Letters on Suleiman Jamous

The following are email messages World Politics Review received in response to Day 16 of Kurt Pelda’s “Among Darfur Rebels and Refugees: A Road Diary,” in which he criticized rebel leader Suleiman Jamous. Pelda’s response to these letters is contained in his epilogue to the diary.

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Aug. 2, 2007

Sir:

Kurt Pelda’s insinuation that Suleiman Jamous was not a legitimate humanitarian coordinator for the SLA is unfounded. During the time in which Suleiman held this position, he interacted on a day-to-day basis with numerous international agencies, all of whom came to hold him in high esteem for his efficiency, honesty and commitment to human rights. He never requested payment for services rendered, as the experienced correspondents and humanitarians who who dealt with him extensively can testify.

During the Abuja peace talks, Suleiman was the most active of the SLM leaders in encouraging the rebels to participate and to try to establish a reasonable common negotiating position. He served as the conscience of the Darfur resistance. He added clarity of purpose and a sense of principle to a rebel leadership that was consumed by a brutal power grab. He is one of the very few individuals to emerge from the Darfur crisis with moral integrity.

Mia Farrow, UNICEF goodwill ambassador
Julie Flint, independent researcher and writer
Alex de Waal, fellow of the Global Equity Initiative, Harvard University

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Aug. 2, 2007

Sir:

I was very surprised to read Kurt Pelda’s description of Suleiman Jamous in his diary. His portrayal did not match my own experience with Jamous in the least; nor did his doubt at Jamous’s role as Humanitarian Coordinator reflect testimonies I have heard from multiple aid workers in Darfur.

I met Suleiman Jamous in 2004 as I was filming “Darfur Diaries.” He was busy ensuring that hundreds of thousands of civilians in rebel-held areas of Darfur received the basic foodstuffs they needed to survive. His satphone rang constantly, as representatives from countless NGOs called him to discuss timing and logistics of delivery of aid to far-flung villages. According to Jan Pronk, Kofi Annan’s Special Representative to Darfur, “Suleiman Jamous fulfilled a crucial function. Without him access by U.N. agencies and NGOs would have been much more difficult and limited. Due to his work the lives of many people in the areas controlled by the rebel movements were saved.”

Jamous was a valued contact for journalists as well, facilitating our safe passage to and from Darfur. Jamous never asked me for financial remuneration. He expressed only gratitude that we were there in order to bring the voices of Darfuris to the world.

Since Jamous was removed from Darfur, the humanitarian situation has worsened considerably. A humanitarian worker in North Darfur says, “After Jamous was taken out of Darfur, I saw what happened to humanitarian access. It quickly deteriorated because of the increase in insecurity, but also because of the lack of coordination and support in his absence.”

The Suleiman Jamous I know is a courageous humanitarian who facilitated the delivery of relief behind rebel lines and expanded the humanitarian space that is now so dangerously shrinking. He is a dedicated reformer of human rights abuses and a unifying leader of a rebel movement whose splintering has resulted in further civilian suffering and deaths.

Jen Marlowe
Co-Author/Co-Director
Darfur Diaries

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Aug. 3, 2007

[To the Editor],

As a UNICEF Ambassador of many years and a person who has, since 2004, visited the Darfur region six times, I am well acquainted with the extraordinary humanitarian work of Suleiman Jamous.

Mr. Jamous is a man of indisputable moral integrity who is responsible for saving tens of thousands of lives.

The head of a prominent aid organization has said, “There is no doubt that Suleiman Jamous was very important to humanitarian agencies.” He described Mr. Jamous as a champion of “humanitarian principles and human rights.” He said, “There is no doubt that not having him in Darfur has made access negotiations less certain and more complicated.”

As you may know, for 13 months Suleiman Jamous has been deprived of his liberty by the Government of Sudan. His presence is sorely missed by aid workers who cannot reach one million displaced people — an unprecedented number.

U.N. doctors in Kadugli where he is being held say the elderly Mr. Jamous is in poor health.

Suleiman Jamous is deeply respected across the rebel divide and by humanitarians everywhere.

Sincerely,

Mia Farrow

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Aug. 3, 2007

[To the Editor],

I am writing at the suggestion of several of my colleagues regarding Suleiman Jamous. I can vouch first hand for the universal admiration and respect he commands within the humanitarian community. I’m attaching a Wall Street Journal op-ed I wrote earlier this summer on Mr. Jamous’s case.

Best,

Ronan Farrow

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Aug. 3, 2007

[To the Editor],

Like many who follow Darfur (in my case for 23 years), I was dismayed by the description of Suleiman Jamous in Kurt Pelda’s blog. When doing the field research for my Ph.D. during the Darfur famine of 1984-5, I coined the term “disaster tourism” to describe the ways in which dignitaries, journalists and aid workers engaged with Darfur and other far-flung, rarely-[in-the]-news places, rarely taking the time and effort to understand what was really going on and jumping to conclusions that appeared plausible but were often wrong. It seems to me that in his [diary], Mr. Pelda has lived down to this stereotype.

Dozens of experienced journalists, diplomats and relief workers have had extensive interactions with Mr. Jamous over recent years and they unfailingly describe him as a man of integrity, courage and hospitality-his patience tested by the innumerable and onerous demands made of him, sometimes rudely or whimsically, by visiting journalists with little understanding of the constraints under which he was struggling to accomplish his humanitarian mission. It may well be that Mr. Pelda’s encounter with Mr. Jamous occurred during a trip that was as frustrating and fruitless as the one recounted in dismal detail in his current [diary], but it is sad that he did not take the trouble to research Mr. Jamous’s record properly before recording such subjective, and in my view, misleading impressions, in print.

Yours sincerely,

Alex de Waal

To read Kurt Pelda’s response to these letters, see “Darfur Diary Epilogue: Of Hybrid Operations, Climate Change and Mia Farrow.”

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