|
SudanWiki.org |
JosefScarantino.com |
SSIDP.org |
Others coming soon...
|
SudanWiki.org |
JosefScarantino.com |
SSIDP.org |
Others coming soon...
Voice of Sudan (VOS) is a weblog featuring news, articles, and commentary on Sudan, Africa's largest country. VOS strives to empower people to stand for human rights, political & religious freedom, and sustainable development affecting Sudanese regardless of race or religion. VOS is building its consensus on the Web by working through advocacy campaigns and communicating to other concerned individuals concerning human rights in Sudan. VOS is operated solely by Josef Scarantino, who can be reached freely via email.
February 2007 [1]
September 2006 [1]
August 2006 [5]
July 2006 [3]
June 2006 [3]
May 2006 [3]
April 2006 [6]
March 2006 [7]
February 2006 [12]
January 2006 [52]
December 2005 [18]
January 2000 [1]
Dear Voice of Sudan Readers,
As you know, the Voice of Sudan website has been quiet for some time without any updates. The changes in my life and career over the past 6-8 months have not allowed me to dedicate the needed time to Voice of Sudan. Most of my time has been spent on my personal site JosefScarantino.com as well as two board positions, a new trip to Sudan, and several Sudanese projects I am managing. I am also busy pursuing graduate studies in law focusing on international human rights that will carry on over the next few years.
I have thought for awhile about the future of the Voice of Sudan website and what direction I was going to take it. VOS went from being a huge source of Sudan news to being a much more personalized website following my own developments. It has evolved appropriately to what my vision was at the time. Well, it is now time to consider the next major move and what it will entail. In other words, I want to "kick things up a notch" and launch something bigger than anything I have done in the past.
I have consulted with several people about the direction of VOS and am still gathering ideas, however, one common theme was to create a blogging atmosphere for Sudanese around the world to share their thoughts. I have a strong desire to turn the Voice of Sudan website into the bona fide voice of the Sudanese people while I focus on other great opportunities currently in my path. I am now working on several promising projects, all of them pertaining to the empowerment of the Sudanese people.
This is the time for you to speak up and share your own ideas with me while I am drawing up the blueprint for the next Voice of Sudan website. If you have any thoughts on what you would like to see, please take a moment to email me at js@voiceofsudan.com. Thank you for your support and encouragement to keep the struggle alive for the people of Sudan.
In love,
Josef Scarantino
I highly encourage everyone to read this detailed and concise report by Africa Action on the failure to stop the genocides of Rwanda and Darfur, two very closely comparable genocides.
The report is also available in PDF download at the bottom of the page.
A Tale of Two Genocides: The Failed U.S. Response to Rwanda and Darfur
Vice-President's visit to area fails to resolve conflict - villagers
offered worse compensation package than that proposed by the Merowe Dam
Authority.
Amri Committee appeal to international community for support.
LOHAP, London, 22 August 2006:
Speaking in Khartoum on 17th August, Dr. Sima Samar, the Special
Rapporteur for Human Rights in Sudan, expressed concern over the plight
of some 2200 families who were forced tom leave their homes on 11-12th
August after the Merowe Dam authorities started filling the dam's
reservoir without warning.
Dr Samar told a press conference: "I am also concerned about the
relocation issues related to the Merowe Dam project affecting some 50
thousand people. Allegations have been received that flooding of the
area started to force people to relocate and services are not being
provided."
Those forced out of their homes by the floodwaters are still living in
the open without any emergency relief.The Amri Association of Khartoum
have appealed to the international community for support and assistance.
The full text of the Appeal is appended below... (Read More Here)
NAIROBI, 16 August (IRIN) - Rising floodwaters have displaced more than
2,200 families from the Amri community living near the Merowe/Hamadab dam
on the River Nile in northern Sudan, local sources say.
According to a report by an activist group, the Leadership Office of
Hamadab Affected People (LOHAP), the Merowe dam authorities opened the
floodgates on 7 August and started to fill up the reservoir behind the dam.
Since then, about 700 houses have been destroyed in the villages of
Shikora, Al Bana, um Haza, El Batareen, Um Kouk, El Khezian and Gerf El Doud... (Read More Here)
*700 houses completely destroyed, others left uninhabitable. *
* 2200 families left without food or fodder for their animals as Sudan
Government refuses emergency aid.*
LOHAP, London, 15 August 2006:
Latest figures suggest that more than 2200 families from the Amri
community have been flooded from their homes after the Merowe Dam
authorities started filling the reservoir without warning last week.
The rising floodwaters have covered fields and destroyed crops and
fodder. Thousands are now living in the open, without food or shelter.
More than 12000 heads of Livestock have been lost to the rising
floodwaters and more are expected to die due to a lack of fodder. There
is now a severe risk of disease breaking out...
(Read More Here)
Civil society demands an end to impoundment and resolution of
resettlement issues as fears of violence increase
10 August 2006: Over 100 families were suddenly forced to abandon their
homes three days ago because of rising flood waters after the
authorities at the China Ex-Im funded Merowe Dam in Sudan unexpectedly
closed the dam's gates and began filling its reservoir. No warning was
given of the impending flooding. The families, all from the Amri people,
have been left without food or shelter. Six other villages are
threatened with imminent inundation... (Read More Here)
I am currently working on a new Voice of Sudan strategy that will radically change the purpose of this website. My intentions are to create sub-sections within VOS that will be entirely operated by Sudanese bloggers. The purpose for this change is to allow me time to manage the site and the other various websites I administer, and also to hand over the 'voice' of this site to Sudanese bloggers who are willing to give of their time to help their country.
