Press Release/Commentary by CIS posted on July 13, 2004 at 16:14:00: EST (-5 GMT)

REVIEW: Sudan Conflict is a Concoction of Several Wars, Says Priest in New Book

Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)
July 13, 2004

The conflict in Sudan is a mixture of several wars, and ending it will necessarily involve finding solutions to all the small wars within the big one, a new book published recently in Kenya says.

The book, 'Travelling With Soldiers and Bishops', written by Fr Mathew Haumann MHM, a Mill Hill Missionary who has spent several years in Sudan, identifies lack of education among the young people as causes of conflicts, although the warring factions also fight among themselves at times.

"There are smaller wars within the big one," Fr Haumann writes. "In the South, different factions of the SPLA [Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement] have been fighting each other. But also in the north government faces opposition from people in Darfur and Bedja."

In the book that comes in the wake of a recently signed peace agreement in Sudan, Fr Haumann seeks the experience of several victims especially women and children who have been directly affected by the oldest war on the continent.

In one experience, Ben Yak, a Sudanese boy who is seeking refuge in the USA describes how his village was attacked when he was only ten years old. He and many other Sudanese boys lost trace of their families and relatives during such attacks.

The 166-page book is published by the Paulines Publications Africa, and is available for KShs 600 (US $ 8).