 |
|
Satellite images show destroyed and threatened villages in Darfur
June 06, 2007A pioneering AAAS program that provides technical expertise to human rights groups is helping Amnesty International USA with a new online effort to monitor threatened settlements in the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan and provide evidence of destroyed villages.
High-resolution commercial satellite images, analyzed by AAAS researchers, will be posted after 12:01 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time Wednesday, 6 June to Amnesty International's new "Eyes on Darfur" Web site (www.eyesondarfur.org). The project is the first effort by a human rights group to use satellite cameras to help protect vulnerable populations. It will allow computer users around the globe to visually track the status of settlements Amnesty International considers possible targets of attack.
The new site includes up-to-date images on 12 intact but vulnerable villages as well as archival satellite photos documenting the destruction of a dozen settlements in Darfur since January 2005. Lars Bromley, project director for the AAAS Science and Human Rights Program, said the commercially available photos can show objects as small as two feet across, sufficient to show destruction of huts and other structures.
"We provide the geospatial support," Bromley said. "We're just providing a new form of content," but content can have dramatic impact. "By analyzing geospatial images, we can see that whole villages, some with more than 1,000 homes, have been destroyed" since the beginning of 2005, Bromley said. The images also show the appearance of makeshift settlements of displaced persons in close proximity to the small contingent of African Union monitoring forces in Darfur.
AAAS is a nonprofit, non-advocacy group, Bromley said, but it has long sought ways to use scientific methods, including forensic sciences and statistics, to help advance human rights.
Although the Sudanese government signed a peace agreement with the main rebel group in May 2006, the violence in the Darfur has continued. Pro-government Arab militias called janjaweed have been accused of genocide against non-Arab Africans who live in the region.
The new online monitoring program, which Amnesty International officials hope will increase pressure on Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to help end the violence, was funded by the Save Darfur Coalition. The nonprofit advocacy group has been urging the United States and others to back a larger multinational peacekeeping force in Darfur.
The Eyes on Darfur Web site will be launched 6 June to coincide with a presentation on the project during the Fifth International Symposium on Digital Earth on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. Ariela Blatter, director of crisis prevention and response for Amnesty International USA, and Bromley of AAAS will discuss the project during a session from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m., U.S Pacific Time.
The Darfur images are being collected by a AAAS program, begun in January 2006, that has been exploring how satellite imagery and other cutting-edge geospatial technologies can be used to help assess human rights violations and stop others before they occur. The program received a one-year pilot grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and that recently was renewed for three years.
"The imaging initiative is an excellent example of how science and technology can be applied to help expose human rights violations," said Mona Younis, director of the Science and Human Rights program at AAAS. "The project is the latest in a 30-year effort by AAAS that has included documenting atrocities from Guatemala to Kosovo, while also working to promote basic human rights worldwide."
Last year, the imaging program -- in cooperation with Amnesty International in London and the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights -- produced satellite images showing strong evidence the government of Zimbabwe had destroyed a settlement west of Harare and relocated thousands of residents as part of a political campaign against opponents.
For the Eyes on Darfur project, Amnesty International researchers provide Bromley with the names of villages of interest, gathered from media reports and other sources. Geospatial coordinates for the villages rarely are available. Also, the spelling of place names can vary or names can be changed altogether after a village is overrun. "The process is laborious." Bromley said. Even when village locations are mapped, archival satellite images may not be available for a specific locale and time. When trying to document a past incident, it is crucial that there be images available before and after the attack.
The archival section of the new online site shows the sort of destruction that already has occurred throughout Darfur. A village called Donkey Dereis, in south Darfur, was intact when photographed at the end of 2004. An image two years later shows the near total destruction of the village, with 1,171 homes classified as "definitely destroyed." Most of the huts have disappeared, Bromley said, and homestead areas have become overgrown with vegetation.
Photos in 2004 of an area called Ishma show a series of villages that were destroyed or heavily damaged during a road clearing operation. One of the villages is essentially gone. "It was just scorched out of the area," Bromley said.
