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Irish Times
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Patrick Freyne: Returning home from Chad, I feel there's a glitch in western empathy
Recently, I was in east Chad , where most of the people I met had seen loved ones murdered or had been raped or had been shot or saw bodies piled along the road from el-Geneina to Adre on the border with Sudan. I was travelling with Irish Times photographer Chris Maddaloni and we were visiting refugee camps for Sudanese refugees. The week we flew into the capital, N'Djamena, Gen Yasir Al-Atta from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) declared the airport 'a legitimate target'. Sudan might retaliate against its neighbour Chad, he said, for allowing the UAE smuggle weapons across its border to its enemy the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The SAF, in contrast, gets its funding from Russia, Iran and Egypt. This threat seemed worrying when we were flying, but it turned out nobody in Chad believed the SAF would risk a full-scale war. They have plenty of other things to worry about. The Sudan war is the biggest humanitarian disaster in the world. 150,000 people have been killed. Twelve million people have been displaced. Some 760,000 of them have crossed the border into Chad, mainly Masalit people being targeted by the RSF. Most of them are women and children because the RSF stop young men from leaving the country and frequently murder them. There is a city of straw huts in the desert at the border town of Adre where 237,000 people live. I have said this elsewhere, but that's the population of Cork. It's a hot, arid climate where poor Chadian farmers already struggle to get enough food and water. In 2024, funding for aid was at 30 per cent of what was needed to supply the basics. We met aid workers from the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR, UN World Food Programme (WFP), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Acted and Concern who are doing hard and important work in difficult circumstances but the international aid situation is just getting worse. READ MORE A local chief walks to the barren village of Sira in Chad. Photograph: Chris Maddaloni/The Irish Times After returning home I can't help feeling like there's a glitch in western empathy. Because I have been in eastern Chad and spoken to people brutalised by the war – children, young women, old men, refugee aid workers helping their people – I feel deeply moved by their situation and I can't stop thinking about them. I am also troubled that it takes meeting these people to make me feel so strongly. The eyes of the world should be on this war, but they're on other things. At best they're on the humanitarian disaster in Gaza where 51,000 people have been killed by the Israeli army and countless face deprivation. And they should be on that. But possibly due to the overstimulation of social media, I think we have an empathy crisis. We can only do a handful of news stories and one humanitarian disaster at a time. Many are capable of feeling deeply for that one crisis and are doing amazing things in support. In the US, people are risking their livelihoods and freedom to speak about what's happening. But there's something wrong if the West cannot extend that genuine compassion to other places where people are also suffering. [ 'A lot of children die': Patrick Freyne reports from inside Chad camps for Sudanese refugees Opens in new window ] Part of this is a narrative problem. Sudan is an underreported war. It's bureaucratically complicated and very expensive to travel there or to the countries around it. We managed to do so after a couple of false starts and a generous Simon Cumbers grant. It cost more than €8,000 for two journalists to travel there for 12 days to produce five articles that will, most likely, be less widely read than a column I might write about Room to Improve. The nature of the story is also complex. With Gaza it's clear – at least to most people in Ireland – that there is one main aggressor and one group of people who are primarily suffering. In the Sudan war there are just, to paraphrase an American commentator, bad guys and worse guys. Both the SAF and the RSF have committed atrocities but the RSF is also trying to ethnically cleanse Darfur of the Masalit people (in January, the US accused the RSF of committing genocide). Neither side is fighting for any reason more noble than power. This doesn't prevent millions of innocent people getting caught in the crossfire but it's easier for people to care if they can couple their compassion with righteous anger. A group of schoolgirls at a market in the old Farchana camp in eastern Chad. Photograph: Chris Maddaloni/The Irish Times This is not whataboutery. The world's eyes should be on the murderous actions of the Israeli government in Gaza and they should be on the aggressive Russian invasion of Ukraine and they should be on the venality of the Trump government and the mundanity of Irish political bickering. But human empathy should be capable of stretching beyond the limits of the algorithm to other tragedies. I know that this is preachy and I haven't exactly earned that right. I am as guilty of ignoring this tragedy as anybody. But right now, I don't really care. I can't stop thinking of the Sudanese people I met – the mother fanning her malnourished baby in an MSF hospital, the electrician bouncing a baby on his remaining knee, the human rights lawyer who was raped, the 16-year-old who saw his father murdered and asked could we get him a football. They are generous and dignified and kind and they once had a different future to look forward to. And I am now deeply troubled by my own inability to think beyond a handful of news stories at one time. When it happens to us, we will expect more people to care. Supported by the Simon Cumbers Media Fund
