Sudan: LIVING THE NIGHTMARE! ICC Returns to the "NO-GO" Zones of Sudan, Page 3

August 2001

Articles in this issue:  Sudan: Living the Nightmare!, Page 1 | Southern Sudan, Page 2 | Southern Sudan, Page 3 | Southern Sudan, Page 4

"This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress." James 1:27

Southern Sudan (continued)

	People eagerly await the food and supplies delivered by ICC.

International Christian Concern (ICC) along with ministry partners Persecution Project and Faith in Action recently completed their third joint trip for crisis relief in southern Sudan. As in past trips we focused our efforts in the no fly zones. These are the areas where relief supply deliveries are forbidden by the Government of Sudan (GOS). Together we were able to take in 42 tons of food and supplies during 12 flights into Sudan. Along with delivering the aid we were able to evacuate six critically wounded people along with a small infant who, because of malnutrition, appeared younger than 6 months and had a tumor the size of a cantaloupe growing from her neck.

The woman described in the above paragraphs is not a fictional character. She belongs to a group of “internally displaced people” that we brought food to. We walked approximately 16 miles in the searing heat to deliver the food, and to bring to encouragement.

The conditions they were living in were among the worst I have seen in Sudan. They had constructed a makeshift group of grass huts in an area they cleared out from among the thorn trees. The trees had thorns 2-3 inches in length. This was the only protection they had. Unfortunately, when they fled their village the only other form of cover was miles away from their destroyed village and it turned out to be only 1-2 miles from the front lines of battle.

There was a riverbed nearby which had dried up months ago, leaving only scattered pools of water. I stood on the bank of this pool of water unwilling to stick even my finger in it. The odor emanating from it was worse than anything I had ever smelled before. The water’s color was brown, darker brown than the soil I was standing on. This pool of water not only contained the eggs of millions of mosquitoes and other insects, it also contained the skeletal remains of a decomposed human body. Sadly, this was the only water these people had to drink.

All this misery and suffering forced upon these defenseless and helpless people for the simple reason that their village happened to be located in the oil field regions of southern Sudan! So much suffering, destitution, deprivation, and death caused by the black gold of death in Sudan.

Several village officials met us at the landing strip as well as men who helped unload our cargo of five tons of food and other crisis relief supplies. We delivered ten tons to this area among the more than 40 tons we were to deliver in southern Sudan. The commissioner of this region was among them. He informed us that if we walked for the next 10 hours we would see the remains of many such villages. Also he stated that there were no standing villages in this whole area. Scorched earth campaigns are a common sight in Sudan!

We stopped at the village of the same woman described in the above narration. There we saw the evidence of tire tracks from the trucks, the bullet holes in the few remaining walls of mud, which was once a home. We found casings from the helicopter gunship, which was used on these people as well as pieces of nails, which are enclosed in the shells of the rockets used on them. Thousands of these nails were all over the ground. You could see what it did to the hard mud walls of the huts; I can only imagine what it would to do the soft tissue of the human body. Again, imagine living it!

Our journey on foot in the area of the battlefront took us to another village as night began to fall. Immediately the senses were bombarded with sights and smells that defy description. As I walked into the makeshift village, my eyes immediately fell upon an old woman and a young child, no older than two years, sitting by small fire. There was a tiny pot sitting in the fire. I walked over to observe and saw that the pot was filled with leaves that had been cooking for some time. Next to the lady were a few small leafless branches that I guessed provided that night’s meal. The odors were caused by a lack of means to provide sanitary conditions. We spent the night in this village.

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Continued on Page 4... 

POSTED:  August 23, 2001

August 2001

Articles in this issue:  Sudan: Living the Nightmare!, Page 1 | Southern Sudan, Page 2 | Southern Sudan, Page 3 | Southern Sudan, Page 4