Friday, October 5, 2007

Scrambling for Scarce Resources - Darfur, Sudan - Present

Why Are We Interested in Looking at This Conflict

The Darfur Conflict is interesting for a couple of reasons. The first is its similarity to the Rwandan Genocide that happened barely ten years ago. The world looked without doing anything while hundreds of thousands died then just as it is now. Second, the Darfur Conflict would not have happened if there is no fight for precious resources. In the Darfuri region, water is scarce and competition for it resulted in an open conflict. Two learning points we hope you will get: Don't expect help from outside when your society falls apart; and Competition for water may start the next international conflict.

Questions that You MUST Answer for Your Presentation
  1. What happened in this conflict? You may wish to consider the following:
    • Historical timeline
    • Profile of the main players/parties involved in this conflict
    • Impact on the country and the world.
    • Or anything else you find significant.
  2. What do you think is the KEY REASONS that led to this conflict becoming full-blown.
  3. But this conflict wasn't triggered by race alone. What other forces have contributed to the creation of this conflict or worsen it?
  4. Your group's reflections after completing your research?
  5. There are some similarities to Singapore. Please share with the class what these are.
You may wish to start your research by getting to know this conflict using the sources below. However, do feel free to add your own sources if you feel interested enough to do additional research.

A Wikipedia Summary

The Darfur conflict is a crisis in the Darfur region of western Sudan. Unlike the Second Sudanese Civil War, which was fought between the primarily Muslim north and Christian and Animist south, the current lines of conflict are seen to be tribal, rather than more broadly ethnic.[1] The conflict began in February 2003. The combination of decades of drought, desertification, and overpopulation are among the causes of the Darfur conflict, because the Baggara nomads searching for water have to take their livestock further south, to land mainly occupied by non-Arab farming communities.[3]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darfur_conflict

Visions from the Past

A documentary on the atrocities that humans commit on each other in Darfur


Refugees and Displaced Darfurians

Here's What You Are Supposed to Do

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