Some of the archival images starkly show the movement of displaced persons in the area. While many have fled to refugee camps in eastern Chad, makeshift settlements also have grown within Darfur. A plain outside the city of Tawilla is empty in 2003. By the end of 2004, some scattered huts have appeared and by February, 2006, hundreds of structures are crammed up against the wall of a base occupied by a small monitoring force from the African Union.
The sites that will be monitored for any evidence of violent change include a settlement in northern Darfur called Malam el Hosh that is in a very dry, arid location. Nearby is a fairly large water source-essentially a village well-that might be attractive to militias.
In addition to Amnesty International USA, the AAAS geospatial imaging program's partners include the U.N. Special Advisor for the Prevention of Genocide; the National Resources Defense Council; the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; the U.S. Campaign for Burma and EQUITAS, the international center for human rights education. Three satellite image companies -- DigitalGlobe in Longmont, Colorado, GeoEye in Dulles, Virginia and ImageSat in Netherlands Antilles -- have provided images at discounted prices. In addition to Zimbabwe and Darfur, the AAAS program also has done some work on Lebanon and will be turning its attention to Burma (also known as Myanmar).
The Eyes on Darfur project largely involves providing technical expertise and analysis with techniques that are now mature, Bromley said. In the coming months, the AAAS program will explore other imagery tools that might be useful for human rights monitoring, including sensors that can pick up use of fire in conflicts or night-time light monitors that can detect habitation patterns.
Amnesty International
"We provide the geospatial support," Bromley said. "We're just providing a new form of content," but content can have dramatic impact. "By analyzing geospatial images, we can see that whole villages, some with more than 1,000 homes, have been destroyed" since the beginning of 2005, Bromley said. The images also show the appearance of makeshift settlements of displaced persons in close proximity to the small contingent of African Union monitoring forces in Darfur.
AAAS is a nonprofit, non-advocacy group, Bromley said, but it has long sought ways to use scientific methods, including forensic sciences and statistics, to help advance human rights.
Although the Sudanese government signed a peace agreement with the main rebel group in May 2006, the violence in the Darfur has continued. Pro-government Arab militias called janjaweed have been accused of genocide against non-Arab Africans who live in the region.
The new online monitoring program, which Amnesty International officials hope will increase pressure on Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to help end the violence, was funded by the Save Darfur Coalition. The nonprofit advocacy group has been urging the United States and others to back a larger multinational peacekeeping force in Darfur.
The Eyes on Darfur Web site will be launched 6 June to coincide with a presentation on the project during the Fifth International Symposium on Digital Earth on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. Ariela Blatter, director of crisis prevention and response for Amnesty International USA, and Bromley of AAAS will discuss the project during a session from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m., U.S Pacific Time.
The Darfur images are being collected by a AAAS program, begun in January 2006, that has been exploring how satellite imagery and other cutting-edge geospatial technologies can be used to help assess human rights violations and stop others before they occur. The program received a one-year pilot grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and that recently was renewed for three years.
"The imaging initiative is an excellent example of how science and technology can be applied to help expose human rights violations," said Mona Younis, director of the Science and Human Rights program at AAAS. "The project is the latest in a 30-year effort by AAAS that has included documenting atrocities from Guatemala to Kosovo, while also working to promote basic human rights worldwide."
Last year, the imaging program -- in cooperation with Amnesty International in London and the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights -- produced satellite images showing strong evidence the government of Zimbabwe had destroyed a settlement west of Harare and relocated thousands of residents as part of a political campaign against opponents.
For the Eyes on Darfur project, Amnesty International researchers provide Bromley with the names of villages of interest, gathered from media reports and other sources. Geospatial coordinates for the villages rarely are available. Also, the spelling of place names can vary or names can be changed altogether after a village is overrun. "The process is laborious." Bromley said. Even when village locations are mapped, archival satellite images may not be available for a specific locale and time. When trying to document a past incident, it is crucial that there be images available before and after the attack.
