# Sudanese Dying Of Hunger: Does The International Community Care Enough? | Geeta's World, Ep 89

An episode of [Geeta's World](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1635741757), 7 May 2024, 43 min.

Audio: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/59898851/07_may_24_geetas_world_7_may_mix_128.mp3

In Sudan, amidst enduring civil conflict, desperation has driven people to consume dirt for sustenance as the nation teeters on the brink of famine. Why does Sudan's civil strife persist despite over a year passing since its outbreak? Why has resolution remained elusive? Despite international efforts, including ceasefire agreements and sanctions, humanitarian assistance has reached only 16 per cent of people who need it. Has the international community's response adequately addressed the power struggle at play? In this episode of Geeta's World, our host, Anna Priyadarshini, and the foreign affairs editor at India Today, TV Today Network, Geeta Mohan, discuss! Listen in! Produced by Anna Priyadarshini Sound Mix by Sachin Dwivedi

## Transcript

[0:00] This is in Your Today podcasts. In Sudan, amidst enduring civil war,
[0:07] desperation has driven people to consume dirt for sustenance as the nation is on the
[0:12] brink of famine. But why does Sudan's civil strife persist despite over a year
[0:18] passing since its outbreak? Why has resolution remained elusive? There is no resolution
[0:24] insight. Even if there is going to be this the two men are not
[0:28] going to work under each other. There has to be a negotiation where we
[0:32] say. And also the fact that RSF has gained a lot of ground in
[0:35] the country and despite international efforts including ceasefire agreements and sanctions, humanitarian assistance has
[0:43] reached only sixteen percent of people who need it. So has the international communities
[0:48] response adequately addressed the power struggle at play? That absolutely has not been enough.
[0:53] Saudi Arabia did come in, there was the Treaty of Jedda. We've
[0:57] not seen the international community really inten on the restarting of negotiations between the two
[1:03] sides itself. There I see a real lap Hello. I'm Anna Pradesshani with
[1:08] India Today TV's Foreign Affairs editor Gita Mohan, where with Geta's astute and incisive
[1:15] grasp of world affairs. We delve into all that is urgent and pressing in
[1:19] world politics and comprehend how these developments in other countries could shape India's global ambitions
[1:27] of being a wish for Guru. Let's unravel Geita's world. We all had
[1:34] our mischievous adventures as kids, didn't we personally? If you would ask me,
[1:40] I would fondy recall when anybody would ask me, you know, to
[1:44] share any of the notorious habits as kid, I would fondly share about me,
[1:49] you know, against my mother's wishes, eating soil out of sheer curiosity.
[1:53] But imagine if that's what we had to eat right now, just soil,
[1:59] nothing else, would we actually fondly remember? Still we would still have
[2:04] that pride and laughter while recalling that, Hello, this is Anna and this
[2:08] is Githa's world with me and Keitha Mohan and today we are discussing something really
[2:14] important that's happening in Sudan. It's a country in Africa. Sadly most of
[2:20] us don't know about it. Because I was having this conversation with my father
[2:23] last night and he said, okay, Sudan is in Africa, right,
[2:27] So that's the reality, Githa. And to continue what I was seeing.
[2:30] You know, Sudan is a country we have discussed in our previous episode regarding
[2:35] the civil war that actually engulfed I think for the past one year, that
[2:38] has engulfed the country. And there was a frontline reporter who said that,
[2:44] who wrote about a family, he said a father and about a father actually
[2:47] who said that in front of his eyes he saw his wife and children digging
[2:54] holes in the ground and looking for soil and ruling them and putting it in
[3:00] their mouths and swallowing them as with water. So that's the situation, because
[3:07] you know, starvation has hit the country. So Keetha tell me. You
[3:13] know, we have discussed about it, so I mean we can start by
[3:15] actually understanding that what really went wrong in the past one year. Of course,
[3:21] if we talk about the history, it definitely is really long back because
[3:24] Suddan and many many many countries in Africa, you know, they are grappling
[3:30] with many military coups. But this in Sudan was different because it's about power
[3:35] control. It's about uh you know, the RSEF and the Sudanese military,
[3:40] military army and OURSF is a paramilitary it's a very powerful paramilitary force in Sudan.
