The current civil war broke out in the Darfur region of Western Sudan in February 2004. People of African origin took up arms because they felt that they were being marginalized by the Khartoum based Sudan Government. In an attempt to suppress the uprising of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the Government of Sudan (GoS) has armed local Arab tribesmen, known as Janjaweed to fight the rebel groups. The insecurity and fighting has resulted in the internal displacement of up to 1.4 million people, in addition to the 200,000 refugees who have fled to Chad. To date, an estimated 70,000 people are reported to have died as a result of the conflict in Darfur.
Western Darfur
Western Darfur is predominantly inhabited by the Masalit ethnic group. The vast majority of the Masalit people have been forced from their
homes and villages, and have sought refuge in locations like
Masteri, Congo Haraza, Beida and Arara, which are located in Al Geneina and Habilla Localities. Some IDPs have also sought refuge across the boarder in Chad.
The ongoing violence that has been directed against the Masalit people in Western Darfur has negatively affected the people as follows:
- The theft of most of the Masalit livestock
- The destruction of Masalit sources of livelihood, including homes, tools and crops
- The displacement of the Masalit people and the occupation of their land
- Incidents of the rape of women and girls and indiscriminate killing of males
Before the fighting in Darfur began the Masalit relied on subsistence agriculture and were self sufficient. Due to the insecurity in the region many Masalit are now staying idle and their capacities to provide for themselves are negatively affected. Most IDPs did not grow crops in their present locations in the last agricultural season and currently depend entirely on the host communities and food aid. Some IDPs did grow crops in their home villages, but crops were either destroyed or inaccessible due to the security situation.
Project Description
This project is setting up a program with the communities in Habilla and Al Geneina localities that will address their articulated livelihood needs and priorities in a way that reduces their longer term vulnerabilities by taking into consideration the underlying causes of conflict in the area. The project will undertake activities in the following sectors:
- Seeds and Tools Distribution
- Animal Restocking/Poultry Project
- Tree Nursery/Environmental Rehabilitation
- Crop Pest Control and Veterinary Services
The goal of the project:
To assist the IDPs in Habilla and Al Geneina localities to address their Household Food Security needs and decrease their dependence upon Food Aid.
The objectives are:
- To assess the current household food security capacities and vulnerabilities of Al Geneina and Habilla localities
- To help improve household food security of targeted vulnerable HHs in al Geneina and Habilla localities based upon existing capacities.
- To build on local conflict awareness and household food security capacities for the sustainability and future direction of the program
The seeds and tools distribution is part of an initial five month start-up phase of FAR’s Western Darfur Program within the framework of a five year plus commitment to the area. Prior to the seeds and tools distribution, a 10-day Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) was conducted in each of the four target locations to ensure the IDP and host communities participation in and ownership of the project.
The broader long-term household food security strategy for FAR in Western Darfur will include continuous community involvement and empowerment through conflict sensitive PRA exercises, strengthening of civil society structures and peace building work through re-vitalization of traditional conflict resolution mechanisms.
