Followers

Sunday, July 10, 2005

THE CHILDRENS VIEW OF THE CONFLICT IN DARFUR

In February of this year, Human Rights Watch workers traveled through the refugee camps clustered along the Sudan-Chad border and interviewed those fleeing the massacres in Sudan's western region of Darfur. When the researchers visited with families, they offered paper and crayons to the children who gathered around. What those little ones drew will terrify you: Pictures of Janjaweed invaders, villages under fire, bombs falling from planes, executions. Most of the images include a brief, harrowing description by the child, such as this 13-year-old describing the rape of women and girls ("They are forcing them to be wife"). Each drawing conveys the horror of Darfur with an immediacy that is heartbreaking. This is "the visual vocabulary of war." Witness it though the eyes of children.

No comments: