May 31, 2007: In Darfur, the local civilians are
not the only victims of the Sudanese governments violence. Foreign aid workers
have been terrorized into cooperating with the government. It's a pretty clever
strategy. It began with the government allowing foreign aid groups in, but
giving them a hard time with their paperwork. The foreign aid workers need
permission (and the right paperwork) to get in and out of the country, and in
and out of Darfur. Same with any equipment or supplies being brought in.
Because of all the armed gangs running around Darfur (rebels, bandits,
government backed militias, soldiers and police), the aid groups needed
protection. The government discouraged the hiring of local men for security
jobs, and, in effect, ran an extortion racket. If the aid groups paid, the
bandits stayed away from the relief supplies, and the aid workers. But money
wasn't enough. The government also expected the aid workers to keep silent
about the violence they were witnessing. Many aid workers could not keep
silent. This was duly noted by Sudanese officials, and aid workers were
attacked (and sometimes raped if female) and occasionally killed. In the last
three years, about one aid worker a month has died this way. The aid workers
got the message.
Journalists got similar offers, at least the few
who were allowed into the country. But the journalists were less vulnerable
than the aid workers, and were able to get to the victims, often using
anti-government translators who had to keep an eye out for death squads sent
out to deal with such "traitors." But these unique government "public
relations" methods worked. While some information about the atrocities got out,
most did not. The word is getting around, in the tight world of dictators and
tyrants, that, under the right conditions, you can pretty much shut down those
pesky journalists and talkative aid workers. Plus, you pick up some extra cash
in the form of protection payments. A little murder and rape here and there
keeps everyone in line, and reminded how serious the government is.
Darfur is the perfect place for this sort of
thuggish censorship. It's an isolated place, and there are lots of heavily
armed groups wandering about, most of them pro-government. But the use of
terrorism against aid workers and journalists is nothing new. However, in Darfur
it has been most effective.
