The Janjaweed are a motley group made up of a combination of many nomadic Arab groups--most of these "devils on horseback" are Muslim. Janjaweed is an Arabic colloquialism, meaning "a man with a gun on a horse," or, as the Darfurian victims refer to them, "the devil on horseback." Before the conflict began, the Janjaweed were an infamous group of bandits, known for stealing livestock from non-Arabs. They originally emerged in 1988. In 1999, three years before rebel leaders led the uprising that started the conflict, officials in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, provided the Janjaweed with weapons in case of attack. When the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movements finally did strike, Khartoum used the Janjaweed as their primary defense, ordering them to attack and recover the parts of Darfur held by rebel leaders. By 2006, many Janjaweed had joined the Sudan armed forces. Today, the Janjaweed wear army fatigues, and call their reign of terror a scorched earth campaign. Their main means of destruction include destroying the land, stealing and livestock, burning buildings and doing anything else in their power to make the tribes' homelands unlivable.
QUOTE: In December 2003, Jan Egeland, head of UN Emergency Relief Co-ordination, declared "the humanitarian situation in Darfur has quickly become one of the worst in the world."
Part of the appeal of the Janjaweed to its recruits are the rewards involved. A Janjaweed horseman earns $116 a month, and the money he earns comes directly out of what he pillages--hence the violence of the Janjaweed attackers. Their easy access to automatic weapons, provided by the government of Sudan also aids their brutal and horribly effective violence.
Effects of the Janjaweed:
The Janjaweed are considered the main reason for the conflict in Darfur--another major source of blame is Islam
, which is the religion of the Janjaweed. One web source, Prophetofdoom.net stated, "Until the world comes to acknowledge Islam's culpability, the terror will continue unabated. And until the West understands that Islam is the problem, the reason for the suffering, Western intervention will cause more harm than good - just as it has done in Iraq."
The Janjaweed are the brutal murderers of nearly half a million people in Darfur. They have killed nearly half a million innocent civilians, displaced nearly 3 million total, and have raped an unknown number of women and female children. The mainly targeted groups include the Fur, one of the oldest and largest tribes in Darfur, (Darfur means home of the Fur in indigenous language) and the Zaghawa and Masalit tribes as well.
The Janjaweed's reign of terror has caused the displacement of nearly 3 million Darfurian civilians. Their homes having been destroyed by the Janjaweed, these Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit tribe members flee, usually to Chad, Sudan's neighbor to the West, where they live in refugee camps along with the millions of others displaced.
Efforts have been made to end the genocide going on in Darfur since its beginning; however, they are not strong enough. The first move made to attempt to bring peace to this distraught area was with the African Union's Darfur Peace Agreement. Signed by the Sudanese government and the Sudan Liberation Army in May 2006, this treaty was ignored by other rebel groups because it mentioned nothing in terms of disarming the Janjaweed. The treaty caused splintering between rebel groups, and has not at all helped the situation in Darfur.
Timeline of Events in Darfur
2003
February: Rebel groups attack Sudanese government.
July: Janjaweed attacks, sponsored by the Sudanese government, begin and quickly become more and more aggressive.
2004
September: George Bush declares the crisis a "genocide, the deliberate extermination of an entire race, religion, or ethnic group."
2005
January: attacks decrease slightly, as the mainly targeted tribes have been displaced.
2006
May: Darfur Peace Agreement signed--fighting ensues.
17 September, 2006: First annual "Global Day for Darfur."
December: Janjaweed move into Chad, attacking refugee camps, replacing some Darfurian refugees for the 3rd time.
2007
July: UN troops prepare to go to Darfur.
2008
April: It is announced that the death toll "may have reached 300,000.
July: The president of Sudan is charged with genocide.
2010
April: Sudanese government signs cease-fire with Darfurian rebels.
So, what is happening now?
Unless we show our support, the Janjaweed will continue their reign of terror. The war crimes we have witnessed so far, including rape and mass murder, will continue and eventually lead to the successful extermination of the black, non-Arab Africans living in Darfur. The Janjaweed, who are relentless, brutal killers, are thrusting themselves without mercy onto the innocent, unprotected civilians of Darfur. After the Holocaust, the global community swore, "never again."
It's happening again. The people of Darfur need our help.
QUOTE: "Despite the increase in world attention toward Sudan in the past months, the genocide in Darfur has continued without any serious attempt by the Sudanese government to do what governments primarily exist to do, protect their citizens." --Tom Allen
An interactive game spreading awareness about Darfur:
http://www.darfurisdying.com/
"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."--Martin L. King Jr.
Sources:
http://www.darfurscores.org/darfur
http://www.miafarrow.org/images/Map2.jpg
http://www.prophetofdoom.net/Islamic_Clubs_Janjaweed.Islam
http://www.savedarfur.org/pages/background
http://english.turkcebilgi.com/Janjaweed
http://www.amnestyusa.org/darfur/darfur-history/page.do?id=1351103
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article2489206.ece
http://www.newint.org/features/2007/06/01/facts/
http://www.holocaustkinder.com/id1.html
http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/voices/32/peoples-darfur
http://www.feministcampus.org/know/global/global_campaigns/Stop_the_Genocide_in_Darfur.pdf
http://www.darfurconsortium.org/darfur_crisis/timeline.html#2008
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/darfur.html
http://www.quoteworld.org/quotes/7809