In Sudan, diplomats are safe and people are trapped. But in Darfur, those who leave the house are killed »- Corriere.it

‘The international community I was able to negotiate with both sides to get the embassy staff to safety and Egyptian soldiers. But not to reach a ceasefire, to distribute life-saving aid to the Sudanese, and to open a humanitarian corridor for them. They feel abandoned and deceived.”

Phil Cox, British director working in Sudan Since 2004, he has spoken to courier From a club in Manhattan, returning from a meeting with some US congressmen. With him is Daoud Hari, a Sudanese from DarfurBestselling author of 2009 Silence interpreter(Bemi). Colleagues who became friends, but above all pioneers: twenty years ago they were the first to document the genocide in Darfur on video, attracting the attention of the world’s media.

Then in 2017, they went back together to the region, then off the international radar again, for a documentary about alleged chemical attacks against civilians and whatnot. Tens of millions sent by the European Union to the Khartoum government to stop migratory flows. It is painful to remember that much of this money went to fund the Sudanese security apparatus that is now destroying the region and slaughtering its citizens. Cox notes six years after that assignment. The two are kidnapped by the Rapid Support Forces, the infamous new name Janjaweed, the heroes of the Darfur massacres already in the early 2000s. “They brought me before their commander, General Dagalos, the pseudonym HamidatiHe sat on a big throne, he had a half smile, I was wrapped in chains but he had the audacity to ask me “How are you?”. Then Phil and David were tortured, thrown into prison as spies, and released after 70 days, thanks to the intervention of the governments of the United States and Great Britain, and Italian producer and partner of Cox Giovanna Stoponi.

Know the British director The ruthlessness of forces in the field even recently: “I was in Sudan in 2021 during the coup and I was shot in the head at a pro-democracy rally.” His documentary film was born in those days of civil mobilization Spider-Man from SudanA true story of a Sudanese resistance hero. “I learned that only yesterday he was able to leave the country, I opened up This is an online fundraiser To support his work with children. Civil resistance is a “mature and dynamic” movement. It’s the only thing now working in Sudan. Network of civil society groups to secure water and foodSpreading information and organizing escapes. But mass exodus is Russian roulette.

intervene Harry, who was granted asylum in the United States But his family members are stuck in Darfur: «There are no NGOs, no hospitals, they are all closed now, and It is certain that if you leave the house you will be killed, there is no one to protect you. The army is weak Janjaweed They attack civilians. Yesterday, my 32-year-old niece, Fathi, along with her two children, ages 3 and 7, were killed while fetching water in El Fasher. my mom is there. Screams on the phone, but I don’t know what to do, I can’t even send money. It’s like I’m in a prison.”

For Cox, If the Sudanese had a choice, they would overthrow the militia chief, Hemedti, but they don’t even trust Burhan. The generals have lost their legitimacy and neither of them will be accepted in the future.” Yet their forces are fed. • Registration is the only way in Sudan to get a salary. The paramilitary forces number 118,000 against the army’s 100,000. Because the RSF pays more: before the war, 100 dollars a month, compared to 50 in the regular army. Now the fee has increased to $300. With me Janjaweed You can’t negotiate, just fight to the death. It will be some time before the guns are silenced. Like in Ukraine ».

Let’s go back to the responsibilities of the West: • With Egypt arming Al-Burhan and the UAE supplying Hemeti, what can we expect? What is happening in Sudan confirms the failure of the international community: after the coup, it did not impose sanctions, and in the democratic transition agreement it agreed to marginalize civil groups, and no efforts were made to co-opt coordinated pressure from regional powers. . It would have been the only way to control the generals. But this crisis concerns us. Sudan is also a European and Italian issue: If you want fewer Sudanese refugees, you have to support the civil movements, not the generals.”