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7:00 A.M. We are up on time. We ask our “hotel clerk” about water to wash our faces and brush our teeth only to be told that the water is not working. So much for feeling fresh and clean on the second day in Darfur.
8:00 A.M. We rendezvous with the rest of our delegation and take a quick tour of the City and its marketplace. To my amazement, the people of Nyala have a very robust marketplace economy. Next we travel to the second refugee camp on the outskirts of the City of Nyala in Darfur. Again, we are met by smiling faces of children and adults. We talk to a few of the refugees about their ordeal and no one suggest that the government play a role in their displacement. Our Sudanese handlers are nearby, however, and the refugees seem to be aware of their presence. Perhaps, naively I believe that the refugees were being forthcoming.
10:00 A.M. We arrive at the local airport and board a plane to Northern Darfur to visit another IDP refugee camp at al Fashir.
11:00 A.M. We arrive at the al Fashir airport and are again greeted by the Governor of this region and a number of the local folk in colorful traditional dress. We move out to the local refugee camp. The Northern Darfur refugee camp known as al Fashir. As usual, it seems, we are greeted by smiling faces. We again talk with a number of refugees about their plight and as usual they point to Janjawee and not the government as the bad guys in this crisis. They are appreciative, it seems, that the Sudan government – their government—had set up the camp and providing essential services with the help of the U.N. and African Union forces. The refugees, it seems, are suspicious of We meet with the regional Governor and ask pointed questions about the crisis. The Governor, on cue, repeats the talking points on the crisis in Darfur.
1:00 P.M. We head to the local airport and board our plane back to Khartoum for another round of meetings with government officials.
9:00 P.M. I am exhausted. We return to the hotel. It has been a long day of traveling and meetings. Tomorrow we are scheduled to leave early for a long trip by bus to the ancestral home and village of Sudan’s President, Omar al-Bashir. Interesting fact about President Bashir: He came to power in 1989 by way of a military coup. He has been in charge ever since. We are also scheduled to meet the President in his home village. BET News and TV One News are scheduled to interview the President separately. There seems to be some doubt about TV One’s scheduled interview with the President. Government officials are making a lot of promises and a lot of unanswered questions remain as we head to the President’s village and meeting. |
