On Monday, October 15, Refugees International’s Washington Circle presented a fall briefing at the Embassy of Canada in Washington, DC. Adam Chang reports on the event.
From the eyes of a humble intern standing on a 6th floor terrace looking out on the nation’s capitol glowing at dusk, the Embassy seemed like a great mansion. Guests filled the reception area, spilling out the doors after taking their seats. After a warm welcome from Ambassador Michael Wilson, the evening proceeded with two key note speakers from Refugees International – Human Rights expert and lawyer, Adrienne Fricke and
Charles (Sandy) London, former research associate at RI and author of One Day the Soldiers Came.
Adrienne spoke of her report, Laws Without Justice, which details how Sudanese laws do not provide justice for Sudanese women who have been raped. For example, while it is legal for a woman to file a claim against a man who has raped her, current law dictates that she must provide substantial evidence to prove her case – including the testimony of male waitnesses. In filing a claim, she runs the risk of having admitted to a sexual relationship outside of marriage, which is considered adultery.. Under Islamic Sha’ria Law, she then may be charged and handed a sentence that may include whippings, or even death by stoning.
Moreover, Adrienne revealed that the current law makes individuals with government affiliation (guards, soldiers, government workers, etc.) immune from prosecution.
Since much of the sexual violence in Darfur is perpetrated by members of the Sudanese armed forces or other government units, this law is particularly problematic . Even if a woman—at the risk of being socially ostracized—can marshal all the evidence to bring her attacker to court, she is barred in this final phase because Sudanese law permits such officials to infringe on the human rights of others.
Following Adrienne’s moving account, Charles (Sandy) read an excerpt about Michael, a boy from a Congolese refugee camp in Tanzania: “‘One day the soldiers came,’ Michael told me. Michael, who was fifteen, fled the Congo almost two years before I met him … ‘I was in the back room when the rebels came,’ he said. The rebels burst into his house, knowing his father was a businessman and would have money. They burst in through the front door armed with machetes and rifles. ‘That’s when I saw my mother and father killed, and all I could do was climb out the window.’”
Sandy then read about another Congolese refugee boy named Justin: “‘What would you tell someone your age who has never been in a refugee camp so that he could understand what it is like?’ I asked him. Justin thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully. ‘I would like to tell him that living in the camp is very bad. I think about going home, but who will I go back to? Everyone is dead. If I talk to this boy who has never been in a refugee camp I would be happy. I want to find children with hope.’”
The successful event was both informative and moving. As the evening came to an end, I got Sandy to sign my books. One, directed to my thirteen year old sister, was poignantly signed, “Keep reading, keep thinking, keep caring.”
-Adam Chang, Development Intern
Refugees International
Labels: Darfur , GBV
