Sudan survivors answer your questions

Four-and-a-half years of fighting between Sudan's government, pro-government Arab militias and rebel groups in the western Sudanese region of Darfur has driven more than 2m people from their homes.

The government denies links to the Janjaweed militia, which is accused of trying to "cleanse" black Africans from large swathes of territory.

Q: To me, rape is the most violent and mentally destructive act that can happen to a woman. I constantly hear about all the rapes that happen to women in the camps. How in the world do so many women, especially the ones you know, survive being raped multiple times and find the strength to smile in photos?

Hawa: Me, myself I am trying to work at a workshop with people who have been raped. I try to offer them moral support. Naturally, people are changing their minds over the rape issue but it is still painful. Women are ostracised less now. And the women have the courage to talk about it, not like before.

Khadija: Before it was a very big problem and the father or brothers of the girl would kill the person responsible. But now rape has become common because of the fighting. Previously, the girls would be cast out of society and no young man would marry them. She would be ostracised. But now that rape is common the victims are not being ostracised. Society is changing our ideas and they are supporting these women more by letting them live a normal life. But it is still difficult. I smile because I strongly believe that everything that happens to us is God's will. And this is what our father taught us. Even death is by God's will. And we are all going to die.

Mohammed: The face cannot reflect all the time what is inside the heart. We have a saying: a laugh or smile can cover your tears.

Khadija: We would get up before sunset to pray. Then I would drink a cup of tea and take my food with me to the farm and work until it got too hot. After lunch I would work again until the sun set. Then I would take my donkey back home. I used to cook for my husband and my sons and then we would have dinner. We would go to sleep between 2000 and 2100 local time after we had sat around talking. I was happy with my life then.

My house was one room and I had a small shop on the corner. There was a green tree outside. We used to work very hard in the rainy season. We would harvest between July and September - okra, watermelons, different kinds of seeds and tomatoes. I would sell the surplus. In the summer time we used to harvest tobacco because it does not need much water. We used to have folklore parties when there was a wedding or any kind of celebration - girls and boys would dance together and old women would sing.

Khaled: We are not expecting big results from the negotiations because it is not well-organised and because of the place and the time - some movements are not participating, especially the main and important ones. The lack of guarantees from the government is another problem. They are not serious about the demands of the rebels.

Hawa: The Libya talks are going to be useless. We need security on the ground first. We need the hybrid force on the ground. The talks shouldn't be held in Libya because it is not neutral. We also want compensation and we want development all over Darfur. Abdul Wahid leader of one of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army factions understands our ideas - we are not against the talks but they have to be serious. We need all the movements to be at the negotiating table. There is a theory here amongst us that the rebel splinter groups are being paid by the government and the international community.

Mohammed: The talks in Libya are not going to succeed for a number of reasons, including the place - Libya is assisting the Janjaweed as it is part of the Arab agenda- and the time - UN chief Ban Ki Moon only spoke to the government, not the rebels. And now the rebels are not taking part. Thirdly, the mediator is not neutral - Colonel Gaddafi thinks the problem of Darfur is just an internal problem of camels.

Q: From my understanding, there appears to be two views from political experts on how to approach the current situation. One view is to send in UN troops to bring a halt to the violence thus saving civilian lives and the other view is to continue support and funding of the African Union. What do you think is needed to be done to reduce and hopefully stop the fighting and killing completely?

Khaled: To stop the killings we there needs to be a neutral force on the ground like the planned hybrid one. People have to work harder together to know the causes of the problems and to give the right medicine to eradicate this sickness. I am not worried about the international community. I have sat with the African Union soldiers many times and they tell us their mandate is to monitor and report only, and they are not responsible for even protecting themselves - this is not enough for Darfur. We need protection. They have very few mandates and I feel sorry for them. We need people who can stop the shooting, not just monitor.

Wodi: It is very important to have the hybrid African Union/European Union peacekeeping force. We think they will learn from the mistakes of the African Union and the rebel movements. And they can come in with new ideas to help and protect us. I hope they can be here before tomorrow. Because the government is still terrifying us inside the camps - people wearing uniforms.

Q: I am currently doing a research project in which I looking at the security (or lack thereof) in internally displaced people camps. Could you tell me if there were any protection forces in the camp? Was there any method of screening individuals entering the camp?

Omda: There is less violence in the camp than before. When the government heard that the international force were coming they reduced their presence and so there is less than before but it is still very violent. Everyday after 1900 local time you can hear gunshots.

Hawa: The situation is really hard for me and my mum is trying to help me. She is working as a private trader selling onions. Sometimes I work as a volunteer for the non-governmental organisations (NGOs). My university fees are $250 each semester. There are two a year. And I have to pay at the beginning of each semester.

Hawa: Women and children are suffering from lack of security in different ways. We are being terrorised by the government. The government drive cars very fast through the camp and it makes the children very afraid. Further education is still difficult and we struggle from poor nutrition. We are suffering, especially the women and the children.

