How to help Sudan amid the 'living, breathing monstrosity' that is war

Only a few days into the second year of Sudan's civil war, the alarm bells have begun ringing about el-Fasher, Darfur.

Fearful that the city would become the next battleground in the war, top United Nations officials warned that more than 800,000 civilians were in "extreme and immediate danger," amid multiple signs of imminent attack, including the razing of nearby villages.

At least half a million refugees and internally displaced people are right now sheltering in the North Darfur capital, afraid for their lives and with nowhere to go.

Experts note that the window of opportunity to put a stop to the impending massacre is rapidly closing. According to Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab, the risk is of "Hiroshima and Nagasaki levels of catastrophe."

Speaking at a press event, he added, "We call this situation a ‘kill box.'" It is the final battle for Darfur, and the RSF intends to "complete the 2004/2005 genocide," Raymond said.

Eyes closed

A kill box. Hiroshima and Nagasaki levels of catastrophe. Almost one million lives at risk of massacre. These words seem impossible to understand, bewildering in their horror. Yet again, genocide looms in Darfur, and this world turns away.

The RSF is on the brink of unleashing yet another tsunami of violence, as the group has done time and time again, yet the spectre of such unspeakable atrocity elicits little more than mealy-mouthed press releases and "calls for a ceasefire." This is not bringing a knife to a gun fight, this is sending a fax to defend against a combat drone.

"It’s so painful to see the level of neglect by the international community towards Sudan," said Hala al-Karib, regional director of the pan-African feminist SIHA network.

Her words echo the sentiments of Sudanese people across the world. To be Sudanese is to feel like one is forever begging for scraps of attention, to be relegated as an afterthought or a hashtag, if we’re lucky. The year-long conflict has already been dubbed "The Forgotten War" by many media companies and observers.

How have we been relegated to the archives, spoken about in the past tense, when this war is still a living, breathing monstrosity?

Fundraising fail

Sudan is currently home to the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, yet it is unable to raise the funds to feed millions fending off famine’s vicious claws.

At a summit in Paris this month, on the one-year anniversary of the conflict, donors from around the world pledged more than $2 billion in aid.

As political analyst Kholood Khair points out, much of this was made up of previous commitments that had not been honoured. Even so, "were it not for the Paris pledging conference, there would be little to no new money committed to Sudan at all," Khair said.

The conference garnered one, maybe two days of mentions in the news cycle, but then once again, Sudan’s woes dipped into obscurity.

There are various reasons why the war has not received the global attention a catastrophe of this scale deserves; however, I am not interested in prosecuting them here.

The time for analysis—to ask why this is happening—is not now. That conversation is a delaying tactic, serving only to obfuscate and distract from the urgent task ahead of us.

Action must be taken. There is simply no clearer message from the Sudanese on the ground. Action must be taken across all fronts, or the death of hundreds of thousands—if not millions—of innocent Sudanese civilians will be on our hands.

We cannot say we were not warned. Even if people find ways to stay alive - and they will, because the Sudanese are nothing if not innovative, resilient, courageous people - the international community must do its part.

Toothless pleas hold no power against men with machinery designed to kill. Leverage, accountability and consequence are the only ways forward.

Action plan

What can be done? In the near term, there are calls for the United States to organise an emergency UN Security Council session in order to seek a resolution threatening sanctions on RSF arms suppliers and financiers.

Pressure must be placed on RSF allies to stop arming the paramilitary force because it cannot continue its war effort without the support of international actors.

Second is tackling the issue of the looming famine alongside compounding humanitarian crises, including breakouts of tuberculosis and other contagious diseases in displacement camps across the country.

Pressure must be exerted on the warring parties to allow humanitarian aid into deprived areas, to prevent more dying from hunger.

In addition to mass humanitarian relief envoys, funding must be made available to Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) around the country, providing meals to tens of thousands of civilians waiting out the war.

A permanent ceasefire, the rebuilding of the nation, the safety of the people. Securing the promise of the Glorious December Revolution, including a civilian government, and putting the military back in the barracks. These are the ultimate goals.

But given all we know, such lofty aspirations feel far away, a mirage in the distance.

The dream might well come true. First, let’s do everything in our power to not let any more Sudanese people die.