Darfur through the Eyes of Children

Human Rights Watch has a site entitled Darfur Drawn: The Conflict in Darfur Drawn through Children’s Eyes
“On mission along the border of Chad and Darfur, Human Rights Watch researchers gave children notebooks and crayons to keep them occupied while they spoke to the children’s parents. Without any instruction or guidance, the children drew scenes from their experiences of the war in Darfur: the attacks by the Janjaweed, the bombings by the Sudanese government forces, the shootings, the burning of entire villages, and the flight to Chad.

“The Janjaweed came on camels and horses, very fast. Sometimes two on one camel, with guns. Many soldiers, with guns. This one is a machine gun. There were shooting us.” (Jamil, age 12)

In the same exercise book, Jamil had drawn a man with a radio transmitter, drawn larger than the man: “We needed help. There was no one to protect us.”

Visit the sight for more drawings and stories. All the names have been changed to protect the children. It is heartbreaking and sobering. Children are always casualties of adult hatred.