Deliver Darfur

Darfur is a region in the western part of the Sudan. It is composed of three states, South, West and North Darfur, which are controlled together by the Transitional Darfur Regional Authority. Since 2003 war has been waged against the indigenous non-Arab population by the Sudanese government. Because of this war a humanitarian crisis has been created causing refugees and other man-made emergencies requiring aid from outside organizations.

Darfur was an independent sultanate for hundreds of years until it was incorporated into the country of Sudan by the Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916 during the First World War. Almost immediately Darfur began to suffer as a result of this forced annexation to Sudan, with most resources of financial and administrative in nature directed to the central Sudanese tribes which are close to the capital of Khartoum. This concentration of resources left outlying areas, such as Darfur with little resources with which to develop and prosper.

In 1956 Sudan gained national independence, but instability was the order of the day due to proxy wars between Chad, Libya and Sudan. Due to the ideology of the supremacy of Arabs promoted by Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi, the indigenous, non-Arab people of Darfur began to suffer.  The conflict gained momentum after a famine in the 1980s disrupted many social structures, leading to the first significant fighting in Darfur. For 15 years low level conflict continued un-abated, coming to a sharp head in 2003 when a cohesive rebel movement formed. In the following years one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters ensued, causing the deaths of over 300,000 people and the displacement of more than 2.5 million.