Darfur

nomadicrhymer · 09-12-2007, 11:28 PM

Dar fur

We fled swiftly into the night
wearing nothing but screams
the Janjaweed, armed with killer instincts
were everywhere it seemed
my mother naked to her waist
grabbed my hand and held tight
she muttered “God help us”, “God help us all”
as we fled in fright
I heard the guns
spitting their death wish
at all who didn’t escape
metallic bullet clones
found their prey, and
those who didn’t die got raped
among the snakes and dark forest
we fled as Mother Earth baked
at times we hid in deep gullies
silent as the killers passed
eyes blankly flat and shone like glass
a reality metastasized in hell
they were no more as children
playing in their mothers’ kitchen
now freedom thieves
recruiting young boys
who were far from willing
a hundred years it seemed we ran
at night, hiding by day
forgotten was joy and laughter
forgotten was any form of play
bones prominently reminded us
that food was not to be found
roots and bugs saved our lives
as we dug into the hard ground
arriving at another village
we thought our plight was done
only to find it burnt and deserted
we had no choice but to move on.

©nomadicrhymer

MsJacquiiC · 09-14-2007, 04:46 PM

Your poem is a poignant one MS N and the point: unmistakeable... Now I'm not so versed in what's happening and/or what's happened in Darfur - though the name alone brings unwanted memories of decripid news stories...

The mental picture one envisions when reading these words is one of utter loss... The sadness is abundant in your words. Depressing to know these things do go on and we're at a loss as to how to stop it!

The very last line of your poem says it all really: we had no choice but to move on.

Sometimes (sadly) that is the only thing we can do.
Interesting write MS N and the vividry is astounding.

Thanx for the share

Jacquii.

nomadicrhymer · 09-14-2007, 06:05 PM

I try to keep an ear out on what's happening because the Christian radio station I listen to does fundraisers for people who go over there to dig wells and install pumps out in the jungle so that the "escaping" refugees have fresh water along their way...or they helicopter in packages of food and medication (the last group got shot down and 1 man survived)...it's a whole different scary, horrific world over there...

Since 1983, an estimated 1.5 million Sudanese people have died and at least five million fled their homes as a result of war. It is government policy to force hundreds of thousands of war-displaced people into "peace villages". These are internment camps: people are denied their liberty and forced to work for little or no pay in appalling conditions. Families are split up, women are abused, men have to train and fight in the PDF militia. Children are taught a crude exclusionist Islam and made to Arabize theirnames and their language. Both sides in the war are using child soldiers and forced labour. RivalSouthern Sudanese factions have kidnapped children and abducted women.

MsJacquiiC · 09-15-2007, 03:12 AM

hmmmmm - IMHO - it's not much different that what goes on over here MS N

Jacquii.

PaintedDiary · 09-15-2007, 04:43 AM

Dear Ms N,

Ms Jacquii said it beautifully. The poem is astounding, and the memories of what is going on is horrific. The "Rape Camps" of the Janjaweed will fossilize tears as well. Honorable poem and yes that last line......

This is another must read Ms N and this poem will archive in our minds....so sad...

PD.....thanks for sharing Ms Nomad

lasher · 09-15-2007, 07:00 AM

Hey now Nomad,

Wow, it is indeed a sad, heartbreaking story. A reminder that all is not well in our "civilization." Oppression, war; unfortunately, the usual victims are the innocents of society...... A beautiful write, but the visuals I get tug at my heart. Wow......

TheBlackPoet · 09-15-2007, 07:32 AM

i was reading about Dafur the other week, how the chinese have established plants on the land to extract the oil... the united states and the other european war factions are fighting for that vein of oil.., and all the while, the Dafurians are given guns western weapons that have supposed to have been burned in the united states, but instead shipped to Africans... and communist weapons to other tribes... these people fight each other while the ceo's are stripping them from the underground....

talk about sad....??? your poem was a bird's eye view of a larger problem.... a microcosm of a macrocosm....

very well done

nomadicrhymer · 06:55 PM

The Following Text Is Quoted:

Originally Posted by PaintedDiary

Dear Ms N,

Ms Jacquii said it beautifully. The poem is astounding, and the memories of what is going on is horrific. The "Rape Camps" of the Janjaweed will fossilize tears as well. Honorable poem and yes that last line......

This is another must read Ms N and this poem will archive in our minds....so sad...

PD.....thanks for sharing Ms Nomad

PD, thanks for your insightful comments...I appreciate the visit and the love!

Nomad

nomadicrhymer · 09-19-2007, 07:01 PM

The Following Text Is Quoted:

Originally Posted by lasher

Hey now Nomad,

Wow, it is indeed a sad, heartbreaking story. A reminder that all is not well in our "civilization." Oppression, war; unfortunately, the usual victims are the innocents of society...... A beautiful write, but the visuals I get tug at my heart. Wow......

Hi lasher...thanks for commenting...I agree...which is why I wrote a second one about this...it has been going on too long, with no sign of relenting.

Nomad

nomadicrhymer · 09-19-2007, 07:55 PM

The Following Text Is Quoted:

Originally Posted by TheBlackPoet

i was reading about Dafur the other week, how the chinese have established plants on the land to extract the oil... the united states and the other european war factions are fighting for that vein of oil.., and all the while, the Dafurians are given guns western weapons that have supposed to have been burned in the united states, but instead shipped to Africans... and communist weapons to other tribes... these people fight each other while the ceo's are stripping them from the underground....

talk about sad....??? your poem was a bird's eye view of a larger problem.... a microcosm of a macrocosm....

very well done

Thanks TBP!! Appreciate it!

Yeah, it seems that the all mighty DOLLAR is at large once again, and China is indeed a huge player...the biggest, both in investing and in "restocking" with ammunition:

dozens of trucks packed with dreadlocked fighters manning heavy machine guns are lined up.
Piled up behind them are ammunition boxes, covered in Chinese symbols -- it's impossible to know exactly where the bullets in the boxes came from but they offer a glimpse of the complex and circuitous routes of the global arms trade.
United Nations investigators have found most of the small arms fueling the conflict in Sudan's western Darfur are Chinese despite an arms ban on a region where tens of thousands have been killed and 2.5 million squat in squalid camps

a couple years later...the story hasn't changed:

The Small Arms Survey said China's financial support to Sudan indirectly helped finance its wars, lifting Khartoum's income to at least $1.3 billion a year from oil revenues. Chinese companies have controlling interests in Sudan's largest oil blocks and 50 percent of its largest refinery. But Chinese investment was larger than just oil, the report said. "China is now northern Sudan's most important trade partner," While little information is available, it cited U.N. figures showing China as the largest military weapons and parts supplier to Sudan in 2004 and 2005, overtaking Iran. In 2005 it supplied almost $25 million worth.

Seems like they are the #1 hitter in that area right now...and whoever comes after will be fighting over the leavings...scavengers, all of them...$ really do make the world go round...

Nomad