Looking for Former Child Soldiers

I'm planning to write a piece on Child Soldiers as a means to share their stories to the world. Anyone who assists will of course get pseudonym if he or she wishes.

A child soldier in this case refers to children under 18 who have been voluntarily or forcefully recruited into armies/rebel groups/opposition groups. Both boys and girls. It's not necesarry to have been a fighting soldier; many other tasks done for a military group are included in the term "child soldier." It could be for sexual use, for coooking or cleaning, running errands or spying, just to name a few. No special country or region is preferred; anyone who fits into the description could do a great lot for others to open their eyes for what's going on in the world.

Are you one of these or do you know anyone who is?

Please contact me for more information.

Sudan Splitting in Two

Map from the Guardian

It is what it is and that's how it's gonna be.

With Sudan splitting in two on July 9th 2011, the two new countries; Sudan and South Sudan, faces many challenges. During a referendum on January 9-15th, 99% of the southerners voted in favor of separation, which came of no surprise. After 50 years of struggle and a decade of strains towards international diplomacy, the day finally arrived when it became clear that the south will be independent from the north. But everything's not all jolly good, as the two new states will be faced with a complete new set of challenges to make it work. The Republic of South Sudan will of course have to deal with every practicality that's involved in creating a new state, but Sudan will be equally vulnerable for many reasons.

Sudan challenges:

• Khartoum will have to do without the south's rich oil reserves
• The continuation of the fighting in Darfur will not be solved with the splitting of the country and will still be the responsibililty of the Sudanese government
• New conflicts in Southern Kordofan and likely elsewhere will have to be dealt with
• The identity of Sudan will be affected as it can no longer take pride in being the biggest country in Africa
• President Omar al-Bashir is accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2009 of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur which resulted in a second issue of warrant (the first didn't hold) for charges of genocide. The warrant was delivered to the Sudanese government, which is unlikely to execute it

Southern Sudan challenges:

• Violence has haunted the region and more than 1500 people have died in battles this year; both in cattle raids and attacks by at least seven separate rebel militia groups fighting for the government
  
• Citizenships will have to be issued, as with legal matters
• Although Southern Sudan is rich in oil, the country will be one of the least-developed regions on earth
• Ethnic tensions and troubled relations with the north will mean constant security challenges
• Popular expectations on the new SPLM government are extremely high; people believe that independence means jobs, roads and general life approvements. The government will have to face the discontent when these hopes are not fulfilled without delay
• The SPLA will face many short-term challenges; accountability, logistics and sustainment; lack of mobility, poor tactical communications; urgent training and new equipment needs; and insufficient funds to support development
• Poverty, lack of development and the threat of violence will not magically disappear after the splitting

While a southern independence was the goal of a long struggle it will create a whole new set of difficulties. The biggest concern are the unsolved issues between the two new countries as will continue to be dependent on each other, mostly because of the oil in the south and the refineries in the north. However, war is never inevitable and I'll continue to keep my hopes up for a future peace between Sudan and Southern Sudan. If the governments are willing to solve the huge puzzle that lies ahead of them, the problems that today seem overwhelming can be solved. A key to the puzzle, in my opionion, is the involvement of the international community, that can both act as diplomats and help with the development of the two new states. It's up to the people to decide wether it's worth to continue to dispute over issues that can only result in a new war - or to put down their guns and work together for a sustainable peace.

Are you in Sudan or Southern Sudan?

I would like to get in touch with you - either as a guest blogger or to hear your point of view of the splitting of Sudan. Feel free to email me or write a comment and I'll contact you.

Follow the News

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/search/sudan gives you the latest news on Sudan
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12070034 provides news on Southern Sudan
• Securing a split Sudan in CNN Breaking News Videos
• Development in north and south Sudan - interactive on the Guardian
• South Sudan gears up for independence Video on Reuters
• Sudan Tribune is a news source on Sudan which is based in France (and therefore avoids Sudanese censorship)
• The Juba Post is the only independent English-language newspaper in Southern Sudan

Independence for Western Sahara

Outside Laayoune, Western Sahara

The Moroccans are a proud people, with a relatively open society that is steadily moving towards a just legal system and acceptance of diversity, except on one matter. If you're planning of going there, I only have one advice; do not discuss the status of Western Sahara unless you're prepared for a heated argument. The opinion of the rest of the world lean towards the recognition of the area as an independent state, but in Morocco, even the most educated and aware people refuse to accknowledge the suppression of hundered thousands of people.

The region had been under Spanish rule for almost a hundered years when the International Court of Justice in 1975 decided to reject Morocco's and Mauretania's claims of the territory. Spain agreed to arrange a referendum, as the International Court of Justice recognized the Saharawis' right to self-determination. But Morocco countered with the "Green March", sending 300.000 Moroccans into the territory for settlement. But the Moroccans' version of the story is a tiny bit different:

On the 6th of November 1975, civilian Moroccans marched across Moroccan Sahara seeking independence from Spain. This was known as the "Green March", because green symbolised peace. Spain finally came to an agreement with Morocco for independence of Moroccan Sahara.

- Moroccansaharawi.com

This happening forced Spain to a settlement with Morocco and Mauretania - the Madrid Agreement. Morocco got two thirds in the north and Mauretania got the left-overs, ending the Spanish colonial rule. A couple of months later, the Polisario declared the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR). Two years later, the Mauretanian government made a peace deal with Polisario after a coup, and resigned all territorial claims, resulting in further Moroccan occupation.

Guerilla wars between Polisario and Morocco occured until 1991 and an attempted referendum lead by the United Nations Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara  (MINURSO) failed. Talks and negotiations between different parties have been an ongoing process ever since, without any progress. A couple of weeks ago blood was shed during a clash between Moroccan security forces and what was reputedly preaceful protesters near Laayoune, the capital of Western Sahara. The protesters had gathered at a camp outside the city to protest against the harsh Moroccan rule and were raided by the Moroccan army and police. Some 20.000 Sahrawis had gathered at the camps for over a month, mostly ignored by the press. According to Morocco, 10 out of 12 dead belonged to the security forces. Polisario however, claims that 20 died and around 1000 were wounded in the clash. Spain are now accusing Morocco for war crimes against humanity.

The situation today according to Morocco is as follows:

Although Moroccan Sahara gained independence from Spanish control, a small group known as "Polisario" (supported by the Algerian government and some communist countries throuout the cold war), refused to be governed by Morocco. This led to many Moroccan Saharawi civilians being kidnapped by the Polisario, taken to Tindouf in Algeria and kept as refugees.

Although some have managed to escape and return to Morocco, many are still under the control of  the Polisario and Algerian government.

- Moroccansaharawi.com

The UN recognize Polisario as the legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people. The EU, although not recognizing the SADR, supports the right of self-determination of the Sahrawi people, but does not recognize the Polisario front. The African Union (AU) fully recognize the SADR. The Arab League supports Morocco's claims of the region.

Whichever way you look at it (and I'm not going to write down more things that can be googled) it's clear that neither Morocco or Polisario are playing clean - crimes have been committed on both sides. Rabat is currently offering Western Sahara autonomy, but Polisario are still demanding a referendum for complete independence. The region is occupied, there is no better term for it, and it is my opinion that Morocco should recognize this and give the Western Sahara the independence they have sought for so long. It is my wish that the people of Morocco will realize this, have the courage to stand up and put pressure on the government.

You Shall Rise

In 2007 Mattafix released this song, "Living Darfur", to raise funds and awareness of the situation of the war stricken, torn and suffering people in the western parts of Sudan. The video was shot in eastern Chad on the border of Darfur and was funded by Mick Jagger. More than 200.000 people have died in the conflicts and over one million have been forced away from their homes. Whole villages have been burned and the UN have accused pro-government Arab militia for ethnic cleansing against non-Arab locals.

What's going on in Darfur has been called genocide, although too few people are aware of the seriousness of the situation. My heart is breaking for the suffering people that have lost their families and friends, forced away from their homes and suppressed by the government. It's unbelievable that something like this can happen today. We've said "never again" so many times that words turned empty. We don't need more words, written agreements and peace talk. What we need, is action.

Sudan - Love thy Neighbour!

In January 2011 there is planned to be held a referendum for independence for Southern Sudan, but the UN and various NGOs are already stocking up emergency equipment and food, preparing for conflicts. The chances are big that the referendum will either be delayed, or that the results of it will cause the peace agreements to be jeapordized. It's very likely that the Christian south will vote for independence and many are thought to vote in protest of the Muslim-ruled Khartoum government. I even think that it's likely that there will be pre-election conflicts; the shed of blood because of peoples' insecurities before the results. The Muslim north are afraid of loosing control over the oil rich south, and the Christian south are afraid of the north to not let them go no matter of the government's promises of respecting the outcome of the election.

It's a tense situation already and it's not likely that it will get less so. I'm still hoping of being able to go there to write my final thesis in pedagogy, but if things go as experts have predicted, it doesn't seem like a very good idea. Maybe things would be less violent in Khartoum, if a conflict would rise, but it's still an uncertain situation. Protests and demonstrations will probably not be very peaceful and there are bound to be deaths in even the safest places in the country. 

