Project Responding to Sexual Violence in Darfur: March 29, 2021 Update

Gaffar Mohammud Saeneen and Eric Reeves, Co-Chairs

Julie Darcq, Online Campaign Coordinator

(Previous updates are archived at | https://www.ericreeves-woodturner.com/blog/)

Introduction (Eric Reeves)

March has been another extraordinary month for the project, and a relatively full account of what we’ve been able to accomplish appears below, both in narrative and statistical form. But it is my strong sense that two communications—from the psycho-sexual counselors who are the critical elements in our project—give the best sense of what we as a team are striving for, what success looks like from our perspective. Both messages have been conveyed to me by my co-chair, Gaffar Mohammud Saeneen, as he received them from Zamzam internally displaced persons camp, where there are thousands of victims of sexual violence:

[1] From: Gaffar Mohammud <gaffar84@live.fr> Date: Tue, Mar 9, 2021 at 9:39am

Tears of caring father from Zamzam (Internally Displaced Persons camp, North Darfur)

A resident of Zamzam camp approached the counselors today and said to them, “You have saved my daughter’s life from contemplation of suicidal thoughts, depression, and the frustration that has been haunting her since such a long time ago, when she was just a child.” And he continued by saying, “My daughter has never recovered since that day when she and her mother were tied up on our farm by the devilish camel herders, whom I will never be able to forgive, even on the day of judgment.” And then he broke in tears. And he finished by saying, “I have nothing to offer you as reward for helping my daughter but I have asked her to come here every day to help you, and to help herself to be strong.”

[2] From Gaffar Mohammud < gaffar84@live.fr > Date: Sat, Mar 20, 2021 at 8:55am

From a young girl 16 years old, and a victim of sexual violence … This is what she said:

“My name is Mahasin, and I am 16 years old. Two years ago, I was beaten severely with my mother while we were working on our farm; afterwards, the men did very bad things to us. My family took me home in a cart because I couldn’t walk for very long period because I’m suffering from pain. All this time I have not been able to go out of the house because I was afraid of all the men and overcrowded places. Until recently I didn’t want to go outdoors to talk with other people because of what everyone thinks and talks about us. But after seeing sisters from Team Zamzam, who treated me like their own sister, I feel much better. I’m very happy for their support and for listening to me. I thank you for this nice gift.”