Asharq Al-Awsat
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Sudan's Foreign Ministry Condemns Nairobi Meetings as Army Vows Retaliation
The Sudanese Foreign Ministry has downplayed meetings held in Nairobi, Kenya, to sign a political charter that would pave the way for the establishment of a government in areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan. This proposed government would act as a parallel authority to the military-backed administration based in Port Sudan, the country's temporary capital. The Foreign Ministry dismissed the initiative as a 'propaganda stunt' and warned of potential measures to restore order. The Sudanese army also vowed to confront supporters of the new government and to purge the country of RSF forces. Speaking at a rally in the northern city of Al-Dabba, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Army, General Yasir Al-Atta, stated that the military is preparing to 'cleanse' the country of RSF forces and retake all areas under their control. His remarks marked the first direct military response to the Nairobi meetings, which are backed by the RSF and seek to establish a so-called 'Government of Peace and Unity.' This coalition consists of political and civil groups, armed movements, and RSF representatives, positioning itself as an alternative to the military-led government in Port Sudan. In a strongly worded statement, Al-Atta vowed to fight those attempting to establish the parallel government. 'To those who claim to be forming a parallel government, we will fight you in every inch of Sudanese territory. We will show you that the Sudanese nation has lions with sharp claws and fangs,' he said. The Sudanese Foreign Ministry dismissed the Nairobi meetings as a 'mere propaganda event' with no real impact. It also hinted at possible actions to restore order. In a statement issued late Tuesday, the ministry expressed regret over Kenya's decision to host the signing of what it called a political agreement between the 'terrorist RSF militia' and its allies. It accused Kenya of violating international law, United Nations principles, and the founding charter of the African Union. Originally scheduled for Tuesday, the signing of the political charter was postponed to Friday following the participation of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, led by Abdelaziz Adam Al-Hilu. Additional military and civilian factions are expected to join the initiative to establish a government in RSF-controlled areas, running parallel to the administration led by Army Chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan in Port Sudan. The Foreign Ministry warned that the stated goal of the agreement—to form a government on Sudanese territory—amounts to an attempt to divide the country, undermine its sovereignty, and interfere in its internal affairs. It also accused Kenya of 'harboring RSF leaders and allowing them to engage in public political and propaganda activities,' arguing that this effectively encourages continued crimes against civilians, including massacres and genocide. Furthermore, the ministry accused the Kenyan government of violating principles of good neighborliness and contradicting previous commitments made at the highest levels not to allow hostile activities against Sudan from its territory. The ministry asserted that the Nairobi meetings would have no real impact, emphasizing the Sudanese army's determination to reclaim all land from what it described as the 'terrorist militia and its foreign mercenaries.' It also called on the international community to condemn Kenya's actions, warning that Sudan would take the necessary steps to correct the situation. Kenya Faces Domestic Criticism Kenya has also faced internal criticism for hosting an event organized by the RSF to announce a parallel government, with some accusing it of irresponsibility and 'covering up' criminal activities. Two sources involved in organizing the event told Agence France Presse that RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), who has remained largely out of sight throughout the war, has arrived in Kenya and is expected to attend the official announcement on Friday. Kenya has historically hosted several regional peace agreements, including the Comprehensive Peace Agreement for Sudan 20 years ago, which ended a previous civil war. However, a lawyer working with the International Refugee Organization, a human rights group, stated that Kenya's latest move 'undermines' the positive image it seeks to project.
