As the peace talks in Abuja get underway, the Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy investigated the effects of the talks on people in Darfur. On November 29, Damanga received a phone call from a correspondent who was traveling to Darfur from the east of Sudan. This correspondent interviewed four Darfurians who each gave his/her opinion on the peace talks and the situation on the ground. While the Darfurians had heard about the peace talks through government controlled media, they were increasingly pessimistic because the situation seemed intractable on the ground.

The Damanga correspondent, a young man visiting his family in Al-Geneina, stated that the travel to Darfur from the east was very dangerous, and that he had to think carefully before risking the trip. The police and security forces patrol the bus stations and have set up roadblocks all along the road network. They are harassing all black Africans, but especially those from Darfur. Many times the correspondent was harangued with questions about his identity and why he was traveling within his own nation. They asked him who his relatives were and if any of them were involved with the rebel armies. When the correspondent arrived in Al-Geneina he found a pervasive sense of fear among black Africans. Witnesses told him that there are many random killings each day during daylight hours. It is not uncommon, he was told, to see Janjaweed and security services randomly killing innocent people as they walk to the market. The people are afraid to leave their homes because there is no guarantee that they will return.

The actions of the security forces have made it extremely difficult for the correspondent to collect information and to relay it to Damanga. If security forces or Janjaweed are suspicious of someone's activities they will simply kill that person with complete impunity. Perhaps more frightening than uniformed security forces and Janjaweed is the undercover security apparatus. According to Damanga's correspondent, it is impossible to know who is an agent or an informant for the government. This has made it especially difficult to gather the names of victims, because one could easily be arrested or killed for asking the wrong person too many questions. The security services trail people to determine their activities and arrest Darfurians on the slightest suspicion. Furthermore, the security services, through the state owned Sudanese telecom companies, frequently cut the phone lines before and after they perpetrate serious crimes against Darfurians. This has made it very difficult to report incidents in a timely fashion.

The Damanga correspondent proceeded to pass the phone to four Darfurians who express the views of average citizens. The first woman, Khedija, said that the situation was unbearable and that imprisonment or death was preferable. When asked why, she responded that there is no feeling of life or hope. They are without adequate shelter, and there is no freedom of movement because the security situation is abysmal. Because there is no fuel or electricity their lives depend on collecting firewood to cook food and boil water. Without firewood their children will starve. But in order to get firewood they must travel miles from the camp where they know that they can be raped or killed by the Janjaweed. Khedija reports that she regularly faces an impossible dilemma. "I have to go to collect firewood, even though I will be raped and maybe killed. Otherwise my children will starve to death."

Damanga then spoke with a young woman named Amona, whose last name was withheld for her safety. She stated that the Abuja talks produced no change on the ground. There is not enough food, there is not enough medicine, and diseases associated with malnutrition are rampant because children are not getting milk. There are only old men and little boys left because most everyone else has been killed, so the women must fend for their families alone. But the lack of security, Amona reports, is the overarching problem. If there were security, it would be possible to collect firewood and grass to sell in the market in order to buy food. Damanga asked Amona if the African Union forces had helped the security situation. She said that she had seen these forces, but she had never seen them do anything to help Darfurians. Amona, a practicing Muslim, expressed her outrage that a government that claims to be acting in accordance with Islam could commit these atrocities. "They have no fear of God, so they are not Muslims," she concluded.

An old man named Abdul-Gadir, also spoke with Damanga. When asked about his hopes for the future, he said that peace will only come by the grace of God. When asked how peace could be achieved, he said that it would be exceedingly difficult. The Arabs don't want peace, they just go to peace conferences with no intention of actually making things better. The government and the Janjaweed have nothing to gain through peace. They have taken control of the lands of Darfur and they have a free hand to rape the women. They have killed many people. they have looted all of the Darfurian's property including food that had been stored for years. The Janjaweed seem to be amusing themselves as they terrorize the people of Darfur. "They can do whatever they want now, so why would they allow order to take hold in the region," the correspondent bemoaned.

Damanga finally spoke with another older man whose first name was Suliman. When asked about the peace process he stated that peace would only come when the "Kheawajat", which means white people or westerners, arrive in force. When asked about the African Union mandate, he stated that they are unable to protect the people because there are not enough troops and they are always too late to respond to incidents. They are also outmatched by the government and the Janjaweed's more sophisticated weapons and equipment. When asked if he ever felt secure he said, "How can we be secure when our women and girls are raped right in front of our eyes and there is nothing we can do."

While Damanga earnestly hopes that the Abuja peace talks will succeed, the views of people on the ground are pessimistic because there is no evidence that the Janjaweed and Government forces have any desire to stop the atrocities.