[3:47] So what really happened? Because the aftermat is really I mean, there
[3:51] are millions who have been displaced, there are millions who are starving. So
[3:54] well, it's a very sad situation because it comes at a time when the
[3:59] world is really under a lot of conflicts crises which they're grappling with and therefore
[4:04] one of the most important crisis that faces the international community has gone on for
[4:14] way too long and without any checks. There are international organizations who have asked
[4:21] as to why is the international community so quiet on a situation such as this?
[4:28] And yes, Sudan right now is on the brink of famine starvation.
[4:34] One of the UN agencies UNHCR actually said that they're living on leaves, so
[4:42] it's eating grass. They're eating grass and leaves because there's nothing to eat.
[4:47] And we have four point five million people displaced, one million within Sudan,
[4:54] one million outside of Saddan who left the country have moved to Chad, Egypt
[4:59] and the other neighbor in countries and the rest of them displaced within. But
[5:03] this is not starvation because of unknown factors nature, weather conditions, climate change
[5:15] alone, this is a man made famine and that's what we're coming to.
[5:20] It is a crisis that we saw begin and we discussed this when two camps
[5:27] after the ousting of the dictatorship exactly in Sudan, and we would think that
[5:33] Omar al Bashir, who was ousted in twenty nineteen, everybody thought peace would
[5:39] prevail me, that peace would return, that there be normalcy. And instead
[5:43] of that, what we saw is the military regime that helped our oust.
[5:50] Omoral vasher split into two factions. One is the military command itself and the
[5:57] other is the paramilitary force the RSF. And since twenty twenty three there has
[6:02] been the most difficult time for the country with the worst kind of civil war
[6:11] that and we can't compare it to Rawanda and the rest, but one of
[6:15] the worst civil wars that an African nations has dealt with. And this continues,
[6:25] the past struggle continues, this even as unemployment rate is at its peak.
[6:31] There is no work, there are no jobs, there's no electrics,
[6:34] there is no food, there's no food, there's no water. It is
[6:38] actually if you look at the videos and if you see the see the dispatches
[6:44] coming from Sudan, Ana, it is heartbreaking. We knew of how terrible
[6:49] things would get, you know, when there were famines in various parts of
[6:55] Africa, and how the international community was helping. But this time around it
[6:59] is not that it's a civil war. So not only are you dying of
[7:03] hunger, you're also dying because you're being killed. Yeah. And if you're
[7:09] fleeing from a civil war, from a fight, only to end up dead
[7:14] because of hunger, yes, this is just the worst. And like you're
[7:18] saying, it's just not I mean physical illness, of course there is there,
[7:23] But what about the mental conflict, mental trauma? Right, Because while
[7:29] I was reading the dispatches, I mean they're talking about gruesome sexual violence.
[7:33] The children are being you know, so called inducted into the military. There
[7:41] is conscription, yes, yes, where kids are forcefully for fight. Yes.
[7:46] But I think to better understand and for our listeners and viewers to also
[7:51] relate to this entire issue, I'm comparing these two to understand, you know,
[7:58] and make them more really to will I'm comparing the situation in Sudan with
[8:01] what is happening right now in Gaza. Correct me, if I'm wrong,
[8:05] Eita, But if we see Sudan situation, of course, like we said,
[8:07] it's very grim, right. People are fleeing to a place called El
[8:11] Fashire, which is the only city in Darfur, a region in western Sudan
[8:18] that has not been captured by the RAS, which is the paramilitary force.
[8:22] I mean, yet it has not been captured and hosts thousands of people who
[8:26] have been displaced by the war. So they have been increasing arbitrary clickkillings,
[8:33] systematic burning off for entire villages, escalating air bombardments, people dying of hunger,
[8:39] diseases like malaria, cholera, women being sexually assaulted, and to top
[8:43] that, of course, deliveries of food assistance in Darfur, which we saw
[8:46] in Gaza, being obstructed by so called you know, bureaucratic hurdles. If
[8:54] we talk about it, I think at least one point seven million people within
[8:58] the region experiencing emergency levels of hunger according to the World Food Program. Despite
[9:05] this deepening human crisis, the situation in Sudan has drawn like I don't know,
[9:09] it's a marginal less international scrutiny than other humanity and emergencies in places such
[9:16] as Ukraine, and Gaza. Of course, Ukraine and Gaza also are really
[9:20] not comparable. But still some observers have called Sudan's conflict the forgotten war.