The official strategy is not anywhere near completion, but I am considering solicitations from Sudanese interested in blogging. Voice of Sudan has an excellent flow of traffic every month and would give a great audience to anyone willing to voice their opinion.
If you are Sudanese, living anywhere in the world, and have access to a computer with a reliable Internet connection, then contact me to discuss your interest and your views.
Regards,
Josef Scarantino
Over the past month, I have been working on my personal website that represents all of my projects (including Voice of Sudan) that consume my life. I wrote this article most recently and added it to my new site. As you will notice, a few items may be cross-posted between these two sites, but I will attempt to do my best to keep things organized. Please feel free to send me your feedback.
As an AfricaFiles Action Focus editor, I recently posted a new opportunity for action involving a graduate student in Sudan who was arrested, detained, and tortured for his views. I also posted another action related to a violent land eviction in Egypt.
Read about this action here >>
It is difficult to see how the people of Darfur, and the humanitarians struggling heroically to save them, could have been more deeply betrayed at the African Union summit in Banjul, Gambia (July 1-2). Bowing to Khartoum's insistence that there be no meaningful international protection force deployed to Darfur, Kofi Annan instead requested that the exceedingly weak and increasingly inadequate African Union mission remain the only source of security in Darfur---this even as violence continues to escalate, the Darfur Peace Agreement (May 5) is collapsing precipitously, and ethnically-targeted human destruction is exported ever more consequentially to eastern Chad...
(Read More Here)
From the International Crisis Group:
Peacebuilding cannot succeed if half the population is excluded from the process. Crisis Group’s research in Sudan, Congo (DRC) and Uganda suggests that peace agreements, post-conflict reconstruction, and governance do better when women are involved. Women make a difference, in part because they adopt a more inclusive approach toward security and address key social and economic issues that would otherwise be ignored. But in all three countries, as different as each is, they remain marginalised in formal processes and under-represented in the security sector as a whole. Governments and the international community must do much more to support women peace activists...
AFRICAN Union
(AU) Commission chairman Alpha Oumar Konare has called for a vast
expansion in AU powers to achieve the long-term goal of a “united
states of Africa”.
Speaking at the University of SA (Unisa) at the weekend,
Konare laid out his vision for an AU that could formulate regulations
for all countries on the continent and to which member states would
surrender their powers...
UNITED NATIONS, June 26 (Reuters) - Sudan has lifted a ban it imposed on Sunday on a U.N. mission working in the violent western Darfur region, a U.N. spokesman said on Monday.
"The Sudanese Government decided, effective today, to reverse its decision to suspend U.N. Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) activities in Darfur," spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
The United Nations coordinates one of the world's largest aid operations in Darfur and monitors the health, malnutrition and human rights situation in a region the size of France.
Sudan suspended the U.N. operations, excluding the work of the World Food Program and the U.N. Children's Fund, because it said the world body used a helicopter to move Suleiman Adam Jamous, a rebel leader who opposes a recent peace deal...
For those of you wondering where I have been lately, I have been very busy over the past two months. Work has been going smoothly for many of the projects I am working on. These include the following:
New Sudan Generation (NSG)--I am redesigning the NSG website to match the beautiful brochures that were created by a good friend of mine, Hal Huffman of Huffman Design Group. The website will look more uniform and professional once it is complete.
South Sudan Institute of Democracy & Peace (SSIDP)--I recently finished an online membership form for those interested in showing their support for SSIDP by becoming members. You can view it here: http://ssidp.org/membership.html. I have toiled day and night for this organization because I truly believe they are going to move forward and do great things for South Sudan. The opportunity exists for those interested in getting involved. It is only a matter of finding people willing to give of their time and energy. I encourage you to become members today of SSIDP and realize in the process that you are participating in bringing change to South Sudan in a great way.
Voice of Sudan (VOS)--I am hoping to begin posting to VOS once again very soon. I want to make an effort to post more personal commentary on the news and only brief headings of important news events. It seems there is so much to report that the personal details get lost in the mix sometimes. I want to change that by bringing a more personal appeal to VOS. Actually, I intended on doing that with the VOS redesign months ago but never made a concerted effort. Expect to see that change beginning with this post.
Regarding other things happening, I am continuing to raise money for my Fall 2006 trip to Sudan. Please take a moment and consider giving to support this worthy trip. I will also be relocating to Washington D.C. over this summer and will keep you informed of my progress there.
Regards,
Josef Scarantino
VOS Editor's Note: This article was recently written by my dear friend and President/CEO of the South Sudan Institute of Democracy and Peace, James Lomole Simeon. Take a moment and pay a visit to the SSIDP website to read this article.--J. Scarantino
Political, Economic, and Social Factors That Will Impede Establishment and Development of Democracy in South Sudan
By: James Lomole Simeon
Establishing meaningful democracy and democratic governance in South Sudan is a tough and a long way to go. Because on the way, we encounter challenges, difficulties, and impediments. The time now is ripe for us to identify these issues and work hard to remove them from our pathway, in order to allow smooth establishment and development of democracy and democratic governance. This, of course, is a wide area that calls for research. But I have picked on few of these that I believe are factors that will be a hindrance to the development of democracy in South Sudan, if they are not eliminated from our society...
