There are millions of people in Sudan who are at risk of dying of hunger. In El Fashir, the capital of North Darfur state, some 800,000 are under siege and cannot get food supplies. In the Zamzam refugee camp no food aid can reach another 500,000 people there. Most of these are women and children. Starvation is being used as a weapon in the continued conflict between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army. Across Sudan more than 25 million have been displaced in a 15-month war. But this story is not very much in the media, which is already dominated by war in Ukraine and Gaza.
One reason why the story is mostly absent is the geography of Sudan. It is the third largest country in Africa, with poor infrastructure in the remoter parts. It is difficult for journalists to get there.
Journey in Western Sudan
I have some emotional investment in Sudan as my father was a professor of geography in Khartoum. Although he came home on leave once a year, and wrote letters almost weekly, I still feel I was orphaned (sent to boarding school at age 5) because of his employment in Sudan from 1953-62. Some of this entailed mapping remote parts and also research trips, along with the University botanist, to the farther regions. For example, a trip to Darfur in Dec-Jan 1956 involved taking all supplies in colonial style, along with cook and translator. They took the train from Khartoum to the rail terminal at El Obeid, and then to Nyala by lorry:
“We had reached Nyala on 23rd … started late on 24th which delayed our arrival at Ed Dasin until 11pm. On the 25th we set out on the long stage to Muglad which usually takes 12 hours by lorry. Reaching Abu Gabon, the seat of the Nazir of the Rizengat, we were ceremoniously received by his son and were regaled with dura cakes and tea (we were also presented with a ram which travelled with us in the lorry until converted into mutton at Naheed). We left Abu Gabon after 4pm and went grinding at 5 mph in low gear along a sandy track through unbroken forest. At 7.30 the petrol feed become choked … we decided to dine by the roadside, lit lamp and fires … ”
I wondered whether that route had been improved, but a quick google revealed that “not much infrastructure improvement since 1956”. So concerned about the logistics of how aid can reach those millions starving today, I had a quick look at the list of Sudanese airports. There is an airport at Geneina (West Darfur) and at El Fasher (North Darfur). But air transport may be problematic just now. Most aid agencies have withdrawn from the region, with only Medicins sans Frontieres (MSF) and the World Food Programme still persisting. The aid agencies want to try to get food into the region from neighbouring Chad, but the Sudanese military guard that border.
Food producing region
The sad fact is that most of this region used to be food producing, selling crops such as millet, sorghum, and peanuts, to the rest of Sudan. The dura cakes my father ate were probably made of millet. Sudan has a distinctive cookery culture, with a healthy mix of fermented food (yoghurt), peanuts, varied grains for bakery, and tropical fruit.
Commercial farming was established from the 1960s in some areas. Sudan used to be the world’s largest exporter of sesame.
There are also large areas for animal husbandry: cattle, sheep, goats and camels traditionally farmed by semi-nomadic tribes. Predictably, as these increased, the areas given over to livestock had to increase too and this causes conflict with the tribes who have permanent villages and fields to cultivate. This has been explained as a racial conflict between the Arab tribes and the black African tribes such as the Mazalit and the Fur. This is not religious as both sides are Muslims. From the time of the British colonial administration, conflict over land-use was somewhat controlled by establishing mediation procedures between tribal leaders or village headmen.
Killing fields
So why has it got worse recently? By the end of the twentieth century, the Janjaweed were the feared pro-Arab forces that were invading the Mazalit villages. They have now morphed into the RSF, which is supported by Saudi Arabia. Why? There are explanations to do with the balance of power in the Middle East. But I think the most revealing was a recent letter to the Guardian/Observer by Nicholas Stockton who pointed out that what the Saudis are doing is making cattle ranches so that they can buy up the meat from the region. This makes sense economically as Saudi Arabia needs to import food while Sudan has many areas to develop for commercial farming. Saudi investment into infrastructure has helped to create the routes from the agricultural areas to Port Sudan for export, probably some of those very routes that my father’s expedition got stuck in, wheels spinning in the sand.
The conflict between subsistence and commercial farmers has occurred in most parts of the world. In the UK this was organised more than two centuries ago with the enclosures in England, which ultimately pushed villagers to migrate into the industrial towns, and the Highland clearances in Scotland which pushed many to emigrate to America.
But is it inevitable that commercial farming will always win in this struggle? We are now a bit more aware of the rights of subsistence farmers, and that some of their practices are better for the planet (soil and climate) than land clearance for cattle-ranching. Sudan already lost in the closing decades of the twentieth century 10% of the forest my father saw.
Appeal for donations
An appeal from the organization KidsforKids (postbox in Dorking, Surrey) has reached us, asking for donations to help families in remote villages in North Darfur. When I contacted Davina Patel, the director, for further information, her response was:
“Kids for Kids is unlike many international NGOs, our team in Darfur are local volunteers who want to support their own communities. We source items through local markets. We are also trying to get supplies from elsewhere by lorry but UN convoys are being prevented by both warring parties. Cost locally are so high, inflation is so volatile that some items have increased by 300%, out of reach for families.
Our aim is to somehow prevent starvation in the villages and enable them to stay in their homes. Many families have left villages desperate to find food for their children. We need help. We need funds to help every family in need. We need to help people to stay in their homes where they are safer. But many have left already seeking food.“
People are fleeing to El Fasher, and only two aid agencies, MSF and WFP, remain in this area. Prices rising 300% is a sign of shortage. KidsforKids way of operating is sensitive. They are not rushing in with bags of imported aid food, but are trying to utilise what crops are available in the local market. This fits local diet and cookery preferences, as well as stimulating farmers to produce extra for the local market.
Clearing the land for cattle farming
The problem is that the violence is now preventing the crops from being planted. Diplomatic efforts to bring the warring factions to talks are not working as yet. Time for some light to be shed on the interests of outside investors. Could it be that it suits some forces to drive villagers into refugees camps so that their land can be used for meat-production? The view of Nicholas Stockton, former Oxfam Director of emergencies, is that the war in Sudan could be stopped by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States adopting ethical trade polices that ban all livestock exported from Sudan’s killing fields.
How many burger bars have opened recently in Saudi Arabia and the international airports of the Gulf States?
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