Why I Still Believe in Human Rights, Even When It May Seem Easier to Give Up | The Walrus

"In 2006, as genocidal violence in Sudan's Darfur region spilled into neighbouring Chad, I spent several weeks with an Amnesty International research team travelling along the Chadian side of that troubled border, documenting the impact of a string of brutal attacks against isolated villages that had left a macabre trail of death, destruction, and fear. This part of eastern Chad is arid and barren, with rocky, hard-packed earth, shifting sands, gnarled trees, and scrappy bush."

"One afternoon, we came upon the smouldering ruins of the village of Djorlo. There was no one there. No home was left intact; many had burned completely to the ground. There were bullet casings everywhere. These ruins were evidence of what was almost certainly yet another attack by Darfur's murderous Janjaweed militia, who were descending upon village after village in the area, killing, raping, and beating hundreds of Chadians, destroying their homes and forcing them to flee."

"Two days later, we came upon the people of Djorlo, around fifty kilometres away. In an open field, they had taken shelter in a small grove of those stunted trees. The villagers had fled with little, but as much as they could manage. And we were welcomed. We gathered under the only relatively large tree, broad enough to offer shade. First, we heard the harrowing account of the attack on the village, only ten days earlier. The details were horrific, including descriptions of rape, an"

In 2006 genocidal violence from Sudan's Darfur spilled into eastern Chad, prompting an Amnesty International research team to document brutal assaults on isolated villages. The team discovered smouldering ruins at Djorlo, homes burned, bullet casings scattered, and no bodies, indicating recent lethal raids. The ruins pointed to attacks by Darfur's Janjaweed militia that killed, raped, beat residents, and destroyed property, forcing mass flight. Days later the displaced villagers were found sheltering in a small grove, having fled with little. Villagers gathered under a large tree to give harrowing accounts of the attack and its horrific details.

Read at The Walrus