To Be A Refugee

There are over 585,000 refuges that have fled from Northern Sudan to escape Muslim law. In reality none of us can fathom what they see everyday and truthfully we don't want to.

My brother has lived and worked in Africa for the past 6 years. I can't say  much about what he does however just last week Ann Curry (NBC) and Nicholas Kristof (NY Times) were in the area bringing much needed attention to the crisis.  He had the opportunity to work with them during filming. The full story will be aired tonight on NBC at 9:00pm.

You can also check out the video Kristoff did for the NY Times here.  

 Below are some personal pictures that we have gotten from the area.

There is an operating room set up for performing emergency surgeries (many wounded from shrapnel).
They have one national surgeon and are the only site in the county that offers surgical interventions.

Fleeing from the North, they carry all their possessions with them.

The Sudanese (Northern) government is
in an active campaign to kill and destroy a people ground because they
oppose the government. For the most part, these people oppose Sharia
(Muslim) law and supported the South in the war. The government army bombs them daily forcing them away from their homes. They use hunger as a weapon
of war - with the constant bombings the people cannot live freely, cannot
farm, and eventually they either starve or flee. Many are killed
by the bombings and thousands are crossing the border every day.

Hospital that was bombed

The workers there see a lot of death and suffering. The sad news is it doesn't look like the Sudanese govt will stop killing its people anytime soon, they probably will be in these camps for years.  

So please pray - for the conflict in general and for peace to come to the people and justice to those responsible. Also for the undisclosed teams to be able to continue to meet the needs there.  Also safety is always huge - it is not above the North to bomb the refugee camps again as they did earlier this year. 

Watch the news story tonight and familiarize yourself and those you know with the turmoil that these people face everyday. These are families like us,  all displaced from their homes, all suffering. Mostly because they have said no to Muslim law. I will never forget the story of a woman fleeing from the North with her children. As the bomber planes flew over she threw her own body over her children, saving them but sacrificing her own self. 

None of us can imagine that type of life, but this is a reality. 


So today as we enjoy living in a free country remember the people who will never know what that means.