[9:26] Why why the hell do we know so little about it? And why don't
[9:31] we even care to know about it? See, a war is given a
[9:35] lot of focus if it impacts you, the region, the global economy,
[9:43] so on and so forth. Russia Ukraine war certainly impacts the West their stakeholders.
[9:50] Israel Hama's war impacts not just the region, but it will impact global
[9:56] economy. Should this escalate and should there be states getting involved in this war
[10:01] between Israel and Hamas in this case because it seems while it is not but
[10:09] it still seems a little more isolated. Is one of the main reasons why
[10:15] we do not see the kind of action being brought into this scenario and into
[10:22] this crisis. That certainly is a reason. We're looking at a lot of
[10:26] aid that is going in and UNHCR and other UN agencies, Amnesty, all
[10:35] of these human rights organizations, all of them going in and doing a lot
[10:39] of work and seeking international intervention. But I think the main reason is this
[10:45] also in some parts of the world, whilst that might be the case in
[10:50] any part of the world, but the reasons are very easy for them to
[10:52] say, well, this is very important, but over here, when you
[10:56] have two warring factions within a country, it becomes very difficult to actually get
[11:03] to go in. So the intervention becomes very difficult. It's very very chaotic.
[11:11] There are no sides to be taken, per se, but yes,
[11:15] the way and the manner in which it's mostly the RSSEF who is yes,
[11:20] who are now claiming and brutally trying to take over the country and much to
[11:28] the dismay of the military, the army, and they have managed to quite
[11:35] an extent, although all the charges that have been leveled against them, be
[11:39] it of assault, exploitation, loot, killing, they're denying all of that,
[11:48] but there's enough evidence, there are enough eyewitnesses, they're enough people who
[11:52] have fled from those areas and are speaking for RSF to really continue being being
[12:01] in denial. So right now I think it is just because there's too much
[12:05] focus on other parts in other on on other issues and other parts of the
[12:09] world is the reason why this has gone on for too long. But when
[12:16] an entire population is left is rendered, not just homeless, but hopeless in
[12:24] terms of a future or even alife. The international community cannot turn a blind
[12:31] eye. Definitely. Yeah, and if we talk about I mean, like
[12:35] you were saying about the RSF, which is actually you know, being brutally
[12:41] involved in this. So while I was reading, there was an NPR reporter
[12:48] from Sodan only and he explained this that the northern Darfur Darfur region is in
[12:54] turmoil with Alphashir under a siege, so this is surrounded by the artists.
[13:00] But like I said, that the reason why the RSF are so intent on,
[13:05] like you know, capturing this particular city is because if they are able
[13:09] to take Alpha shehed, that will be the entire region of Darfur, which
[13:13] has the size of France, so it is going to be under the control
[13:16] of the RASF, the Rapid Support Forces, which means that they will have
[13:22] access to Sudan's borders with Libya, with Chad, with Central African Republic and
[13:28] also South Sudan. So that way Alpha Sheet is like really you know,
[13:31] strategic and very important for them. But he also mentioned that some people are
[13:39] talking about maybe that this is going to be a step for a division in
[13:41] the country. If they're actually able to occupy Alpha, shehed. So if
[13:46] this happens and we see like a division, then but isn't there a division
[13:50] already between the north and southwest? There is already a division. There is
[13:56] already and right now these divisions say is not going to impact positively or negatively
[14:03] what has already happened on the ground. You see, there has been the
[14:09] fact that a democratic administration was not allowed to last. Is because these are
[14:16] the same RSF and military that did not the Sudanese Armed Forces and the rapid
[14:22] support forces who were working the under Omeral Bashir, and when they helped in
[14:33] ousting of the dictator or the then leader authoritarian leader and a transitional government was
[14:39] put in place, it didn't seem like they were okay taking orders from a
[14:43] transitional government. And then the government was ousted too, and then we see
[14:50] a power struggle between the two. So while we're talking about areas and if
[14:54] they're going to be fissures within the society itself, I think those that's a
[15:00] conversation that should have taken place yesterday today. It is not about fishers anymore.
[15:07] It is about absolute intervention and the international community has to look into it.
