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September 17, 2004
Province takes the lead
Five minutes could save lives, says head of CJC.
PAT JOHNSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
The British Columbia Jewish community is taking a lead role in
drawing world attention to the humanitarian disaster unfolding in
the Sudanese region of Darfur.
Racially motivated attacks by Arab militias against the African,
agricultural community of Darfur have led international relief agencies
to warn that as many as 1.2 million lives are at risk if the world
community does not mobilize to prevent a slaughter on a scale that
rivals the catastrophe a decade ago in Rwanda, where 800,000 lives
were lost in a race-based conflict.
Senator Mobina Jaffer, a representative of British Columbia in Parliament's
upper house, is Canada's special envoy to the Sudanese peace process.
She met with members of Canadian Jewish Congress last week and both
parties say they are working to raise awareness and humanitarian
relief for Darfur.
"We are doing all we can on a humanitarian basis," Jaffer
told the Bulletin in an interview after her meeting with
CJC. "We are, of course, providing help with food through the
World Food Program, also through UNICEF and also with maternal health
for mothers and young girls. We're having impact with the kind of
programs we are choosing."
In addition to immediate humanitarian aid, Jaffer said Canada is
using diplomatic channels to raise the global condemnation of the
Sudanese-government-backed militias who are terrorizing the people
of Darfur.
"At the United Nations, we are working very hard," Jaffer
said. "Ambassador [Allan] Rock is working very hard to get
our message across, which is that we want to give one consistent
message as an international community: that the militias have to
be disarmed."
Canada's new foreign minister, Pierre Pettigrew, recently returned
from Europe, where Jaffer said he raised the issue of Sudan with
every government representative with whom he met. Prime Minister
Paul Martin is in close contact, Jaffer said, with President Olusegun
Obasanjo of Nigeria to see how Canada can help empower the African
Union to take a constructive role in finding a peaceful resolution.
Jaffer was the first international envoy to tour the Sudanese crisis
region, and her two visits there in the past two years left an indelible
impression.
"The situation was desperate," Jaffer said of her first
visit 15 months ago. "Now things have improved. Humanitarian
help is going through, food is going through. But when I was there,
people were living under twigs. There was very little food. Security
was a huge challenge."
The United Nations, under the auspices of the World Food Program,
has been able to get aid into the region despite the dangers and
challenges presented by the violent atmosphere. Nevertheless, Jaffer
echoed warnings by aid agencies that complacency on the part of
the world community could be disastrous. The situation facing a
million refugees in the region remains potentially cataclysmic.
"When people think of camps, they think of tents in a row and
food being given in a pretty organized way," Jaffer said. "Here,
people were living literally under twigs, with no protection from
the elements. What was for me very, very touching was that the people
were not broken; they were very, very strong. They were going to
see this through. It led me to work even harder. The people are
very, very strong."
Jaffer was scheduled to return to Sudan this week for her third
trip. Her last visit was in May.
"I have seen a lot of pain, because I'm a refugee myself,"
Jaffer said. "But the pain I saw in Sudan is just horrendous
and we all need to work together to find a way [to alleviate it]."
Jaffer's meeting Sept. 7 with representatives of the Jewish community
reflected the active approach CJC is taking in publicizing the Sudanese
crisis.
"It made me feel very comforted," said the senator. "This
is the Jewish community that, when I came [to Canada] were very
kind to me." Jaffer cites Vancouver lawyer and Jewish community
activist Jack Kowarsky as the only Canadian among the countless
she approached three decades ago who would take a chance on hiring
her as a new immigrant. She added she has worked on a variety of
issues over the years with Erwin Nest, the executive director of
Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region.
"Their absolute anxiety and also zeal to work on this issue,
to make Canadians aware of this issue – but more than that,
to be supportive of people in Darfur – was very touching to
me."
Canada and the international community must mobilize to ensure that
humanitarian aid continues to reach the desperate people of Darfur,
Jaffer said. But she added that disarming the militias is the necessary
step to security and stability.
"Disarming will be the first step," she said. "It
will create security, but it won't create peace."
Efforts by the African Union to bring together representatives of
Darfur tribes and Sudanese Muslim leaders must be encouraged to
create long-term peace, said Jaffer.
Mark Weintraub, chair of CJC, Pacific Region, and a member of the
delegation that met with Jaffer, commended the senator's work and
pledged co-operation.
"We indicated to her that we understood the tremendous responsibility
and burden that was being placed on her shoulders as Canada's special
envoy and we could empathize with the anguish that she must be experiencing
in coming up against so many roadblocks," he said. "The
United Nations simply is not mandating sufficient funds for peace-keeping
troops. Too much time is being given the regime and there is not
sufficient resolve within the United Nations to ensure that [a greater
humanitarian catastrophe] will not occur."
Weintraub said Jewish leaders have a unique role to play in situations
like Darfur.
"The Jewish community intuitively understands why this is an
absolutely critical issue for all Canadians to speak out on,"
he said. "We wanted her to know that the Jewish community is
available to take any suggestions or guidance. We ourselves have
determined that there are certain steps we could do."
CJC has communicated with every B.C. MP, with special emphasis on
cabinet ministers, to make the crisis in Sudan a priority issue.
Weintraub is also urging individuals to act.
"Our plea to all Canadians is to stop for five minutes and
pick up the phone or write a letter to a member of Parliament and
the prime minister to indicate support for the special envoy's work,
to call upon all levels of government to do everything that Canada
can possibly do to make sure that there is appropriate civilian
protection and that there are sufficient funds to deal with the
humanitarian crisis and the peacekeeping efforts," Weintraub
said. "There are ways that Canada can act even if the United
Nations is frustrating us and even if there are all kinds of impediments."
There is a need for more peacekeepers in the region and additional
funds are needed for humanitarian relief, he said.
"While Canada is a middle power and there are limitations to
what we can do given the [Sudanese] regime, given all the geopolitical
considerations, nonetheless, if Canadians were moved to respond
to this tragedy in a more significant way, there is a likelihood
that some lives may be saved," said Weintraub. "It takes
five minutes."
Pat Johnson is a B.C. journalist and commentator.
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