially in south-east Darfur, and we may yet see a serious war in that area.

By: Mary-Lea Cox

Mary-Lea Cox — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:53:36 +0000

This is such a vivid description. I really enjoyed reading it. Still, given that I’m not a Darfur expert, I’m left wondering: How is the Arab story distinct from the stories of other Darfurians? Are you saying that the impact of the crisis on their lives has been mostly economic? And if so, how exactly could this story affect the solution to the crisis?