Brittany Amerson History 105 Darfur Essay The conflict in Darfur has been described by many as simply a civil

war between different peoples of the country, as the Sudanese government unofficially supports the Janjaweed, while groups such as the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and Justice and Equality Movement go against the group and accuse the government of oppressing the Sudanese who are not of Arab descent. This description of the conflict only scratches at the surface of the actual problem, as the conflict is way more than just two groups of people opposing each other. The continuously changing climate of the region, racial tension between the Arabs and non-Arabs of the region and globalization all play a role in making the genocide in Darfur a difficult task to overcome and handle. Global warming and climate change have both been topics of great discussion for many years now. While some argue that global warming and climate change really have no significant impacts on our world today many scientists beg to differ, especially when it comes to Darfur. Originally most believed that the Sudanese was to blame for their failing environment and crops.1 Recently however some scientists began to believe that the difficulty the Sudanese were having with agriculture and their land was due to global warming and climate change.2 The effects of global warming and climate change are most easily seen in Africa, as the already barren parts of the continent are experiencing increasingly harsh changes such as expanding desertification, decreased levels of rainfall

Joe Romm, The Real Roots of Darfur: Climate Change, Think Progress, March 11, 2007, http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2007/03/11/201349/the-real-roots-of-darfur-climate-change/?mobile=nc 2 Romm, The Real Roots of Darfur.

and land degradation.3 This is a problem considering the majority of the land in this area is already pretty barren, and with climate change comes the worsening condition of these areas putting more stress on those who inhabit them as nomadic farmers are attempting to take there herds south to allow them better access to food and grazing but sedentary farmers who have already established their land and farms are refusing them access as they need it for themselves and their livestock.4 This struggle for land and other natural resources only increases the conflict in the already tense area of Sudan, and further aggravates the relations between the people in the area.5 Though the genocide in Darfur is not directly related to climate change and global warming it does affect the relationship between the people within Sudan as the amount of useable land decreases the more tension arises as people begin to fight over and struggle to get the land they need to cultivate their crops and raise their livestock which is basically just more means for a conflict. Racial tension plays a major role in the crisis in Darfur as the National Islamic Front is also going and killing African tribes scattered across Sudan in an attempt to perform a so-called ethnic cleansing.6 The Janjaweed, an Arab tribal militia in which the Sudanese government unofficially supports is also a major cause of conflict in Sudan as this group is the main cause of killings, rapes, village burnings and destruction of food, livestock, agricultural tools, wells and irrigation systems and even the set up and running

Heather, Croshaw, Darfur, Conflict, and Climate Change: Identifying Opportunities for Sustainable Peace (PhD diss., Duke University, 2008). 4 Croshaw, Darfur, Conflict and Climate Change. 5 Croshaw, Darfur, Conflict and Climate Change. 6 Eric Reeves, Genocide in Sudan, In These Times, May 6, 2004, accessed December 2, 2012, http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/genocide_in_sudan/.

of concentration camps of those who have been displaced from their homes.7 These scorched earth tactics are ones in which render the non-Arab African tribes helpless and displaced in the desert as being without resources in an already barren land is usually a death sentence for those who have fallen victim to the Janjaweeds actions.8 Even thought the majority of both the Arab and African population of Sudan is largely Muslim Khartoum, the capital of Sudan has fueled the fires of ethnic and racial hate for military purposes benefiting themselves and the Janjaweed.9 Since the conflict in Darfur is mainly between two groups of Sudanese, those who identify themselves as Arabs and those who identify themselves as non-Arabs, the conflict has been labeled as genocide by the rest of the world, prompting many officials from different parts of the world to figure out a way to stop the crisis. The different ethnic and racial backgrounds of the people of Darfur have always been a source of conflict, going back to the idea that many Africans are typically sedentary farmers while the Arabs tend to be nomadic herders, so the tension between the groups has always have a very small presence in the conflict between the two, but the tension has never escalated to the point of murder which is being seen today.10 Globalization plays a role in the crisis in Darfur because with globalization comes different nations being interested in the conflict not just to fix the problem and stop the genocide for the sake of the people residing in Sudan but also for personal growth for their own nation. China owns about 40 percent of Sudans oil industry, is Sudans largest trading partner and is actually the supplier of many weapons used in the conflict, giving
7 8

Reeves, Genocide in Sudan. Reeves, Genocide in Sudan. 9 Reeves, Genocide in Sudan. 10 Reeves, Genocide in Sudan.

China the most power to alter what is happening in the region.11 Though China has the means and ability to potentially stop the genocide China refuses to get involved in the crisis because Sudan is a sovereign nation and should not be influenced by other countries, basically allowing the genocide to play out however the Khartoum wants it to.12 Chinas refusal to intervene is a prime example of how nations sometimes refuse to get involved in other nations problems as the intervention could potentially affect economic interests between the two countries. By allowing the conflict to play out on its own China, like many other countries in different instances before are trying to secure their own interests at the cost of thousands of innocent lives that desperately need the aid of other nations. The crisis in Darfur is by no mean a simple problem of genocide. Climate change, deep rooted racial tension and globalization all play a role in the conflict that only complicate the situation as climate change suggests that part of the conflict is beyond the control of the Sudanese, and that the world should step in help as part of the problem is due to the pollution created by first world industrialized countries, not Sudan. Racial tension is escalated due to the climate change and by the capital feeding the fire of unrest between the two groups. Other countries economic interests and potential economic interests could be affected if outside countries intervene in the conflict even though the world realizes the genocide is something that needs to be intervened in. The conflict in Darfur is truly a complex issue making it exceedingly difficult for the rest of the world to figure out how to stop and resolve the problem. It appears that it may be a while before

11

Globalization 101, Darfur: A Case Study, April 28, 2007, http://www.globalization101.org/darfur-acase-study-2/. 12 Globalization 101, Darfur.

Darfur returns to being peaceful, as there are multiple causes of the problem that cannot be singlehandedly stopped without creating further problems for Darfur and for other nations around the world.

Works Cited
Croshaw, Heather. Darfur, Conflict, and Climate Change: Identifying Opportunities for Sustainable Peace. PhD diss., Duke University, 2008. Globalization 101. Darfur: A Case Study. April 28, 2007. Accessed December 2, 2012. http://www.globalization101.org/darfur-a-case-study-2/. Reeves, Eric. Genocide in Sudan. In These Times, May 6, 2004. Accessed December 2, 2012. http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/genocide_in_sudan/. Romm, Joe. The Real Roots of Darfur: Climate Change. Think Progress, March 11, 2007. Accessed December 2, 2012. http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2007/03/11/201349/the-real-roots-of-darfurclimate-change/?mobile=nc