Requiem for the Sudan: War, Drought, and Disaster Relief on the Nile

From Booklist
Except for a hiatus from 1973 to 1983, civil war has wracked the Sudan for the past 40 years. The current flare-up resumed with the imposition of Islamic law in 1983, against which the Christian/animist/African south has revolted from the Arab north. The war has cost over 1.5 million lives and turned millions more into refugeesliving in the most abject destitution, a disaster the media only cover fitfully. These authors have the experience necessary to write this compendium of the past 10 years of misery: Burr has headed the U.S. government's relief operations since 1989; Collins has written a half-dozen works on the history of the upper Nile peoples. More important than their unspectacular prose style are the facts borne along by their chronological narrative. These generally fall into two categories, the political events--coups, elections, combat, and atrocities--that marked the tightening grip of the Iranian-supported Islamic revolutionary movement, and the ineffectiveness of humanitarian organizations trying to alleviate drought and desertification. Because few libraries collect books on contemporary Sudan, a news hole exists that this matter-of-fact title can fill. Gilbert Taylor

From Book News, Inc.
The gruesome tale of how civil war descended onto a people weakened by drought and famine, and how over a million people have either died or been displaced since 1983 while relief efforts continue to be thwarted by bureaucratic infighting, corruption, greed, and ineptitude. Drawn from previously unreleased documents from the Sudanese government, famine relief agencies, and the international media. Paper edition (unseen), $19.95. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Book Description
After a decade of uneasy peace, the historic conflict between the Northern and Southern Sudanese erupted into violent conflict in 1983. This ferocious civil war has devastated the populace, who have also suffered the ravages of drought and famine. Over a million people have either perished or been displaced. This chilling account is based on a wealth of documents - never made public - from Sudanese government sources, private and foreign governmental famine relief agencies, and international media. The authors graphically recount how the attempts of international and humanitarian organizations to provide food and medical relief have been thwarted by bureaucratic infighting, corruption, greed, and ineptitude. It is a sad tale of the tragic human consequences of the failure of conflict resolution, of organizational mismanagement, and of a government hostile toward its own people.


Buy from Amazon     Compare Prices

After a decade of uneasy peace, the historic conflict between the Northern and Southern Sudanese erupted into violent conflict in 1983. This ferocious civil war has devastated the populace, who have also suffered the ravages of drought and famine. Over a million people have either perished or been displaced. This chilling account is based on a wealth of documents - never made public - from Sudanese government sources, private and foreign governmental famine relief agencies, and international media. The authors graphically recount how the attempts of international and humanitarian organizations to provide food and medical relief have been thwarted by bureaucratic infighting, corruption, greed, and ineptitude. It is a sad tale of the tragic human consequences of the failure of conflict resolution, of organizational mismanagement, and of a government hostile toward its own people.


Buy from Barnes & Noble     Compare Prices