It breakes my heart. A country that has already seen so much suffering and death are now balancing on the border of yet another civil war. I hope with everything I have, that the weight will tip the mass to the right side of the border of peace and war, and that no more lives will be lost because of something that should be the beginning of a new, peaceful chapter. Sudan could be the good example for neghbouring countries to follow. This could end so well, yet history seems to repeat itself. UN are stocking up with food supplies in critical areas and Ban Ki-moon says that the potential for "unintended conflict" is high.

My dear, beloved Sudanese friends: Show the world the goodness of people. Be patient and consequent, love your country and everyone in it, Christian or Muslim, oil-rich or not. A new border is not something that should cause death and suffering to your neighbours, or yourself. If the south votes for independence, then be happy that a just, democratic election was seen through and that the masses got to have their say. Share the oil supplies fairly and continue to love one another. But don't take anything out in advance. The outcome of the election is yet to be shown.

Practice what you preach; your religion is one of peace.

Muhammed said: Hurt no one so that no one may hurt you.

Jesus said: Love thy neighbour.

Sweden - Not so Perfect

"A helping hand"

According to Newsweek, Sweden is the world's third best country to live in. Many thinks of the Swedish society as an idyll, and that for many good reasons; you can express your thoughts and feelings however you want, you can criticize the government openly, demonstrate against what you think is wrong. You can be openly bi- or homosexual, practice any religion you want to, have the right to form and join work unions. Marriage is not a necessity to form a family, nor is it an issue to be a single parent. Anyone can study at the university - and get a student's loan. If you get sick, you get sickness benefits. When you become a parent, you get parental allowance and if you loose your job you either get unemployment benefits or social assistance - you don't have to worry about becoming homeless or go hungry.

It's agreed that it's hard to find many societies as free and democratic as the Swedish, but to what cost? Mayhap Sweden is a paradise, but how are the government and major companies using this concept? I have listed a few publicly disclosures that may change your view of the perfectness of Sweden:

• Lundin Oil is blamed for contributing to the vicious civil war in southern Sudan when they decided to explore and extract oil from an area called Block 5A, which triggered a bloody fight for control over the area between 1997 and 2003. The company is accused for knowing of the war crimes they have caused; ranging from mass rapes to people being forced to displacement.
• Saab signs a 4,5 billion kronor deal with Saudi Arabia this fall. This specific deal was concerning advanced early warning radar systems. Military products were also sent in March, April and May, most of which were classified as combat material, which can include "missiles, rockets, torpedoes, bombs, etc." A subsidiary, Saab Bofors Dynamics, were earlier in the year reported to have sold anti-tank missiles to the same country. “We’re talking about one of the world’s worst dictatorships. We can’t send weapons to dictatorships that should be buying food instead,” Green Party defence policy spokesperson Peter Rådberg says.
• WikiLeaks publishes a document revealing Swedish weapons to be used in the war in Iraq, not only by Americans against the Iraqis, but also the other way around. WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, was denied recidence permit in Sweden earlier this year.
• Furniture company IKEA are revealed to use child labour in the Philippines and Vietnam in 1997.
• Managers from Scania, a truck making company, are charged for violating United Nations sanctions for being part of bribing the former Iraqi regime of Sadam Hussein. The bribes paid reached millions of Swedish kronor.
• Atlas Copco Group is a mining equipment and services supplier that have been accused of repeatedly violating human and environmental rights and standards. "NGOs have charged that AGC has forcibly evicted, persecuted and killed local villagers, destroyed villages and destroyed water and agricultural land by discharging cyanide and other heavy metals." says OECD Watch.
• Clothing giant H&M use certified organic cotton that isn't actually organic, making the company guilty of fraud. They also got a lot of criticizm for discarding unused clothing instead of giving it away to charity.

You can continue to dig and search for corruption and violations and certainly find whatever you're looking for and I'm aware of that this small list is somewhat to pull information out of it's context. But my point with this is that even though something seems good, even perfect, there is always room for improvement. This applies to everything in life and I think it's a good rule to live by; don't ever take things for granted.

Child Soldier

According to the Cape Town principles, a child soldier is:

"Any person under 18 years of age who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity, including but not limited to cooks, porters, messengers, and those accompanying such groups, other than purely as family members. It includes girls recruited for sexual purposes and forced marriage. It does not, therefore, only refer to a child who is carrying or has carried arms."

