Jul 6, 2009

Sudan kidnapping

According to the Irish Times

THE SUDANESE government says it is doing everything in its power to secure the release of a Dublin aid worker and her Ugandan colleague, both of whom worked for Irish aid agency Goal, after they were kidnapped in Darfur last week.

Unfortunately, Darfur is not controlled by the government, but the war lords who are at war with the government. They just about permit agencies to distribute aid but even so they take 50% of it, according to friends of mine who work there.

Hope they are released unharmed. As John O'Shea says, it is unlikely to be a political grab. Rather some war lords hoping to raise cash to continue the war.

ETA: my information comes from people on the ground and some of it is in dispute.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Please, get your facts straight - especially when posting something related to the crisis that is happening in Sudan. Darfur is largely controlled by the Sudanese government, and not "war lords" as you posted.
Do some background reading, learn a bit about the conflict and I have no doubt you will withdraw your ignorant post.
I am curious to know these "friends" of yours who "work there" and who are providing you with false information... And yes, I have worked there.

Mór Rígan said...

The most chiding points often come from people who remain Anonymous. Not really interested in debating someone who cannot even invent a pen name and abuses quotation marks.

Naturally, I maintain the truth in my post given that I know people on the ground.

Anonymous said...

And I'm not interested in debating with someone who knows nothing about a very serious situation but still feels the need to post unfounded speculation about said situation on a blog site.

I apologize if you found my points chiding. I find it terribly upsetting when people blog or debate about human rights abuses when their only experience or knowledge in this area is based on second hand - and in this case, inaccurate - accounts of others.

Thousands of innocent people are dying every day in Darfur, partly due to the ignorance (and unwillingness to appropriately act) of the rest of the world.

Mór Rígan said...

Having spent many years in the developing world working on human rights abuses, I understand your frustration.

I have never been to Sudan but I have three close friends working for small NGOs in the Darfur region and in south Sudan. They tell me what they see on the ground. Since I have worked with them before at another country with a recent history of genocide, I know that they are trustworthy, but perhaps information, even on the ground, is scarce and it is possible that they are being fed misinformation.

As for my lack of knowledge, I was referring to first hand sources rather than a hotel-bound reporter who gets info from CNN, that goes through three editors before it is misinterpreted by the public. There is the possibility of error but if it is an error than it is in good faith.

I remember reporting on a blog of things I witnessed only to have righteous people like yourself, point out the error of my ways from the other side of the world.