Walking through the hallways of Rangeview, the Raider Review decided to take a deeper dive into what students know about Sudan, a country in Northeastern Africa. Now, why Sudan? Sudan is currently facing a humanitarian crisis, with many lives being lost every day. Most students just shrugged, while others just nervously laughed, and some confidently stated they knew nothing. However, Rangeview senior Clive Dall, was able to briefly explain that he knew, and he, alongside other students, was very up to date. He had explained how Sudan is going through a lot of bloodshed due to a disagreement over power.
“The current conflict in Sudan is the result of many years of civil unrest. There was a long-standing president in Sudan, and he was dictatorial in many ways. He was then overthrown in a coup d’etat not too terribly long ago.”
It was truly a great explanation given by Clive that gave us some hope that not all students were behind on the news. We should expect better from teachers, especially the ones who teach within the Social Studies department. Fortunately, the teachers we interviewed, Mr. Wittmer and Mr. Leyba, knew a lot more than we expected. Both Mr. Wittmer and Mr. Leyba had similar responses, explaining how what they knew was around the fight for power over Sudan, and how it was a civil war, and they both were very knowledgeable. When we asked all these students and teachers if they thought it was important to know and stay updated on Sudan, they all agreed and said yes. So why are we not staying up to date? Is it a lack of resources, or do we just not care? Whatever it is, if we all believe we need to stay up to date, then we must put in the effort.
From the words of Clive Dhall, “It is a great deal of suffering, which I think is intolerable.”
We cannot simply dismiss the current situation in Sudan as just another conflict happening somewhere else in the world. There are two sides to this conflict: The Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. The two groups were once allies and worked together to fight for democracy within the country, and won a victory over the long-time dictator Omar al-Bashir. However, when the time came to find new leaders for the country, both groups wanted control over Sudan, and this led to a war all across the nation. Cities have been destroyed, hospitals and schools are being attacked, and approximately 150,000 lives have been lost in Sudan due to this conflict, the lives of those who are innocent.
Knowing about what is going on in Sudan is useless without action. If we truly want to help at all or make any difference, we can do more. We need to do a better job at staying up to date ourselves, as well as informing those around us, even if we know little information. There are many non-profit organizations, like the Sudan Relief Fund, Project Hope, and the UN Crisis Support. You can directly donate money to those who are struggling and learn more about what is happening.