The archival section of the new online site shows the sort of destruction that already has occurred throughout Darfur. A village called Donkey Dereis, in south Darfur, was intact when photographed at the end of 2004. An image two years later shows the near total destruction of the village, with 1,171 homes classified as "definitely destroyed." Most of the huts have disappeared, Bromley said, and homestead areas have become overgrown with vegetation.
Photos in 2004 of an area called Ishma show a series of villages that were destroyed or heavily damaged during a road clearing operation. One of the villages is essentially gone. "It was just scorched out of the area," Bromley said.
Some of the archival images starkly show the movement of displaced persons in the area. While many have fled to refugee camps in eastern Chad, makeshift settlements also have grown within Darfur. A plain outside the city of Tawilla is empty in 2003. By the end of 2004, some scattered huts have appeared and by February, 2006, hundreds of structures are crammed up against the wall of a base occupied by a small monitoring force from the African Union.
The sites that will be monitored for any evidence of violent change include a settlement in northern Darfur called Malam el Hosh that is in a very dry, arid location. Nearby is a fairly large water source-essentially a village well-that might be attractive to militias.
In addition to Amnesty International USA, the AAAS geospatial imaging program's partners include the U.N. Special Advisor for the Prevention of Genocide; the National Resources Defense Council; the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; the U.S. Campaign for Burma and EQUITAS, the international center for human rights education. Three satellite image companies -- DigitalGlobe in Longmont, Colorado, GeoEye in Dulles, Virginia and ImageSat in Netherlands Antilles -- have provided images at discounted prices. In addition to Zimbabwe and Darfur, the AAAS program also has done some work on Lebanon and will be turning its attention to Burma (also known as Myanmar).
The Eyes on Darfur project largely involves providing technical expertise and analysis with techniques that are now mature, Bromley said. In the coming months, the AAAS program will explore other imagery tools that might be useful for human rights monitoring, including sensors that can pick up use of fire in conflicts or night-time light monitors that can detect habitation patterns.
Amnesty International
Darfur Current Events and Darfur News RSSClimate change may challenge national security, classified report warns
The National Intelligence Council (NIC) has completed a new classified assessment that explores how climate change could threaten U.S. security in the next 20 years by causing political instability, mass movements of refugees, terrorism, or conflicts over water and other resources in specific countries.
What's bugging locusts? It could be they're hungry -- for each other
Since ancient times, locust plagues have been viewed as one of the most spectacular events in nature. In seemingly spontaneous fashion, as many as 10 billion critters can suddenly swarm the air and carpet the ground, blazing destructive paths that bring starvation and economic ruin.
Number of conflicts in the world no longer declining
The trend toward fewer conflicts reported by peace researchers since the early 1990s now seems to have been broken.
Space data unveils evidence of ancient mega-lake in northern Darfur
Researchers from the Boston University Center for Remote Sensing used recently acquired topographic data from satellites to reveal an ancient mega-lake in the Darfur province of northwestern Sudan.
Study shows Darfur deaths in hundreds of thousands
The unimaginable tale of genocide in Darfur continues to unfold in the news, of people burned, mutilated and otherwise slaughtered.
European Commission's Directorate General, Joint Research Centre (DG JRC) announces the creation of an Observatory for Environment and Sustainable Development for Africa
In close co-operation with the Directorates General for External Relations, Development and the EuropAid and Co-operation Office, the European Commission's Directorate General, Joint Research Centre (DG JRC) is contributing to European Union initiatives in Africa by developing a dedicated Environmental Information System based on satellite and computermapping technologies. This provides information on food needs, helps the European Commission Humanitarian Office provide aid in the aftermath of natural disasters and other emergencies, and helps long-term development through sustainable management of natural resources.
