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A bi-weekly audio series and podcast service, hosted by Committee on Conscience Project Director Bridget Conley-Zilkic, that brings you the voices of human rights defenders, experts, advocates, and government officials. Vital voices addressing one of humanity's most vital issues. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not necessarily represent those of the Museum.
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5/15/08
11/08/07
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Interview:
Darfur activist Tim Nonn discusses his latest national campaign, "Tents of Hope," and the challenge of maintaining hope and bearing witness in the face of genocide.
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7/26/07
7/19/07
5/31/07
4/10/07
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UN refugee official Matthew Conway described for the BBC his visit to two Chadian villages that were attacked on March 31: It was shocking, apocalyptic - a scene of utter desolation and destruction. Attacks like this happen repeatedly, but the scale of this one and the ferocity of it was startling - even to those of us who have been here for some time. These were fairly large villages and clearly relatively prosperous: rich agricultural fields; neatly assembled houses and they were more or less completely destroyed in these attacks. Hundreds upon hundreds of homes had been burned to the ground, and a small fire was still burning in one section of Tiero village.
Evidence collected so far indicates it was a two-pronged attack - very well co-ordinated and premeditated. It happened at first light so the villagers were caught totally unawares. Some of the men would have been at mosque for morning prayers. From one direction came the so-called Janjaweed militia on horseback and camelback - whether these were Janjaweed from Sudan or Chad, it is hard to know. It appears that they consisted of a mix of various ethnicities, not solely Arab, and in some cases the assailants were known to the villagers. The other prong of the attack appears to have been led by an unknown faction of Chadian rebels. They were wearing military uniforms, were very well armed and arrived in vehicles.
Sadly, I don't think we're ever going to know the exact number of those who died as people fled in different directions. Estimates now put the death toll at between 200 to 400. A lot of bodies were buried in common graves simply as a necessity because of decomposition occurring in the intense heat. These communal graves are scattered in all different directions mainly along the roadside where people were killed and then buried by their kin who were able to get back there. Many who survived the initial attack, died in subsequent days from exhaustion and dehydration. Along the route to the villages abandoned belongings can be seen of those who collapsed. People displaced by other raids had been living in the villages alongside local residents. Tiero had a combined population of 4,000 and Marena of about 3,500. The total number of Chadian civilians displaced from their homes now numbers around 140,000. The continued metastisizing of the violence beyond Khartoum's genocidal assault against certain ethnic groups in Darfur means that both the scale of human destruction and the difficulty of establishing peace and security are increasing apace.
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2/18/07
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 We've reported a number of times on the deteriorating situation in Chad. Now the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is warning of genocide: "We are seeing elements that closely resemble what we saw in Rwanda in the genocide in 1994 and I think we have an opportunity here to avoid such a tragedy from occurring again," UNHCR's Matthew Conway said. Chad presents a strong case for a UN force to protect international peace and security, as violence in the east is greatly influenced by spillover from Darfur. But a UN assessment concluded last year that an international force should not be deployed until there is a peace agreement between the Chadian government and rebels, who appear to be supported by Sudan. The Security Council rejected this recommendation and asked for a re-assessment, which is due next week. But many questions remain. Would other nations be willing to contribute troops to such a volatile situation? Will Chad, which last year asked for a UN Mission, actually welcome its authorization? What will Khartoum's reaction be?
(Photo of Chadian refugees © Nicholas Reader/IRIN)
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2/01/07
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Interview:
A pattern of cross-border attacks continues to threaten civilians on the border of Eastern Chad and Darfur, reports David Buchbinder, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, after three trips to the region. Noting the bureaucratic impasses associated with deploying a United Nations force to the region and the lack of security for humanitarian operations, David believes that the prospects for peace and security are far off.
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1/11/07
12/18/06
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The one cloud on Khartoum's horizon, and it may be a haboob, is the investigation by the International Criminal Court. Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo informed the UN Security Council last week that he was planning to present evidence to the court by February. I talked to him on Monday and we will be posting the interview this Thursday. He obviously could not go into too much detail, but he made it sound as though he has been able to gather evidence of "the system" responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur in 2003-2004. I took this to mean that the individuals he will go after -- i.e., those most responsible for serious crimes -- will not be low level functionaries. He also will continue investigating crimes committed since 2004 and believes that he has jurisdiction as well over crimes committed on the territory of Chad and the Central African Republic, both of which are parties to the ICC statute. (Chad is actually the newest party, with its membership becoming effective on January 1.)
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12/07/06
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Chad's rebels obviously haven't moved on the capital, N'Djamena (in the far west of the country). But there have been new clashes between them and the government in eastern Chad, where humanitarian operations for Darfur refugees are based.
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11/30/06
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Interview:
News anchor for NBC's Today Show, Ann Curry, recently returned from her second trip to the Chad-Sudan border. She speaks with Jerry Fowler about her trip to the region, the deteriorating situation and the brave women she met there. Ann also highlights the importance of public response, noting that the more emails and feedback a story receives and the more the public cares about a story such as Darfur, the more likely the outlet is to continue covering the region.
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11/25/06
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 Reports coming out of eastern Chad indicate that Chadian rebels have taken control of Abeche, which is the gateway for humanitarian efforts to provide relief to the 200,000 refugees who fled into Chad from Darfur. I'm not entirely sure what this means. It shows that with the end of the rainy season, Chadian rebels backed by Khartoum are on the move. It creates serious doubt about the security of humanitarian operations in eastern Chad, on which hundreds of thousands of refugees and newly displaced Chadians depend. And it calls into question the prospects of the regime of Chadian President Idriss Deby. Up to now, Deby has had the backing of France, including reported air support when rebels threatened the capital, N'Djamena, earlier this year. But there is a sizable French garrison at the Abeche airfield. If they stood by while the rebels came into the city, does it indicate that they are on the sidelines for good? On the other hand, it will no doubt be reassuring to President Deby that UN Secretary General Kofi Annan condemns any attempt to seize power by force and "urges the Chadian protagonists to engage in dialogue, end armed violence in the country and foster national reconciliation."
(Map © IRIN)
Update: The rebels have pulled out of Abeche and may or may not be on the road to N'Djamena.
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11/16/06
11/15/06
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NBC's Ann Curry has returned to Chad with Nick Kristof and is filing from there for NBC Nightly News and the Today show. She's also posted a gripping entry on the Nightly News blog. Money quote:A 27-year-old man bayoneted in both eyes this past Tuesday lies in a hospital bed in pain and panic about how he is going to care for his wife and two young children. They called him "nuba" - racist slang for black as they pulled out both his eyes. It is the racism that fuels this violence that really gets to you. Here I thought going back, experienced in reporting about these kinds of crimes, it would be easier this time. It's not. It breaks your heart. How could it not? Chad and neighboring Central African Republic have called for international help in securing their borders, and yesterday the Chairman of the African Union seconded the request. Khartoum could hardly object to that deployment, could it?
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