Khadija: There is a shortage of water. We have to buy one can a day for 25c, so unless you work you don't get any money or water. Sometimes there is food, but not all the time. We get food rations once a month from the United Nations World Food Programme but it is not enough unless you add something. They provide for a max of four people in a family but in mine there are 10 of us. There's an NGO hospital that can get you a doctor and a prescription but we can't get medicine because it is expensive. So we share with other people. We have an NGO elementary school for which you pay two Sudanese pounds ($1) a month. It goes to the teachers who are from the camp. There is no high school.

Omda: We don't think that the camps are safe. Every day we listen to shootings by the government - they want us to be afraid. The government security used to check the camps because they thought the people in the camps were part of the rebel groups. They still do check us, even now.

Q: Some world leaders have said that the root cause of the crisis in Darfur is global warming and the ensuing competition for scare resources in the region. Others have described the situation as a civil war due to long-standing tribal tensions. Do you feel that either of these analyses accurately explain the reasons behind the conflict in Darfur?

Khaled: The main cause of this problem is the government and the marginalisation of the people of Darfur. And the lack of services and development. The Darfuris have no voice in the government. I think the government had an idea to help the people close to them - the Arab tribes - but I am not sure if they want to completely eradicate all the African tribes.

Khadija: If you want to know and to look at the cause of the problem, go to Khartoum airport and then go to El Fasher airport and you will see the difference. That's what has caused the problem. People in Khartoum are living in a good situation but here we are very neglected.

Mohammed: Before, the people were living peacefully as one tribe but unfortunately the government had its own agenda - they wanted to create these problems because they believe that they have to make space for all the Arab communities in the north of Africa to help them take over Darfur. Then all the Arab nomads from other countries can come to live in Darfur. It all started in 1916, when they started to remove Darfuris from power.

Q: Do you know what the major differences are between the rebels and the government? Why are Muslims fighting each other?

Mohammed: There's a struggle between Arab and African tribes. The government used to assist the Arab tribes with guns and weapons and at the same time there was no assistance for non-Arabs or protection for all of Sudan, not just Darfur. When they came they wanted to change the land from belonging to African tribes over to Arab ones. They would like to eradicate black skins and only have Arab skins. It is a kind of genocide. And why are they doing this? It is because we have asked for power sharing. But they want to be in government forever so they need to secure their power. Some Arab countries are assisting them like Iraq, Libya, Syria and Malaysia.

Wodi: I am a supporter of Abdul Wahid and I think the rebel movements know the concerns and the problems and the needs of the nation but the government is preventing them helping us. Some people are killing each other not because of religion but because of the money - they are just bandits some of them. It's nothing to do with religion.

Q: What would you like to see happen after the war that will make you feel that justice has been done? Would you like to see anything happen to the perpetrators of these crimes, would you like the government to do something for you and your family specifically or would you like the government to do something big for the whole community?

Mohammed: I don't think there will be any justice or equality unless the people who committed these crimes against us are sent to court. This is not going to happen unless there is some involvement from the international community. Because when we see the people who committed these crimes, they are still in power. This means we have no future. We didn't force anybody to take our wealth - the government decided to send us to camps and even inside the camps they are trying to get rid of us. We are insisting on compensation, both individually and in groups - we need the government to be convinced that they committed crimes and they should pay.

Khaled: Justice in Sudan is not neutral and the people who committed these crimes are ministers like Ahmed Haroun The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for the Sudanese Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmed Haroun for committing war crimes . We believe that people are good inside. But it is not easy to forgive those people who have caused us pain. If there is no justice then we might have to think about bringing it ourselves. People have lost their cattle and wealth - it was looted and taken from them and we need to get it back.

Hawa: Hawa: I believe that there is goodness especially in the international community. They give us their help and they report what we are going through and they give us the humanitarian assistance we need. They care about what we are going through and that's how I can still believe in the goodness of people. I am hoping to be able to live in peace and finish university and to repay society from what I have learnt. I would like to help society by telling people their rights in life - how they can get dignity. I want to help in any way I can.

Wodi: There are radios and televisions in the camp. There is a watching club and we can go there. We listen to BBC Arabic on the radio. People also call us on our mobiles and tell us about what is happening where they are.

Omda: We depend on the media to tell us what's going on when something happens on the ground. The mobile network goes down and that means the government is attacking some places.

Wodi: I don't think there will be peace in the current conditions. We are living as refugees. There are no schools - we are in camps. We lost our money and we don't have our rights. If we get all this back then maybe peace will come.

Mohammed: My future is linked to the future of Darfur. When there's no peace I can't plan for my own future. I am not optimistic because the international community make different resolutions but it has not done any good on the ground. I would be optimistic if I saw the resolutions of the UN carried out.

Khaled: Yes of course it can change a lot. It is the voice of the people around the world and their demands it can be useful but it could be painful for the people getting through their daily lives. But it is better because it will hit the target. The people need the government to be removed and if you want to do something you have to pay the price.

Khaled: We are trying to live our basic lives. We sometimes think of enjoying it but in the back of our minds all the time we are thinking of protection and looking for our daily bread.