[15:13] They need to come in if they're not going to face although there are
[15:18] some sanctions exactly, but if they're not going to have face stringent sanctions and
[15:28] consequences for what is happening, for the killings, then you'll see more of
[15:35] Sudanese people die and more of them rendered refugees, their refugees in their own
[15:41] country, their refugees abroad. Only. In terms of statistics, look at
[15:46] the number of people according to UNHCR who have left Sudan. We have three
[15:52] hundred and fifty thousand people in Egypt, six hundred thousand in Chad. Chad
[15:56] has taken in the maximum number of people from Soda twenty five thousand in Central
[16:02] African Republic, five hundred and ninety thousand in South Sudan, only a little
[16:07] less than Chad, but there's a massive familial tie between Sada, So Sudan
[16:12] and South Sudan, and you know connections and so on, and so fourth
[16:15] than one hundred and ninety two thousand in Ethiopia. So all the neighboring countries
[16:19] have taken in refugees, and it's interesting that it's in the same area.
[16:25] If you see where they have been saying and Egypt has said we do not
[16:30] take refugees from Palestine from Gaza. Yeah, but they're taking refugees from here.
[16:34] So a lot of people had criticized Egypt saying that, you know,
[16:38] for a country that is bordering and is speaking so much, why aren't you
[16:44] going to take refugees from Palestine. You do not want a refugee problem in
[16:49] your country. And this was Egypt's answer. They said, it's not like
[16:53] we don't take refugees. Look, we're taking refugees from various parts of the
[16:57] world and now now Sudan is also an example. They said, we will
[17:02] not take refugees from Gaza is because if Egypt opens its borders, which again
[17:08] Israel has also not allowed because the border is under their control and they don't
[17:14] want to have the so called hamas you know, get exactly safe havens in
[17:19] other parts of the world. So one that secondly, but if they're also
[17:25] their argument was some of the people I was speaking to is that if we
[17:29] allow them to come, then they will all most of them will leave if
[17:34] they can, and should they be allowed to leave, they will leave,
[17:37] and then Gaza will be open for Israel to take. So the same thing
[17:42] that happened in the past will repeat itself and they will just have more land
[17:48] and you will have more displaced Palestinians. So it's not like we're against refugees.
[17:52] We are just as a country that supports the cause of Palestine, not
[17:59] wanting to only hoping that Israel will not kill civilians and will allow them to
[18:03] stay wherever they are, so that they continued staying in Gaza that was not
[18:07] to be. Israel, despite all the international pressure, has gone ahead and
[18:12] bombarded Rapha. So that's just for an example that a lot of refugees from
[18:18] Sudan have moved to Egypt. But then there was also this dilimma that I
[18:22] read of about Egypt facing this dilemma in the current conflict in Sudan, as
[18:30] Egypt is close to Sudan's army which is fighting against the Asif, which is
[18:34] believed to be backed by the Yui, and the Yui is a major financial
[18:40] supporter of Egypt. So how is Egypt Then it's a pass struggle. There's
[18:45] a lot of a lot of things at stake. Sudan is resource rich and
[18:52] so they all want their stakes in. It was very early on after Omar
[18:56] al Bashir, that they knew what side they wanted to take, and they'd
[19:00] already started. Egypt, being a neighboring country, wanted very clearly to have
[19:07] you know, ties with the official army. But given that there was a
[19:14] past struggle that you saw, and it certainly is an opportunity. But no
[19:18] country can gain out of the misery of another country to this extent. So
[19:26] right now the focus should be on how to dowse this civil war, this
[19:33] huge fire that the civil war has called. Not like I think you remember
[19:37] last episode also when we were discussing last year and you said that this is
[19:41] not like a sectarian strife, right, it is not. Yeah, so
[19:45] it's like a civil war. So how do people are not taking size?
[19:49] They're stuck between the military and the RSF, depending on where which party has
[19:56] a stronger hold. They are at the mercy of those people. And last
[20:06] time also when we were discussing this, and we'd said that all the grains,
[20:10] grainaries and the grains had come under the control of these people, and
[20:14] they were not allowing food to reach to the common man because they themselves restoring
[20:18] it for their own forces and the soldiers on and so forth. And today
[20:25] the scenario is such that even they do not have food enough food for themselves.
