Fleeing in Darfur Albert Gonzรกlez Farran
A woman and her baby just arrived at Shangil Tubaya (North Darfur) after fleeing from her village due to clashes
The people of Darfur (Sudan) are stuck in a vicious circle. The situation for almost two million Darfuris who have been forced to live in camps for the last eight years and for those who suffer the conflict in their own villages remains unresolved. Many constantly flee from their homes due to attacks by all sides in the conflict, invasion by other tribes, lack of resources, drought, robbers and plunderers. The combination of threats would prove to be too many for them to return home. The situation of the internally displaced people (IDPs) and the suffering villagers is like a spiral, a line that turns around and around with no end in sight. A tragic cycle that includes clashes, attacks, bombings, displacements and returns... This spiral is continuous. First, villagers start running away from their houses searching for safe areas, usually near larger towns. In these new locations, they make temporary shelters of plastic and branches and, after several years, they settle down with concrete buildings, clinics, schools and markets. When the situation seems to be calm in their original villages, a few of them take the risk to go back there and start a new life. But at the same time, in other corners, new communities abandon their places because they are also attacked or the conflict destroys basic infrastructures and restricts access to resources. While the Sudanese authorities are trying to close some IDP camps, others are born. They are already part of Darfur’s landscape. The number of displaced never decreases and the conflict keeps going. Sudanese Armed Forces, Arabic militias (called janjawees) and other armed movements (basically Sudan Liberation Army and Justice and Equality Movement) continue fighting to control the territory and make life almost impossible for the civil population. While there are repeated attempts to reach a peace agreement, soldiers and rebels are still using guns over diplomacy. Unfortunately, the conflict is often not fully reported on by the media and international community. Besides, the independence of South Sudan has moved the attention away and Darfur is very difficult to access for international photographers due to the Government restrictions on travel. If the situation of Darfur is not brought to the attention of the public and kept in the news, there will be no sense of urgency and people are likely to conclude that the situation is normal. Š Albert Gonzålez Farran - UNAMID www.albertgonzalez.net
A shelter in Tawilla camp for displaced persons (North Darfur)
Ashia Suleiman Abbackar with two of her seven children in their new shelter in Tawilla (North Darfur) after fleeing from Tabara
A woman on her long walk to the water point in Kalma camp for displaced persons (South Darfur)
Adam Hassan Sabuun (68 years old) from Gogar (West Darfur) lives alone in a shelter in Abuzar IDP camp for displaced people. His five children moved away looking for better opportunities
A community leader of Mornei camp for internally displaced persons (North Darfur) who lost family members in recent clashes, cries during a meeting with UN representatives
A doctor examines a displaced family in Kalma camp (South Darfur) before the departure to their original village in West Darfur
Departure of people from Kalma camp (South Darfur) to their villages in West Darfur
A child is accommodated in a bus in Aramba camp for displaced people (North Darfur) before the depart to his original village in Kutum
A family of returnees take a rest during the long trip from Kabkabiya to their original village near Kutum (North Darfur)
A woman hugs her relative on her arrival at Sehjanna (North Darfur) after seven years in a displaced camp
Few villagers in Jawa, East Jebel Marra (South Darfur), nearly abandoned by the population
Some villagers in Abu Nashab Salama (North Darfur) frequently attacked by looters
A woman, recently returned from a displaced camp, builds her new shelter in Sullu (West Darfur)
Thirsty children in El Srief (North Darfur) queue to receive water distributed by United Nations to mitigate the shortage
A child works making bricks in Torra. The local community rebuilds the village after years displaced in camps. Most of the children from Torra took part in the conflict as soldiers and now they are forced to work
A young girl runs away from a fire in Kuma Garadayat (North Darfur)
A man tries to extinguish a fire in Kuma Garadayat (North Darfur)
Kaltoum Adam Imam, with one of her five children and her sister, collects millet in a land rented by a community leader in Saluma (North Darfur). Land disputes are frequent in Darfur
Members of the Sudanese Army posted in East Jebel Marra (West Darfur)
Members of a coallition of rebel movements posted in Fanga Suk village, East Jebel Marra (West Darfur)
A child displays the bullets collected from the ground in Rounyn (North Darfur)
A student at Zalingei University (West Darfur) protests during a visit of the Doha peace negotiation team. As the delegation departed, the protest turned violent, resulting in at least two deaths and several wounded.
A former member of the Popular Defense Force (PDF) in Nyala (South Darfur). The PDF, formed in 1989 as a dedicated Islamist militia, was the main instrument of the Government for mobilization in Darfur, sending tens of thousands of Darfuris to fight against southern rebels.
Community leader Adam Mohamad Mahmud Hamis gives his respects to one of the 47 victims in an attack in Taraba village (North Darfur)
Dr. Sale, SLA-Unity faction leader, checking the UNICEF clinic in Majo (North Darfur) destroyed after an attack
A UN peacekeeper patrols in an abandoned village in Jebel Marra
Villagers of Tukumare (North Darfur) affected by air strikes
A rebel soldier inspects the remains of Tukumare village after the bombings A member of a rebel movement stares at the destruction of Tukumare (North Darfur)
Families from Tukumare, escorted by a rebel group, abandon their village due to the recent bombings
The seed of the terrible spiral of Darfur is still growing and it has sufficient energy to continue for many more years to come if a peace agreement is not implemented. In the meanwhile, the people of Darfur remain in a downward spiral... ...which continues
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