There is saying in Darfur “the solution to the crisis requires three things “security, security, security.”

Having been in El Fashir for the last two months I can attest that this. One hundred percent of the time, when I ask an IDP (internally displaced person) if they would like to return home, they say yes. And 100 percent of the time, when I ask an IDP what they need in order to return home they say “security or protection.”

In Zam Zam, I met a young woman (approximately eighteen years old) she has a daughter that is eight months old. Her mother died during the conflict, her father died in a hospital in El Fashir just after the conflict, and she has not seen or heard from her husband, who is a soldier in almost a year. Needless, to say he has never seen his new daughter. In Tawilla, I met another young woman who is taking care of eight children, only two of which are her own children – the rest belong to her sister that has been missing since the attack on their village in February. Her husband was killed during this attack as well.

From numerous conversations with IDPs, I have learned that just disarming the militias is not enough for the IDPs to feel safe and return home. I asked a group of IDP women why they had not returned to their village, they told me it was not safe there. I asked them how they knew it was not safe, if they had not been back. They told me because their loved ones have not been returned to them. Many girl children, boy children, men, and women were abducted or disappeared during the attacks in Darfur. Most of these people are still missing. Having a loved one remain missing is a vital indicator in the minds of the IDPs that the situation is still not safe, insecurity remains.

But, all in all – I have to say the most profound conversations I have had – are the ones with the children of Darfur. In Fata Borno camp, I asked girl and boy children “if you had a million dinars what would you do with it?” they all said “buy food” – an uncomplicated, unselfish, very basic need (will come back to the issue of food a bit later). I asked “what do they think is the solution(s) to the problems in Darfur ” – they said “collect and take away all of the guns” – precise, apolitical, and astute. And finally, I asked them, “If I could deliver to the world a message from you – what would it be?” they said “that there is a camp in Fata Borno” – we are here, do not forget us.

Children’s Plight

The children are still in that camp in Fata Borno and thousands more children are in the camps and settlements all over Darfur and Chad. Children make up more than fifty percent of Sudan’s total population. Children are made to suffer the devastating consequences of the problems caused by adults.

As a child protection officer for UNICEF, looking out for the rights of all children is a labour of love. In North Darfur we have begun recreational and psychosocial activities for more than 22,000 children. But even before the footballs, skipping ropes, and volleyballs arrived – I saw children playing in the camps all the time. Children using their shoes to draw designs in the sand, playing games with soda bottle tops, making car toys out of tin cans, sewing brilliant handicrafts with local materials, and skipping with rope usually used to steer horses. Children inherently know how to play – it is their best means of coping, returning to things familiar, and connecting or re-connecting to peers and family members.

There is an incredible amount of work to do in Darfur. But, I think if we continue to ask and to listen to the IDPs – especially the children – we will continue on the right path … and provide assistance where it is most needed.

In the meantime, I also aim to amplify the voice of the IDPs to the Government of Sudan and to the international community. The world knows that the situation in Darfur is very, very grim. But, I think what the world may not know, is that the situation will be even more fragile and quite possibly worse a year from now. The vast majority of the IDPs are farmers and agriculturists. Due to the brutal attacks and consequently, fleeing of villages, these 1.2 million people have not planted or sown seeds for planting at all this harvest year. What this means is not only are over a million IDPs without food for this coming year – but that the people in towns (like EL Fashir for example) are also facing severe food insecurity as well. The people in town rely heavily on the village farmers for vegetables, grains, and fruit. So, this time next year – where will the food come from for all of Darfur?

The solution is known – security, security, and security. Time is ticking … listen to the children and take away the guns; listen to the women and release loved ones back to their families. In Sudan , every interaction begins and ends with “a salaam alekum” translated literally this means “peace be upon you.” I have heard this from the mouths of soldiers, police, and everyone in between. Let us say what we mean and mean what we say – let us all be active in bringing peace to Sudan.

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Kristen Geary is a UNICEF, Child Protection Officer in North Darfur. This piece was written on August 22, 2004.