[20:30] So it's a very sad state of affairs, but nothing like what the
[20:34] people of Sudan right now are reeling under the military and the RSSEF. They
[20:41] have been warring after omaral Bashir was ousted in twenty nineteen and a transitional government
[20:47] was put in place, and we know it came with the help of the
[20:49] military, but it is the RSSEF that had always had a lot of support
[20:56] coming in from Omar al Bashir and Somarel Bashir had then the then leader RSF
[21:04] leader Ahmidt, who actually UH won a lot of favors from Omar al Bashir
[21:12] had they had come about and made this militia group Janjaweed, and then so
[21:18] omaral Bashir wanted him to take on the military and UH that certainly became that
[21:26] paramilitary force which is the RSF and UH, which is why the fight between
[21:32] them is not just one of them trying to take control. It is also
[21:36] about this one faction trying to fight for the return of an authoritarian leader and
[21:45] UH. In that you will see that so omaral Bashir in this part of
[21:51] the world as a massive Muslim leader would have found some support from the Arab
[21:57] world. But it is the military faction where the ousting of the dictatorship happened.
[22:04] And we were looking at the part of the Arab spring much late in
[22:10] the day, but a part of the Arab spring where you have had authoritarian
[22:15] leaders really been taken down and then the transitional government comes in. The military
[22:22] camp is not accepting of it, but is supported by outside forces two who
[22:27] maybe do not want the RSF and the return of the old order. So
[22:33] that certainly also is at play, But there is no certain sectarian faction as
[22:38] such that is fighting one against the other. What we are looking at are
[22:44] two factions fighting for power, and in that it's the people of Sudan who've
[22:49] become a huge who've become a victim of this entire war. Okay, so
[22:56] how do we get like practically speaking, how do we get our resolution?
[23:00] As in, if both sides are vuying for control and they want the position
[23:07] of commander in chief because they want the proposed integration of the RSF into the
[23:11] military, during the integration process, the position of commander in chief will be
[23:18] by whom, like, how do we practically speaking, how will that be
[23:22] a certain See right now there is no resolution insight. Even if there is
[23:27] going to be this the two men are not going to work under each other.
[23:33] There has to be a negotiation where we say, and also the fact
[23:37] that RSF has gained a lot of ground in the country, so it's always
[23:41] the losing faction that will have to compromise a little. But what the compromise
[23:45] is going to be something we'll have to wait and see, because I don't
[23:48] know whether if the world is ready to have RSF take control and then have
[23:53] you know, the leadership of the country change again from a democratic structure that
[23:59] they envisioned to an authoritarian structure. So it all depends also on the negotiations
[24:06] that will take place, because I don't think a country wants that has seen
[24:10] a revolution such as this, that has seen a change such as this and
[24:14] thought that they'll finally, you know, have a democratic regime, a democratic
[24:19] government, would want to return to anything less than that, of course,
[24:25] and too much has been lost. Too many lives have been lost, too
[24:29] many homes have been burned down, too many a lot of your land,
[24:34] your cattle, your property stands completely destroyed. So for what Yeah, villages
[24:42] are burned and being burnt like anything. The reporter from the ale I have
[24:47] not been able to go back to the farmland. This is the reason why
[24:49] there is famine. So it's not because there was some massive heat wave or
[25:00] drought. It's not. It is which was people could not go and till
[25:03] their land and water their lands. So all of that led to a place
[25:11] where there was no food that was grown. All their farmland is lying in
[25:19] the ruins. But you mentioned about sanctions and everything. But you know,
[25:25] how did we arrive at this? If we go and try to answer this
[25:30] in the sense that I'm not going beyond twenty twenty three at this point,
[25:33] I'm just saying that after twenty twenty three, like we also spoke, you
[25:37] know, when the civil war broke out last year, the international community must
[25:41] have anticipated that, you know, such a country which is so much prone,
[25:48] definitely such a scenario can happen. So then and also of course about
[25:52] hunger starvation, then why were no efforts made from the international communities and when
[26:00] this war broke out last year? If we actually tried to track between I
[26:04] mean as to what the international and how the international community has responded, how
[26:10] certain countries like the US, which has like a very vested interest in the
[26:12] region, or a you know, country like Saudi Arabia. I remember reading
[26:17] about it that when both these countries as soon as the war broke or I
[26:21] think in April or May, they both these countries, US and Saudi,
[26:25] they tried to negotiate a seventy two are truths, but then it was quickly
[26:29] violated. Then both US and Saudi they also initiated talks between the army and
[26:33] the RSF, both sides at that point they agreed to allow you know,
[26:40] urgently needed humanitarian aid. But once again the fighting just never stopped. So
[26:45] these ceasefire agreements they were kept on, you know, being violated again and
[26:49] again. Then what happened. Then the US came in. It imposed the
[26:53] first sanctions related to the conflict. And how it did it targeted two forms
[27:00] which are associated with the army and two others which are linked to the RSF,
[27:03] and it warned that it would hold accountable to all those undermining the peace
[27:07] in the country. Similarly, the UK also sanctioned three businesses linked with the
[27:15] army and three with the RF but nothing love of course, it's still lingers
[27:19] on nothing seemed to deter them, no truth, no resolution. UN said.
