Lord Jim of Dilling - Diplomat Magazine

Di spatches|sudanWhat is this Sudan? If you wereto think of Sudan at all, andwestern media were your onlysource, you’d probably think it consistsonly of Darfur. Indeed, Darfur is in aworld of hurt. As we speak, governmentfinancednomad militia, known as Janjaweed,are terrorizing by murder and rapethe Christian settlers of Darfur. Thousandshave died and more are dying.But why has Darfur attracted so muchmore attention than the problems in therest of the country? George Clooney andother Hollywood celebrities have takenup Darfur’s cause and given it huge visibility.Rallies around the world attractthe attention of governments, pressing theUnited Nations and the African Union todo more. And they should. Sudan’s intransigentpresident, Omar Hassan Ahmadal-Bashir, has become an expert at applyingdelaying tactics – holding up supplieswhile Sudanese people continue to die.There is, however, another sad story inSudan, one equally gripping. We all readand hear the term genocide. It has becomean empty word that no longer conveysemotion. No pamphlets or magazines, nocolourful sound bites, no actors on televisionholding starving children in theirarms can prepare one for the sheer, life-alteringreality of a visit to Sudan.This is the story of the two Sudans – theNorth and the South – and the reason Ichoose to tell it to you is that I want Canadiansto know that there are other countriesin difficult circumstances where yourmilitary is serving, in addition to the muchfocused-on Afghanistan.Sudan is a country rich in oil, with 83per cent of it coming from the south.Cunning China has insinuated itselfinto Sudan, supplying it with everythingfrom manhole covers to belts, watches,clothing and other less benign items. Allthis in exchange for oil, which was a fundamentalfactor in the 25-year genocidalcivil war between north and south, nowtenuously quiet under a United Nationsbrokeredpeace deal reached in 2005.The various ratios and percentages ofthe profit-from-oil distribution betweennorth, south and local communities in nosmall way contribute to this tenuousness.So you see, this part of Sudan is like alayered cake. Add tribalism, nomads killingfarmers, tensions between northernand southern troops and fleeing citizens(known as internally displaced persons)moving from village to village.Into all this, I am dropped.18Flash back to innocent and insularlittle Victoria, B.C. Here lives JimParker, former prep school physicaleducation teacher, part-time naval reservistand sometimes writer. He is quite contentwith his West Coast life of outdooractivities and part-time military duty.But something is niggling at him. Midlifecrisis? Perhaps. Or maybe somethingmore.He believes that with living a privilegedlife, as we do in Canada, comes aresponsibility and obligation to help othersless fortunate. It turns out that thatlittle niggling feeling is the realization thatsimply writing a cheque to one’s favourite“I especially feel for the little donkies.”charity is too damn easy. On the otherhand, he is not an especially altruistic typeof fellow.The questions, then, are, how does onegive a real helping hand, and take a bit ofpersonal risk out there in the world, whilestill generating income? Answer: Lookto your naval reserve and the rest of theCanadian military and see what they aredoing out in the world and what opportunitiesthere are.Most Canadians would have troublecoming up with more than one worldlocation (Afghanistan) where Canada isoperating in some form or other. Try Sudan,Gaza, several places in Europe, Haiti,Sierra Leone, Congo and at sea in thePersian Gulf, the Atlantic and more. So theCanadian military, stretched thinly andunderfunded, is still serving Canada wellall around the world.It so happens that the Canadian Forcesis looking for service members to servein southern Sudan as military observersfor the United Nations on OperationEDITOR’S NOTE: Sudan’s persistentcivil strife since independence fromBritain in 1956 continues as it becamethe first nation whose sitting ruler hasever faced an arrest warrant by theInternational Criminal Court in theHague.In March, the ICC charged thatSudan President Omar Hassan Ahmadal-Bashir directed attacks againstDarfur “murdering, exterminating,raping, torturing and forcibly transferringlarge numbers of civilians, andpillaging their property.”The conflict in the western regionof Darfur has forced two million peoplefrom their homes and has causedas many as 400,000 deaths. Darfur’srich oil deposits have drawn theIslamic government’s attacks on thisprimarily non-Muslim region whereChina’s overpowering presence rangesfrom investment to armaments.Sudan is Africa’s largest countryat 2.5 million square kilometres, witha population of nearly 40 million.Besides oil and petroleum products,it exports minerals and agriculturalproducts – 82 per cent of these exportsgo to China.Into Sudan, this huge, complexcountry in upheaval – and not justin Darfur – the UN has dispatchedboth peacekeepers and militaryobservers. They remain, though Mr.Bashir responded to the ICC warrantby expelling NGOs that feed, shelterand provide medical care for one millionSudanese.James Parker’s story is a moving,revealing first-hand account by aCanadian who volunteered to serve asa UN military observer, and was sent tocentral Sudan.Safari. With Canada's large – for the Canadianmilitary at least – involvement in Afghanistan,opportunities for reservists, andnon-army ones at that, to serve around theworld now present themselves. Perfect.First, must convince partner Heatherthat this mission is not too dangerous, isan opportunity of a lifetime and won’tcause her too much extra work (Wrong.The dog walks alone will double.) Tell herit will get me out of her hair and produceextra income to fund renovations. Then,scrape through the fitness and medicaltests and various questionnaires. GraduateSPRING 09 | APR–JUN