CENTRAL AFRICA - Armed militia groups have forced nearly two
million men, women and children from their homes and villages
throughout western Sudan. These brutal attacks have claimed the lives of
at least 30,000 people in recent months and many more will likely die
unless they find immediate asylum and refuge. The victims are innocent
men, women and children -- mostly farming
families -- with no means to defend
themselves and no police force to ensure their
safety.
Sudanese citizens, mostly villagers, have
been forced to watch as their homes and
farms have been looted and burned to the
ground. Throughout the horror -- women and young girls have been
systematically raped and beaten. Parents have been forced to watch their
children being slaughtered. Men have been butchered and shot.
United Nations officials report that while 30,000 people in the Darfur
region of Sudan have been killed by militia groups -- another 150,000
have fled into neighboring Chad in hopes of
finding safety. Many more are wandering and homeless in Sudan's desert.
"It is one of the worst humanitarian crises we have seen in decades,"
explains Fr. Richard Roy, director of development for the Missionaries of
Africa. Fr. Roy served in Chad for more than 20 years before returning to
direct the Washington, DC, office. "Thousands of families have lost
everything," he continues. "Homes,
belongings, livestock, crops -- even their
parents, brothers, sisters and children have
been taken from them! Those who have not
been killed are now homeless . . . scattered
across Darfur's desert. Estimates are that half
of these people do not have enough food to survive -- and more than
two-thirds are without water! Unless these people get the help they need
-- immediately -- more than 350,000 men, women and children will die
within the next few months! How can we not reach out to them when
they are crying out for help?" The Missionaries of Africa are currently
seeking financial support to provide immediate emergency assistance
and relief to the suffering Sudanese people.
Urgent help for the innocents!
Millions of the world's poorest without food, water
SUDAN - More than a million people in the Darfur region of Sudan have been driven from their
homes into the deserts of Sudan and neighboring Chad by armed militia groups. The weakest of the
refugees -- infants and the elderly -- are beginning to die of
malnutrition and disease. Some reports estimate that as many as two
million people have been forced from their homes. Hundreds of
thousands are at risk of dying.
"Emergency financial support, people and supplies are critical
now in the Darfur region of Sudan to prevent a major health
catastrophe," a World Health Organization report states. "Cholera,
dysentery, and malaria threaten the survival of hundreds of thousands
of internally displaced people.
"People are dying now because they are living in totally
unsatisfactory conditions," the report continues, "but too many more could die in the coming weeks unless we prevent the lack of sanitation, malnutrition, shortage of clean water and the coming rains from combining into a recipe for death. The world must work urgently to prevent a health catastrophe."
Now considered the largest current humanitarian emergency
in the world, nearly two million Sudanese people are
desperately searching to escape the violence.
Recent reports
issued by the United Nations estimates that as many as half of
those who have been driven from their homes do not have
enough food to survive the coming months. Additionally, two-thirds
of the people do not have enough water for drinking or
cooking while nearly 90% percent lack shelter and proper
sanitation.
"I'm not sure many people here in the United States
understand the magnitude of this crisis," explains Fr. Richard Roy.
Fr. Roy is a member of the Missionaries of Africa. "Thousands and
thousands of people have died . . . and hundreds of thousands more
will die in the coming months -- unless we do something quickly!"
