Darfur - Promoting Human Rights |
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January 29th, 2007 - 06:13PM |
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Displaced women in Nyala, in southern Darfur Photo: Emily Holland/The IRC International Rescue Committee communications officer Emily Holland is keeping a blog of her trip to Darfur, Sudan. Helen McElhinney, 25, works as a protection manager for the International Rescue Committee in Nyala, a region in southern Darfur. On January 18, I spent the day with Helen learning more about the IRC's work promoting human rights among internally displaced people in Nyala's Kalma Camp, where she works. Who are the IRC paralegals? The IRC paralegals in Kalma are volunteers from the internally displaced community who deliver simple messages to people in the camps about human rights – what they are and why they are meaningful. They put these messages into practice by providing basic legal information and assisting in mediation within the community. It's the nature of our work not to talk about internally displaced people as victims but to try and empower them and help them understand that they have equal rights with other Sudanese people. How well does the paralegal system work? The paralegals are courageous individuals in their communities but they face tremendous challenges. Just last month they resolved 53 cases in the camp through mediation. But insecurity hinders what they can do. Sometimes the camp has to close and they can't get materials and the lawyers can't visit. Even when it's open and they're carrying out their daily activities, the rights they are working so hard to promote aren't always followed. I fear sometimes that we are working to increase knowledge, hope and expectations in a situation that isn't changing. What positive gains do you see? The IRC paralegals get people talking. They introduce concepts like women's equality and children's rights to people who might not have known about them before. A few years ago it would have been unheard of to mention human rights in Darfur, let alone promote them. Opening up space to discuss these issues is really important and you've got to start somewhere. What's been a particular meaningful experience for you? There have been quite a few moments when I can't quite believe what I'm hearing. It's not just the nature or enormity of the atrocities, it's the nearness of them -- when you're sitting opposite somebody and hear what they've been through. Last year, on International Human Rights day, with the encouragement of the paralegals, a group of women gathered together and came to me with a report detailing all the problems they faced both inside and outside the camp. 'We have lost our voice' they said. I thought wow, I didn't go looking for this. This came to me. They know what they want - protection and security. They've written it down. I felt so inadequate to respond to their requests but tried to do what I could. The women now talk with us on a regular basis about what they are enduring. I'm glad of opportunities like this which enable me to pass on their message. What is your hope for the people you work with? I'm hoping that a political rather than military solution is found which reflects what people on the ground truly want. Mostly their hope is to be able return home and live in safety. They tell me that they would take the messages of rights and responsibilities back with them. It sounds obvious and simple but it seems only a sustainable peace built around political, rather than military, solutions could allow that. But that would have to involve all the parties and seems far off at the moment. Earlier: A Message from Darfur's Young People Posted By: Kathleen Sands | Africa, Sudan & the Darfur Crisis, Women, _Emily Holland in Darfur Permalink |
