Sudan Commentary by Dirk Booy

Dirk Booy, Vice President of International and Canadian Programs with World Vision Canada, returned from an emergency airlift mission in Sudan last week. He delivered this commentary, on July 26, on CBC Radio about the humanitarian need he saw in Sudan.

Click here to listen to Dirk Booy's message.

You can also read the transcript below.

Sudan Commentary

The world knows, NGOs know and Canadians know that a million people in Darfur, Sudan, have been forcibly displaced from their homes as a result of brutal attacks by the Janjaweed - in clear violation of international humanitarian laws.

We know that rape of women and young girls is being used as a tool to terrorize people.

We also all know that hundreds of thousands are facing starvation in extremely undersupplied internally-displaced persons camps as access to humanitarian assistance is denied or delayed. The people of Darfur have been prevented from planting their crops - almost a certain guarantee of long-term hunger and poverty.

NGOs like World Vision continue to talk about our struggles to rush aid to the people through layers of bureaucracy and restrictions, navigating dangerous and insecure territory able only to use the most expensive delivery system airlifts.

What more will it take for Canada and the world to sit up, take notice and act the crisis in Darfur, Sudan? This is the proverbial "brink of disaster".

Two things need to happen to stop this nightmare from escalating. First, Canada needs to make Sudan a top priority and to take diplomatic leadership on this, and demand protection for civilians. We need to because our government and our citizens are committed to human rights and the rule of international law.

That means Canada's Prime Minister should be the one to remind all of his peers, especially the UN Security Council members, of the world's responsibility to protect victims in Sudan, respond to their immediate humanitarian needs and find a peaceful solution for the causes of the conflict rocking the whole country of Sudan.

It means Mr. Pettigrew's first priority in his new role as Minister of Foreign Affairs should be a personal visit to Sudan to deliver the message directly and to see for himself if the information already available is not enough for a call to immediate action.

The second imperative is the rapid delivery of more funding and aid shipments to the region. World Vision and all other NGOs in Darfur are racing against the rainy season to provide enough food, shelter and medicine for the people to survive.

There is not enough clean water to prevent a massive cholera outbreak. There is not enough food to end the needless deaths of children under 5. There are not enough tents or tarps, to protect hundreds of thousands of people from the rains. There are not enough trauma care facilities or safe refuge for women and children. There are not enough supply flights scheduled.

How many more people need to die for us to do these two things?

Please click here to give your support to children and their families, the vicitms of the Sudan crisis.