[27:25] International donors pledged nearly one point five billion dollars for the humanity response to
[27:30] Sudan, but the body is saying that its emergency A program requires two point
[27:33] five seven billion dollar at least. So do you think I mean the how
[27:40] whatever? In whatever sense and capacity the international community has responded right as soon
[27:45] as this civil war broke through. Has not been adequate, has not been
[27:48] enough? Well, that absolutely has not been enough. There have been certain
[27:52] channels that opened up some time ago after the war started and the Saudi Arabia
[28:00] did come in. There was the Treaty of Jedda where RSF and SAF had
[28:07] met to negotiate terms and conditions, and while various rounds of talks they all
[28:12] ended in failure failure, but the only thing that they really focused on and
[28:17] maybe agreed upon was to open channels for humanitarian aid. That's the area where
[28:22] both sides agreed. And while the negotiations were indefinitely suspended last year itself because
[28:33] both sides failed to open those eight channels, we've not seen the international community
[28:40] really intervene on the restarting of negotiations between the two sides itself, where you
[28:47] would have at least eight channels going. Although we know that a lot of
[28:51] international organizations are working on the ground. But it comes back to what the
[28:55] international community ANNA has really done, and there I see a real lack of
[29:00] Although at the United Nations and at various levels, there have been resolutions,
[29:06] there have been conversations, there have been urgent meetings that have been called on
[29:11] Sudan, but none that really has affected bringing about peace. Just quickly,
[29:18] Keeta, when you mentioned we'll have to see what negotiations will be taking place,
[29:23] But then who say there are countries in the neighborhood that have played in
[29:27] the Jedda conversations was one of them, So we'll have to see. I
[29:33] thin if you talk about some country like Egypt, who is closer to the
[29:36] army, then of course who will listen to Egypt? Which is why Saudi
[29:40] Arabia most probably will have to come in because they do wield influence in the
[29:45] region and it is an Islamic nation, so in all probability they will look
[29:49] to Saudi to intervene. And yes, they will carry a lot of weight
[29:56] and voice from the West in in terms of what needs to be done,
[30:02] but right now it doesn't seem like there is. Right now, what the
[30:06] international community or what the agencies are focused on is to ensure that at least
[30:11] aid starts getting in and the violence stops. So there have been numerous occasions
[30:18] and call for ceasefire and announcements of ceasefire, but none of them have been
[30:25] honored. Yeah. So unless both sides actually honor a ceasefire call, because
[30:30] this complete secession of violence, then you can start rebuilding and giving people,
[30:37] you know, some sort of aid. It's very difficult to reach them in
[30:41] places where violence is continuing, and despite the numerous calls. Yeah, both
[30:47] sides are not honored. Yeah, And amidst all this, it's just blame
[30:49] game that is happening, right, I mean the Solan's Point ministry. They
[30:52] are saying that, okay, we are trying every means to get the Unitarian
[30:56] aid reached the steps, but the RSFY. But they're saying the the RSF
[31:03] are looting. But then the RSF is deny. So it's just gleam game.
[31:06] I don't know how long will that continue. Also, on the fact
[31:08] that since we're speaking of famine, a Global Authority on Food Security food insecurity,
[31:15] the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, they have said that they are of
[31:18] course at the risk of famine. And if we speak about logistics and AID
[31:25] truck if it has to reach Starfer it can take up to forty days to
[31:30] reach staffer from ports Sudan in the east where most of the aid is stored,
[31:34] so like in Gaza and Ukraine. Also, you know, we have
[31:38] spoken about it that we see a global voice. Last episode only we were
[31:42] speaking about you know, us students voicing their concerns, but not demeaning that.
[31:49] But I'm just saying here when we see a lot of so little being
[31:53] spoken from the international community, from the from globally as well, there are
[31:57] really any voices you know, you know out there in the in its support.
[32:02] So what really happens if they are now at the risk of famine?
