Provide 2000 Sudanese Women with Rights Education

Violent tribal clashes between the Dinka Agar of Rumbek East County and the Jur Beli of Wulu County in May and June caused 600 people to flee to Makernhoum in Lakes State, where WfWI-Sudan’s CIFI farm is located. Karak Mayik and the WfWI-Sudan staff and participants took the lead in assisting the hundreds of internally displaced people (IDPs) by enrolling some of the women in the WfWI-Sudan program and buying food and clothing for the others out of their own pockets.

Following a welcomed three-month lull in tribal violence in Lakes State, South Sudan, clashes between the Dinka Agar of Rumbek East County and the Jur Beli tribe of Wulu County resumed on May 28th, unleashing a wave of attacks that destabilized the region for a month. As of June 28, the UN reported that the violence had caused the forced displacement of 8,214 in Rumbek and Cueibet in South Sudan, where Women for Women International-Sudan is housed. Women for Women International-Sudan (WfWI-Sudan) has helped thousands of women since its inception in 2007 through its program of support to women survivors of war; but on June 3rd, WfWI-Sudan expanded its humanitarian reach to support some 600 internally displaced persons stranded at the organization’s farm in Makernhoum.

Far from the reaches of the humanitarian crisis that ravages Darfur, Dinka and Wulu rivalries run deep and threaten the security of Lakes State in South Sudan where WfWI-Sudan’s offices are located. Lakes State is one of the most dangerous of the ten states in southern Sudan, where internal clashes threatened the safety of the Sudan chapter’s staff and participants earlier this year during a three month-long conflict that ended in March. Such intra-state tensions are especially disruptive given their lasting effects on the greater population – the violence not only threatens the lives of Lakes State residents, but also displaces thousands and causes the forced closure of schools and medical facilities. The internally displaced are usually women and children, often forced into vulnerable situations with no food, water, or shelter as their villages and households are destroyed. The clashes of early 2009 displaced at least 414 people according to WfWI-Sudan.

When the women of the CIFI farm arrived for work on June 3rd, they saw what one WfWI-Sudan staff member described as a “sea of humanity…. They were desperately in need of water, food, cooking utensils, clothes, blankets, medical services...” The WfWI-Sudan driver rushed back to town to inform the local authorities and the WfWI-Sudan office of the situation.

As one of the WfWI-Sudan staff members told us, when “the same information reached the local state authorities, …they were largely unable to do anything about it. As soon as this information reached us in our offices in Rumbek town, [Karak] organized part of her staff to rush to the site and estimate the gravity of the situation. It was a total human catastrophe and there was nobody on site to help.” WfWI-Sudan’s resources are meager and stretched thin as it is. To take on the responsibility of assisting 600 internally displaced people (IDPs) was a major task, one not even the local state government was capable of addressing. Lacking resources, infrastructure, and government autonomy, the local authorities are frequently unprepared to address the humanitarian crises that arise after conflicts in the region. Despite this, the WfWI-Sudan staff and participants made the collective decision to take the lead in assisting the 600 IDPs stranded in Makernhoum. They were able to enroll some of the displaced women as WfWI-Sudan participants; for others, the staff and participants pooled resources out of their own pockets to purchase 80 bags of sorghum, six bags of used clothes and ten plastic sheets. They also opened the gate to the farm to allow them access to the water well. Karak took the initiative to contact local UN office and the Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission to assist the displaced. Happily, the UN agencies responded swiftly and were able to provide additional food and medical services with their ample resources.

Perhaps the most remarkable outcome of this exercise in humanitarian assistance was the relationship the participants in the WfWI-Sudan program forged with the women IDPs. Once stranded themselves, the women of WfWI-Sudan were now in a position to help other survivors of conflict. They welcomed them to the farm and shared with them their stories of Women for Women International. “Our women welcomed [all of the] IDP women to the farm, telling them success of the program and [that] it is for [all of the] women of Sudan, not only Rumbek women…” one staff member told of the experience.

With their sponsorship funds and income from the farm, the women donated money to the cause of providing the IDPs necessary commodities like food and clothing; with the knowledge they gained from their training, the women were able to spread the word of the WfWI-Sudan program and even help to enroll some of the internally displaced women in need of assistance. The farm they own provided water and shelter for the 600-some stranded IDPs. Peace has returned to the Lakes State region, the Agar-Jur Beli conflict has been quelled for now. “Now the place is calm,” one WfWI-Sudan staff member told us, “and the government has come in to collect the guns from the local inhabitants and warned them sternly that the government will no longer tolerate any other form of violence.” But the outbreak in attacks that began on May 28th proved worse than the last, killing and displacing many more people and causing health services and schools in the area to close. The current lull in violence feels fragile to the WfWI-Sudan staff and participants who have seen resurgences in tribal conflicts occur time and again. “Lakes State is in the grip of this tribal violence, which knows no boundaries for old people, young children, pregnant mothers…” says Karak. At a moment of extreme need, the women of WfWI-Sudan assumed responsibility for a humanitarian crisis outside the reach of the local authorities. Their generosity, enthusiasm, and skillfulness ensured the survival of the internally displaced at Makernhoum and ensured that their immediate needs were met. The assistance provided by WfWI-Sudan is a testament what can be accomplished in a nation torn by conflict when women are empowered with the tools to lift themselves and fellow survivors of conflict out of poverty and instability. As Karak and the participants of WfWI-Sudan showed through their leadership, in deed stronger women build stronger nations.

