Justice comes with a risk. Do the ones at risk have a say on whether the risk is worth taking? We have met women and men at camp Oure Cassoni that bring up justices as an essential part of their returning to a peaceful Darfur. They mention International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo by name, and you can feel the hope growing within them.
They—the women, children, and men living in displacement and still grave danger—have been living a less than complete life for over five years. They have been hearing of leaders making promises and then not following through. They have seen a failed peace process and continued attempts at overly soft constructive engagement.
The women, children, and men living in displacement and still in grave danger have also seen family members being killed, their homes looted and destroyed, their women being raped, and hope stomped on the ground. They deserve justice, and in the ICC and Luis Moreno-Ocampo they see heroes that might start the process of bringing them home.
They request from us to keep putting pressure, so that their rights and hopes do not get stomped on again. They are willing to take the risk, in exchange for a chance at protections, peace, AND justice.
paz,
g
One reply on “Justice”
As usual, your reporting is top notch, Gabriel! I was so interested to learn about how the people in the camps view the recent indictments. How do they receive their news? Do they expect there will be accountability and justice? It is hard to imagine how, after so many years of the failure of national and international justice, that they can still have hope, but your experience in the camps suggests they have not given up.
Ever onward, Pam