Humanitarian Aid for Darfur Crisis - Coursework Example

Darfur Crisis, Humanitarian Aid Introduction Due to the importance of Africa as a continent full ofresources, it becomes important to study and understand what could be done to help the humanitarian and peacekeeping efforts in Darfur. The present situation of UNAMID is commendable since they are doing all they can to make sure that the situation in Darfur does not worsen. However, a lot more needs to be done by all concerned parties to ensure that the genocide in Darfur does not repeat itself and the region can be brought back to normalcy (Matthew, 2008). This is certainly in the interest of Africa and thus in the interest of the entire world as continued instability in the region could not only effect global peace, it could also affect the fragile global economy if terrorist networks could find roots in Darfur which in turn could threaten the supply of oil coming from African regions. The scope of the relief efforts has to be increased since it is now understood without doubt that the situation in Darfur is genocide in every sense of the word. Assessment Process Wilhelm (2005) shows that genocide in Darfur is typical of the mechanized killing of individuals that has taken place in the past when we discuss the holocaust or even when her discuss situations in locations such as East Timor. When it comes to the holocaust, action had to be taken by many other countries and it was their combined might which stopped the Axis powers and the German war machine. In the case of Darfur, while the united nation seems to be doing its best to stop the war, the violence and the issues of the region still continue. It is easy to see that the rebuilding efforts in Darfur are nothing compared to the rebuilding efforts which took place in Europe after the Second World War. The Marshall plan cannot be compared to the loans given by institutes like the IMF and the World Bank to the government in Sudan. It must be understood that what happened in Darfur led to the death of thousands of individuals while hundreds of thousands have been displaced from their homes. To say that a political settlement alone would solve the issue of refugees and reconstruction is perhaps being too idealistic (Reeves, 2008). Therefore, what the region needs is forced stability and the building of infrastructure for which ideals such as democracy might have to be put aside when groups are more concerned with getting revenge and settling scores. Administration which comes from the UN or governing councils could perhaps be preferred to a democratic system where the rule of the largest minority could only lead to more problems for the region. Moreover, it would be naive to expect that stability could be brought to the region without local partnerships and without understanding the cultural differences between the parties. Only with local partnerships could we fully understand what is needed by the people and how it can be best provided to them in the shortest possible time. Humanitarian and Peacekeeping Efforts Differences in how the conflict is viewed may cause problems for the organizations working in Darfur. For example, American army trained Australians peacekeepers have been reported to see peacekeeping efforts as another form of war since they are quick to start firing. On the other hand, British soldiers have been reported to act more humanely as they have been seen to try and create local partnerships and even create friends amongst whom they are keeping peace (Duffey, 2000). The role of humanitarian organizations and peacekeepers could be made much simpler if all concerned parties took chances to solve matters without resolving to force. Further, if the civilian bodies who are supposed to provide aid are also working in a conflict zone, NGO officers military commanders may have their own conflicts with regard to how they can best solve a crisis. Their view of each other was outlined by Duffey (2000) where he reports: “Aid workers are often suspicious of the military and the military is similarly incredulous of aid workers. Such unfamiliarity inevitably encourages the promulgation of ill-informed stereotypes; for example, the military is often characterized as an insensitive, ill-informed, controlling and inflexible war machine, while NGO personnel are seen as sandal-wearing, two-faced, undisciplined and uncoordinated liberals (Duffey, 2000, Pg. 149).” However, in situations such as Darfur, it is clear that their role is to stay behind the peacekeepers and provide aid to the maximum number of people within their reach. The fighting and more importantly, maintaining the peace, is the duty of the armed forces for which they are completely responsible. While the NGO officers can help, assist and coordinate with the peacekeeping forces, it would be too much to expect that NGOs alone could keep the peace when violence is a matter of fact. The Impact The impact of making a council or ensuring that the region is under the control of the peacekeepers would be quite drastic. While the individuals living in the region may not be happy about it, they have to be taken into confidence to show them that the UN presence is not permanent nor would a system be imposed on them permanently without their will. There is certainly no cure for a person seeking revenge and perhaps the only thing which would satisfy him/her would be revenge itself. However, what the peacekeepers and humanitarian aid workers have to realize is that with time, the need for revenge and even the idea of revenge can be replaced with a need for peace. In conclusion, while the rest of the world may consider that democracy is the best solution for a place like Darfur, it seems that the only way to keep the peace is to maintain control of the region until the population of the region is willing to understand that revenge gets them nothing more than more bloodshed (BBC, 2007). There can be no doubt that democracy is a good development and a good option when it comes to forming a government but it must also be understood that sometimes an iron hand can bring peace where democracy may only start a fresh new war. Works Cited Duffey, T. 2000, ‘Cultural Issues in Contemporary Peacekeeping’, International Peacekeeping, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 142-169. Wilhelm, I. 2005. ‘Caught In the Crossfire of Disaster and War’, Chronicle of Philanthropy, vol. 18, no. 5, pp. 8-14. BBC. 2007, ‘Sudan will support Darfur force’, [Online] Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6925187.stm Reeves, E. 2008, ‘Darfur: Millennium Development Grotesquery’, [Online] Available at: http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article28930 Matthew, J. 2008, ‘World prolonging Darfur conflict’, [Online] Available at: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24501465-23109,00.html Read More