"Last week Sudan celebrated an ironic anniversary. In name only, it was the fifth anniversary of peace - specifically, the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA), the official armistice signed to end one of Africa's longest-running civil wars in 2005. The CPA was supposed to signal the end of a war that is estimated to have displaced 4 million and claimed the lives of over 2 million, infamous for a brutal campaign of rape. Yet residents of Africa's largest country know today's Sudan is far from peaceful. “After the CPA we celebrated; we thought it was over,” says Karak Mayik, country director for the humanitarian and development aid organization Women for Women International, “but every year since, the violence has been rising. Things are not fine in Sudan.”

US Secretary of State Clinton echoed Mayik's concerns in her remarks on the anniversary, stating that, “[v]iolence in the South is rising and tensions continue in border areas,” estimating that 2,500 people had died and 350,000 been displaced in 2009 alone. Meanwhile, a senior adviser to President Omar al-Bashir sounded an ominous prediction, proclaiming war would be the result of next year's referendum that may well end in Southern secession.

In addition to outright violence, today's Sudan is also plagued by food insecurity, with more than 6 million people dependent on food aid. And President Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, a development that was greeted with the government's expulsion of 13 major aid groups providing critical assistance to the many hungry and displaced Sudanese.

From where Mayik sits as a Sudanese woman, war survivor and humanitarian in Southern Sudan, the next year is a critical one for her country, especially for women and children. She spent years in a Khartoum-based camp for people displaced by the war and now risks her life daily to equip women with valuable rights training and economic opportunities that will enable them and their families to rebuild. She recalls one instance last year when violent tribal clashes erupted near Women for Women International's offices. The violence threatened the lives of many, and displaced thousands of women and children, who found themselves without food, shelter and water. Mayik's staff put together the few resources they had to buy food, blankets and clothes for hundreds of displaced people stranded on Women for Women International farmland. The governor of Lakes State, South Sudan, recently gave her the title of "Commander of Nonviolent Forces" for her efforts. Even against a backdrop of violence and instability, these women were building bridges of peace and security.

So what is the American plan for Sudan? How will America work to quell the fighting and empower the grassroots movement for peace that Commander Karak and her colleagues are waging? Thankfully, President Obama has pledged to "confront the serious and urgent situation in Sudan." Last year, the Obama Administration released a carrot-and-stick strategy for the country that critically focuses equally on the obstacles to peace in the West and in the South, prioritizing both the crisis in Darfur as well as the implementation of the CPA. According to Mayik, US efforts should further focus on the main challenges impeding peace, including critical development issues such as land administration, water availability, oil sharing and lack of infrastructure. If unresolved these issues threaten to compromise the country's coming referendum, which we continue to hear may provoke another war.

There is increasing discussion on these points. Yet there is one tremendous gap in the policy discussion that has yet to be addressed: gender. From the unveiling of last year's Sudan strategy to last week's anniversary remarks, a gender agenda for peace in Sudan is absent. In a country where the violence of war has been profoundly gendered and a majority of the population engaged in civil society efforts to rebuild is female, this seems shortsighted.

This is nothing new, although it is something of a surprise in an administration that has from the beginning established gender as one of its key priorities, from the establishment of the White House Council on Women and Girls to the naming of an Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues. The White House must remember that women are more vulnerable to displacement and violence in conflict, and yet have been historically excluded from peace negotiations. From Liberia to Rwanda, women on the continent have demonstrated their vested interest in and powerful action on peace and security. Yet during the landmark signing of the CPA, Sudanese women were underrepresented and have continued to face social exclusion and some of the worst violence to date after the war. As Washington turns toward Khartoum in the critical year ahead, will the women again be forgotten?

It can only be hoped that they will not. There is perhaps no better image of women's valuable, everyday contributions to peacemaking than the image of Mayik and her staff working to educate, feed, clothe and protect the vulnerable in times of war. This is the everyday work of implementing peace, and in declaring Mayik the "Commander of Non-Violent Forces" the Governor demonstrates extraordinary recognition of an ordinary truth - women are the architects of peace and are invaluable allies in our attempts at peace-building. As we look toward next year in Sudan, a year of important elections and what is hoped to be the full implementation of the fragile CPA, we must not forget these strong women, who if engaged, can be the engineers of a true and lasting peace in Sudan. Stronger women do build stronger nations."

Violent tribal clashes between the Dinka Agar of Rumbek East County and the Jur Beli of Wulu County in May and June caused 600 people to flee to Makernhoum in Lakes State, where WfWI-Sudan’s CIFI farm is located. Karak Mayik and the WfWI-Sudan staff and participants took the lead in assisting the hundreds of internally displaced people (IDPs) by enrolling some of the women in the WfWI-Sudan program and buying food and clothing for the others out of their own pockets.

