The Forgotten Country
The Sudan as long been a region of Africa torn by conflict and civil war. A study of history reveals that the names and faces may change, but the heart of the matter remains the same. Hate, greed and sectarianism stains the ground red with the blood of the innocents.
The past two decades brought the plight of the Sudanese people onto the world stage. The government forces from the North mercilessly bombarded the civilian population and rebel forces in the South. The army invaded the villages in the South the North where they were forced to study the Koran, and in many cases were pressed into military service. The women were raped, mutilated or killed.
The world watched in horror as these events unfolded. The armies of the Islamic North Sudan were committing genocide against the civilian populations of the Christian and Animist populations of the South Sudan. Many people fled to refugee camps in the Darfur region of West Sudan, only to come under attack once again.
Once the death toll and suffering had become unfathomable, and the world had seen enough, there was enough pressure placed upon Khartoum to agree to a cease fire, and finally to a peace treaty. This culminated in the creation of a new nation—South Sudan—the world’s newest country. Which would soon become the forgotten country.
The world was so happy with the victory they now saw as their own. The truth is, the victory belonged to the people of the South Sudan who had suffered at the hands of the North.
But not long after all the foreign dignitaries and all the reporters and all the cameras had left…the bullets and the bombs began to fly again. But the world has forgotten about South Sudan.
Why is this happening? South Sudan is sitting on top of oil fields and the greedy government in the North is willing to do anything to get it. So they continue to drop bombs, and rape the women, and kill, and mutilate, and destroy…
The world must stand up to this evil again, and this time we must not walk away. Bring the guilty to justice for their war crimes.
Jack Bass—Founder of The Peace Initiative
PO Box 14 MCN 2C6
Concord, NH. 03302