In Sudan, thousands of child soldiers have been recruited and used by armed forces, government supported militias and armed opposition groups. In January 2005, a deal was made between Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Sudanese government. The deal, the Comprehensive, Peace Agreement (CPA), or the Naivasha deal, made sure that the parties signing the deal would demobilize all children in their ranks before July 2005. But children are still being used in the conflicts of ignorant adults. They are easily manipulated and used. Even after a long time of abuse and mistreat, they can start to trust you, because they are children. Innocent, white cheats of lives that fill the canvas with whatever the grown ups tell them to put there.

War saddens me, as every injustice in this world. But nothing upsets me more, than the unjust use of poor children - young people that could have a whole bright future ahead of them, if bloodthirsty and vengeful grown ups wouldn't destroy all hope of freedom.

I'm stydying pedagogy at the moment, and will hopefully get my bachelor's degree in June. So I've started to think of what to write as my final paper. For many years I've known that I want to work with those who are less fortunate than me, to make their lives a little bit brighter, and my stay in Sudan confirmed all those thoughts and feelings. So my idea is to write the paper about the effects that education have for those who have been child soldiers, if it contributes to their reintegration into society and if it helps the healing of their souls. I haven't thought of the details yet, but at least it's an idea, or the start of an idea. If you have any suggestions of how to improve the idea, do let me know.

Powerlessness and Hibiscus Jiuce!

I got a friend! A sudanese friend! Her name is Shayma'a and will probably be my local link to the arab world here. I met her and her friend last week and had Sudanese juice with hibiscus. Strange but nice.

Everythin runs smoothly here, however slowly. We have a full time employed electrician in the house since the electricity is not something to trust. Got to sleep without AC last night again, but that went ok since we've had a few "cool" days when it's only been around 35 degrees. Thank god I got a membership at the Grand Hotel Villa, which probably is the closest you can get to luxury in Sudan at this time. They have a big swimming pool, parasolls, sun chairs and food and drinks that are more than way over priced. I suspect this will be my refuge from now on. It's nice to get away from the dust, the hordes of people and the heat from time to time, although I'm starting to get used to is. A little. I'm still sweating rivers, but it would have been wierd if I didn't. In Sudan it's as common to be shiny with sweat as it is to have a running nose in winter-Sweden.

I've been a criminal too! A couple of days ago, me and Mathew (my employer) went to this China restaurant that serves "special tea". This special tea happens to be BEER! And let me tell you, it was probably one of the best beers I've ever had.

Reality is starting to come back to me down here. A couple of days ago I found out that the house opposite to ours is used as an "questioning building", where the military tries to get information from people with the use of unpleasant methods. Most people call it torture. I almost feel bad for coming from Sweden. We have it so good back home and you realize it first when you've seen what reality is for other people around the world. If you report your wallet to be stolen (as a western person at least), they will most likely grab an innocent Sudanese on the street and beat him for hours just to report that someone has been punished for the crime, although most likely not the right person (but you'd do best in not mentioning that. In fact, don't report your wallet stolen at all, if you can help it).

There are still slave camps in Sudan, where women and children are forced to hard labour without payment. There are thousands of political refugees that are tortured every day. And we see all that back home in Sweden, on TV and in newspapers. We hear of eye witness testimonials and stories, about how rape is used as a weapon during the war, about young men who was forced to rape his mother. We know all this, but it never really gets to us. It's nice there, in the soca, when we're eating crisps and watch the news. We see when people starve and die from dhiorréa and say "this is so sad...", but we never realize how fucking sad it really is. How can we sit there and eat crisps while people have their hands cut off, gets stoned to death, starvs or dies of thirst? How can we not get more affected of what we see on TV?

I feel bad. For being Swedish and "rich" (although God knows I'm not). Every day I have to ignore someone who reach out his hand for monay, every day I have to turn my face away from someone that I can't help. And in the building opposite to ours, people are being tortured.

And can you belive that all the competent people has goon to USA to help the poor americans that got struck by hurricane Katrina?! A few western people die in a natural disaster while thousans are starving every day, and who gets prioritized? Not the children with pointy ribs, flies in their eyes and swollen bellies. Kuwait gave half a billion dollars to USA, an amount of money that could have built this country up from scratch. But who cares about Sudan? Or Nigeria? "But" says someone, "it's not the same thing!".

In a few days the new government will be announced, which is supposed to be a mix between the ruling NCP and the former rebels. Many says that NPC agreed to give the rebels power just to end the fightings, but that they will never keep their part of the deal. If this is true, I believe we can count on more disturbances in the country and that the peace agreement will no longer be.