Mohammed: People sometimes celebrate but not like before in their old homes. Sometimes you remember the tragedies and the sadness and then it becomes sad and not a celebration - it is very painful.

Q: I am a design student and I am currently working on developing a shelter for displaced people. My concept is a structure that will be easily assembled for immediate relief, but is amenable for later use. What conveniences, beyond a basic shelter would be most important to you - electricity, a stove or running water?

Khadija: It is very nice to talk to people and to know what questions people are asking and for them to find out what our life is like.

Khaled: I wish it could've been done before and I hope that it will happen again soon. We listen to the radio in the camps but I hope the BBC can improve its frequency. We trust the BBC very much.

I met you. No surprises, no sadness, I think that is not right, I think the atmosphere should not be so. However, this is a fact, we calm words, but in the heart there in the end to what, I would like to know only our own? I have not asked you, I would not want to? You just said a few days did not wash.n

I do not know what is the next time there are feelings to update space, your memories again, life is not the word pencil, obliterating heavy, I know that I and your past, my past, I could not have been a completely erase the insistence, however, time, and do not underestimate its capacity, I trust him, we will slowly forget the other side, and then before each trip.n

ZB to Zhejiang, Zhejiang now they have their own shops, there is still Yuan opened a kindergarten teaching English, all are Well dressed, the last winter when encountered on the QQ-yuan, asked how she flies? He said that shoes are not only self-aware feet. Regardless of substandard feet, the first gift or so-yuan has been on show, it is her husband and send him, the first set of the University of Yuan s famous pink underwear.n

Mandrax know mother seriously ill, or being cheated by their parents home, no longer be able to escape marriage and still maintain a close relationship cold winter, and said he would look for opportunities divorce, but a few years continue his business because of this marriage back to life, he a Excentricus commercial success, Han became his lover in a large number.n

ZB to WF, need only 1 for more than an hour of time to chat to. In trains, in a kind-hearted youth, in the seat tight budgetary situation, he give me a small place, be grateful while he also let me be free and he shared a magazine, of course, his dwelling, I dwelling, chat, he wanted to know Qingdao, Qingdao good place!n

Get off, we rented a small bread, and his party, who, six beautiful girls, and one of the very shy thoughtful colleagues the little brother. The Chat car and the driver and found nothing really unique Weifang snack, but when the Weifang Kite Festival, a lot of people will, there will be snack street vendors. But the scenery along the way is good.n

Dongfeng Strand saw in the car on the roller coaster high, we feel cheered up. At the door, a steel structure globe, where we shot first getting ready, in the past, we did some homework and decided to buy 100 yuan to discuss the votes, plus 15 tickets for fun projects. Because we have a large population, beautiful conductor solicit the views of the managers, we cited to 9%, so the tolls on the back of the plan. Very good!n

We vote-buying is, in fact Corsair always feel that no meaning, as a swing! Seeing others in the above ALINSKY swing to swing to, we have no hesitation to get the result is not so easy thing, when the finishes to the highest, my heart would like to be brought to the same time it was also like to massage the heart inside, so several times, the heart itch like Little Worm Climbing the son of the Argentine climb.n

I feel like the same to left out, the up-turn, that moment will feel that they are back to life, but is a small, car to the starting point, I opened his eyes, and good fast, less than three minutes it, I think I can come back once, he did not imagine the horrible and must not be exceeded, all things we have to after personally have experienced not know.n

I would like his father? Her mother so late, and still sitting on the train, his father Where? A little while later, my mother let the children to the father went to the telephone to him 10 more times to the railway station to their results, and my father has been waiting for a train station, it waited for a long time what the past, this unknown, but the beautiful three homes, did give me a warmth, I smiled.n

Home five series, the two have very old, the other three, one is as students, elementary, middle, high school, graduation will each collected a lot of photographs, as have graduated, I and my brother is in a junior high school, his graduation as a teaching upstairs than I that time many more brands what civilized youth, such as good schools, but on both sides of the pot in the House position has not changed, or I was the pot pot?n

Home Harbor analogy is, only now started to understand its meaning, I like a small boat, is an isolated, lonely single fluttering in the sea yo, I do not know come from, Where to next stop seems to have direction, but the front is the vast ocean, it seems that less than a glance the edge, sooner or later it will be the dock. So, go home, get a thorough rest and then be ready for the next departure.

Additional information :

From news.bbc.co.uk:
California Medicine Man. Devoted to furthering the dialogue about healthcare delivery and medical issues on the World Wide Web.
Medicineman is a small group of software experts specializing in application design and development. With over 35 collective years of experience.
Early Native American, Contemporary, American Indian Art gallery. Specializing in Maynard Dixon, Taos Society of Artists, Navajo Rugs, Indian.
An overview of Medicine Man, including cast and credit details, a review.
Medicine man, among Native Americans and other traditional peoples as far back as Paleolithic times, a person believed to possess supernatural.
Then, as a part of this same trip, the spirit medicine is made. Harry continued to run for three nights before the spirit.