A Message from Sudan

This letter was posted in the comments, but Nate asked me to put in the blog to be sure people will see it:

Hi there,

Thought you might be interested to hear that it's not just US citizens considering a hunger strike.

Over here in Kalma, Darfur's biggest camp for displaced people, several residents have told me that they will go on a hunger strike if the Sudanese government forcibly relocates them to Al Salam, another (much less secure) site just a few miles down the road.

Yep, that's right - people already facing starvation threatenning to go on hunger strike. Sounds crazy, but it's merely a reflection of how strongly the displaced communities here in South Darfur feel about the persisting insecurity outside of the large, well-established camps. Despite government promises to protect civilians and disarm Janjaweed militias, everyone knows that it is still unsafe for people to leave the relative security of the camps.

UN pressure (following several security incidents, including an attack on a bus last week in which four people were killed) seems to be helping in preventing the forced relocation for now, but if I have learned anything here in Sudan it's that nothing can ever be predicted with certainty.

Will let you know what happens over here in this little corner of Darfur - wonder what the IDPs will think of the fact that they have a fellow hunger striker over in America?

Sleepless in Sudan
http://sleeplessinsudan.blogspot.com