[32:07] So what really happens when famine actually ingulfs the country when there is no respir
[32:12] because like I mentioned, the humanitarian assistance, it has reached only sixteen percent
[32:19] of the people who need it. And also if you go and like I
[32:23] I was watching certain Nerve video dispatches, they're standing in a queue and they're
[32:29] just waiting for their turns and their turns is I mean, they're not ever
[32:32] coming up even if they're getting something that's like really really sparse, also does
[32:37] not feed the entire family. Not Yeah, of course, So what happens,
[32:43] what really happens if actually famine, you know ingulfs the country and then
[32:46] it already has. They're on the brink of Starvationanana, it already has.
[32:51] If the if the world does not wake up to this, then it's there's
[32:54] a real problem. And in terms of diplomatic efforts, whilst you know,
[32:59] I was saying that a lot of things have happened at the United Nations,
[33:02] we did have al Baran who managed to leave Khartoom. He not only went
[33:07] and met LCC in Egypt, he actually went to the United Nations to attend
[33:10] the UNNGA Assembly session. And then he had asked the United Nations to declare
[33:17] RSF a terrorist organization. But because of the pulls and pushes, we'll have
[33:23] to wait and see how that really works out. But some sort of a
[33:28] stringent step on and aside has to be taken on where do you want to
[33:34] see Sudan? Do you want to see Sudan? In fact, even the
[33:37] military takeover was wrong. So who's promising a transitional government, who's promising the
[33:45] return of a democratic setup. We've not heard those conversations right now. The
[33:52] only hope is to see Saudi Arabia Egypt come in because Egypt does hold influence
[34:00] over al Berhan and Saudi Area certainly will hold influence over the other faction that
[34:07] also has ue also has a lot of support or or or they are engaged
[34:15] and connected in many ways than one. So we will have to wait and
[34:20] see how these countries then come together to say, well, no matter what
[34:25] you want, no matter what your end game is in terms of a government,
[34:30] what form of government. For now, what is absolutely required is a
[34:35] session of violence. And it is sad that we're talking about it Todayana,
[34:40] we spoke about it earlier too, but it is really sad that this has
[34:44] actually found no space in general news there. This is the this is one
[34:51] of the biggest crisis. You can focus on Russia, Ukraine, you can
[34:53] focus on Israel, Hamas and and Gaza is a very very big story to
[34:58] cover by, but nothing takes away from the fact that an African nation is
[35:05] really under the worst crisis, and most people don't even know about it.
[35:09] Yeah, I mean, that's like it's a very sad reality. But just
[35:15] you know, thank god that on this podcast we have covered at least,
[35:20] you know, places like nigere, places like Sudan in our podcast, and
[35:23] we try to of course cover something that you know that don't make us trends
[35:29] on social media, but we do make sure that we cover it on our
[35:31] podcast. Just lastly, as we leave, you know, there's something that
[35:37] I really want to talk about about the US's role here because it's you know,
[35:42] although I mean there's a backgrounder to this, we just suddenly didn't come
[35:45] to twenty twenty three and just woke up to our civil war, right,
[35:49] it is there in the history, lingering in the history. So let's just
[35:52] talk about that briefly, Guita, because you know, US's role is so
[35:58] crucial. It's just you know, sanctioning to put sanctions on African nations,
[36:05] but its role in the crisis in Sudan has more history to it. Sudan
[36:08] has often been called the arms dump of Africa. During the Cold War.
[36:13] It was one of those one of many, you know, proxy battlefields for
[36:15] the US and the Soviet Union who would wage war via local proxies, and
[36:22] the US also reportedly sold arms worth over a billion dollars to Sudan during this
[36:28] time. Now, both these powers, you know, saw the makings of
[36:31] an ethnic power struggle, the sease of which had been sown by the British
[36:37] in Sudan earlier. Now they almost reduced this seriousness of the tensions in the
[36:42] country to their you know, narrow battle of this capitalism versus communism. And
[36:46] after the end of the Cold War, the break of the Soviet Union,
[36:51] with the US now seeing itself as the you know, upholder of good virtue
[36:54] in the world, sanctions were placed in Sudan, with the US labeling it
[37:00] as a state sponsor of terrorism. So Sudan was eventually what happened. It
[37:05] was eventually cut off from the international trade and deprived of even essential items.