Following a welcomed three-month lull in tribal violence in Lakes State, South Sudan, clashes between the Dinka Agar of Rumbek East County and the Jur Beli tribe of Wulu County resumed on May 28th, unleashing a wave of attacks that destabilized the region for a month. As of June 28, the UN reported that the violence had caused the forced displacement of 8,214 in Rumbek and Cueibet in South Sudan, where Women for Women International-Sudan is housed. Women for Women International-Sudan (WfWI-Sudan) has helped thousands of women since its inception in 2007 through its program of support to women survivors of war; but on June 3rd, WfWI-Sudan expanded its humanitarian reach to support some 600 internally displaced persons stranded at the organization’s farm in Makernhoum.

Far from the reaches of the humanitarian crisis that ravages Darfur, Dinka and Wulu rivalries run deep and threaten the security of Lakes State in South Sudan where WfWI-Sudan’s offices are located. Lakes State is one of the most dangerous of the ten states in southern Sudan, where internal clashes threatened the safety of the Sudan chapter’s staff and participants earlier this year during a three month-long conflict that ended in March. Such intra-state tensions are especially disruptive given their lasting effects on the greater population – the violence not only threatens the lives of Lakes State residents, but also displaces thousands and causes the forced closure of schools and medical facilities. The internally displaced are usually women and children, often forced into vulnerable situations with no food, water, or shelter as their villages and households are destroyed. The clashes of early 2009 displaced at least 414 people according to WfWI-Sudan.

When the women of the CIFI farm arrived for work on June 3rd, they saw what one WfWI-Sudan staff member described as a “sea of humanity…. They were desperately in need of water, food, cooking utensils, clothes, blankets, medical services...” The WfWI-Sudan driver rushed back to town to inform the local authorities and the WfWI-Sudan office of the situation. As one of the WfWI-Sudan staff members told us, when “the same information reached the local state authorities, …they were largely unable to do anything about it. As soon as this information reached us in our offices in Rumbek town, [Karak] organized part of her staff to rush to the site and estimate the gravity of the situation. It was a total human catastrophe and there was nobody on site to help.” WfWI-Sudan’s resources are meager and stretched thin as it is. To take on the responsibility of assisting 600 internally displaced people (IDPs) was a major task, one not even the local state government was capable of addressing. Lacking resources, infrastructure, and government autonomy, the local authorities are frequently unprepared to address the humanitarian crises that arise after conflicts in the region. Despite this, the WfWI-Sudan staff and participants made the collective decision to take the lead in assisting the 600 IDPs stranded in Makernhoum. They were able to enroll some of the displaced women as WfWI-Sudan participants; for others, the staff and participants pooled resources out of their own pockets to purchase 80 bags of sorghum, six bags of used clothes and ten plastic sheets. They also opened the gate to the farm to allow them access to the water well. Karak took the initiative to contact local UN office and the Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission to assist the displaced. Happily, the UN agencies responded swiftly and were able to provide additional food and medical services with their ample resources.

Perhaps the most remarkable outcome of this exercise in humanitarian assistance was the relationship the participants in the WfWI-Sudan program forged with the women IDPs. Once stranded themselves, the women of WfWI-Sudan were now in a position to help other survivors of conflict. They welcomed them to the farm and shared with them their stories of Women for Women International. “Our women welcomed [all of the] IDP women to the farm, telling them success of the program and [that] it is for [all of the] women of Sudan, not only Rumbek women…” one staff member told of the experience.

With their sponsorship funds and income from the farm, the women donated money to the cause of providing the IDPs necessary commodities like food and clothing; with the knowledge they gained from their training, the women were able to spread the word of the WfWI-Sudan program and even help to enroll some of the internally displaced women in need of assistance. The farm they own provided water and shelter for the 600-some stranded IDPs.

Peace has returned to the Lakes State region, the Agar-Jur Beli conflict has been quelled for now. “Now the place is calm,” one WfWI-Sudan staff member told us, “and the government has come in to collect the guns from the local inhabitants and warned them sternly that the government will no longer tolerate any other form of violence.” But the outbreak in attacks that began on May 28th proved worse than the last, killing and displacing many more people and causing health services and schools in the area to close. The current lull in violence feels fragile to the WfWI-Sudan staff and participants who have seen resurgences in tribal conflicts occur time and again. “Lakes State is in the grip of this tribal violence, which knows no boundaries for old people, young children, pregnant mothers…” says Karak.

At a moment of extreme need, the women of WfWI-Sudan assumed responsibility for a humanitarian crisis outside the reach of the local authorities. Their generosity, enthusiasm, and skillfulness ensured the survival of the internally displaced at Makernhoum and ensured that their immediate needs were met. The assistance provided by WfWI-Sudan is a testament what can be accomplished in a nation torn by conflict when women are empowered with the tools to lift themselves and fellow survivors of conflict out of poverty and instability. As Karak and the participants of WfWI-Sudan showed through their leadership, in deed stronger women build stronger nations.