[37:09] Now it has escalated to this level. But could you actually, I mean
[37:16] say that twenty years of economic sanctions would have played a really crucial important role
[37:23] in the civil wars that have plagued the country and even the secession of South
[37:29] Sudan that we have seen so, you know, and we have seen what
[37:32] US has done in Afghanistan as well. Can we say that the US and
[37:37] major powers very conveniently escape accountability for how they have you know, so called
[37:45] exploited a very research rich country for their own gains. Remember we spoke about
[37:52] when we were speaking about a very important point you make, But again we
[37:54] have to put it in context. And the context is this Anna that when
[38:00] the games were being played with Sudan, again the focus and the idea of
[38:06] engaging Sudan was because it is resource rich. There are gold mines which again
[38:10] were offered by Omar al Bashir to his man, which is the Gallo and
[38:15] Hamdsti. But that was then. It is Omar al Bashir and the sanctioning,
[38:22] the whole idea of armed twisting was happening within a thoroughitarian regime. Things
[38:30] changed in twenty twenty three and since then US is trying to play be careful
[38:36] because they either way, they don't know which way this war is going to
[38:38] go, and either way they will have to engage Sudan and ensure that they
[38:45] have a foothold in this African region country which is a very important state,
[38:51] not just resource rich. You have the China factor, the Russia factor in
[38:54] Africa. Now of course even the African Union has done very little. They
[39:00] have tried very hard, and they are conversations in the African Union that are
[39:05] taking place on Sudan almost on a daily basis. But beyond that, there
[39:09] isn't an intervention that we see, apart from involvement of the neighboring countries in
[39:16] taking in refugees. So what did the US do after twenty twenty three?
[39:21] They have sanctioned yet again. This time around they've sanctioned the military commander of
[39:28] RSF, which is Hamed TI's younger brother, not the commander, the deputy
[39:31] commander. But at the same time they went ahead and sanctioned three of the
[39:37] officers from the military faction as well. So they're sanctioning who they think are
[39:45] responsible for the civil war and they won the war to end, but in
[39:49] the long run, they're also by doing this, by not taking sides,
[39:53] and by doing this and not looking at a serious intervention, they they have
[40:00] intervened. They've sent weapons to Israel, right because it's a strategic partner.
[40:05] It impacts them directly anything that happens to them over here. They want the
[40:09] resources, they want to be a part of the African story. But when
[40:16] it comes to a crisis such as this. It's not just the United States
[40:20] of America, the whole of West, including countries' big economies, who have
[40:25] really not come forward to do anything for Sudan. So it's a very sad
[40:30] story right now where none of them really want to get their hands dirty,
[40:36] because nobody, i think has the capability or the economic might and power right
[40:43] now to take on such a huge responsibility after they're already completely submerged with what
[40:53] is happening in the other two conflicts. That could be the reason why,
[40:58] but it doesn't take away from the fact that countries talk about democracy, values
[41:02] of humanity and the one place apart from Gaza of course, and yes,
[41:09] you know in the Russia Ukraine War Ukraine, the travesty of justice that we're
[41:15] seeing over here, the fact that there's so many children dying of hunger and
[41:21] nobody's looking into that is certainly a shame not just for the international community,
[41:27] but for each one of us who might be stakeholders, might not be,
[41:32] but have not cared to find out. And there's no better way to put
[41:37] it, actually, Gita, But because like you said in the very beginning,
[41:42] until unless it doesn't hit home, we are at least bothered. So
[41:46] on that note, I think we'll put an end to this conversation and to
[41:50] all our listeners and viewers who stayed till the end. We have actually discussed
[41:53] Soudan in much detail in our previous episode that we did last year in a
[42:00] Yes, so the civil war, the civil war and it just broke out.
[42:05] So to everybody's convenience, I'll put that description in the show notes so
[42:09] you can refer to it. Besides, we have also done some really fabulous
[42:14] episodes on different parts of the world. Nijer. I think that's one of
[42:17] my favorite episodes, so you can revisit that and let us know what you
[42:22] felt about this episode or any of the other you know, episodes that you
[42:27] have listened to in recent times, So let us know. The number is
[42:30] eighty five, double eight nine, double six, double line six, and
[42:35] the email idea is pots at the rate Inner to Day dot Com. Do
[42:37] reach out and will be really really thankful and happy to include all your inputs
[42:43] on our show. Thank you so much for joining. Thank you

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