More Darfur Current Events and Darfur News Articles
 |
Darfur Diaries: Stories of Survival by Jen Marlowe (Author), Paul Rusesabagina (Preface), Aisha Bain (Preface), Adam Shapiro (Preface) In February, 2003, the Sudanese Liberation Army in Darfur (the western region of Sudan) after years of oppression took up arms against the Sudanese government. The government and allied militias answered the rebellion with mass murder, rape and the wholesale destruction of villages and livelihood, resulting in one of the world's largest humanitarian and political crises. Up to 2 million people were displaced; 400,000 people killed. In October and November, 2004, after watching woefully inadequate media coverage on the crisis in Darfur, a team of three independent filmmakers trekked to Darfurian refugee camps in eastern Chad and crept across the border into Darfur. They met dozens of Darfurians, and spoke with them about their history, hopes and fears, and the tragedy they are living.... |
 |
Darfur: A New History of a Long War (African Arguments) by Julie Flint (Author), Alex de Waal (Author) The humanitarian tragedy in Darfur has stirred politicians, Hollywood celebrities and students to appeal for a peaceful resolution to the crisis. Beyond the horrific pictures of sprawling refugee camps and lurid accounts of rape and murder lies a complex history steeped in religion, politics, and decades of internal unrest. Darfur traces the origins, organization and ideology of the infamous Janjawiid and other rebel groups, including the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement. It also analyzes the confused responses of the Sudanese government and African Union. This thoroughly updated edition also features a powerful analysis of how the conflict has been received in the international community and the varied attempts at peacekeeping. ... |
 |
Darfur: A 21st Century Genocide, Third Edition (Crises in World Politics) by Gerard Prunier (Author) Praise for the 2005 Edition-- "A passionate and highly readable account of the current tragedy that combines intimate knowledge of the region's history, politics, and sociology with a telling cynicism about the polite but ineffectual diplomatic efforts to end it. It is the best account available of the Darfur crisis."--Foreign Affairs "Does the conflict in Darfur, however bloody, qualify as genocide? Or does the application of the word 'genocide' to Darfur make it harder to understand this conflict in its awful peculiarity? Is it possible that applying a generic label to Darfurian violence makes the task of stopping it harder? Or is questioning the label simply insensitive, implying that whatever has happened in Darfur isn't horrible enough to justify a claim on the world's... |
 |
Darfur Now Starring: Nimeri Issa, Jason Miller (XXV), Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad, Sam Brownback, Asha Abdal Khaleeq Directed By: Ted Braun Making a difference. Now. This acclaimed, inspiring documentary follows six people who are striving to end the suffering in Sudan’s war-ravaged Darfur. The six – an American activist, an international prosecutor, a Sudanese rebel, a sheikh, a leader of the World Food Program, and Don Cheadle, who traverses the globe with fellow actor George Clooney to pressure world leaders – demonstrate the power of one individual to make extraordinary changes. Be an eyewitness to the tragedy and the triumphs, the fear and the pride. Meet the refugees, determined to return to their beloved homeland. And discover how you too can make a difference. |
|
Obey The Hope For Darfur Tee in Black,T-shirts for Men, Extra Extra Large,Black by Obey Obey The Hope For Darfur Tee in Black,T-shirts for Men: Model is wearing a size MEDIUM The Hope For Darfur Tee in Black is made from 100% cotton and features a screen print of three Sudanese children with the words "Hope for Darfur" written underneath and "Obey Awareness" printed at the back of the neck. Showcase your awareness of the horrible atrocities taking place in Darfur by wearing this tee and visiting www.savedarfur.org to do more. By Obey | |
 |
Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond by Don Cheadle (Author), John Prendergast (Author) An Academy Award-nominated actor and a renowned human rights activist team up to change the tragic course of history in the Sudan -- with readers' help While Don Cheadle was filming Hotel Rwanda, a new crisis had already erupted in Darfur, in nearby Sudan. In September 2004, then-Secretary of State Colin Powell termed the atrocities being committed there "genocide" -- and yet two years later things have only gotten worse. 3.5 million Sudanese are going hungry, 2.5 million have been displaced by violence, and 400,000 have died in Darfur to date. Both shocked and energized by this ongoing tragedy, Cheadle teamed up with leading activist John Prendergast to focus the world's attention. Not on Our Watch, their empowering book, offers six strategies readers themselves can... |
 |
Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror by Mahmood Mamdani (Author) From the author of Good Muslim, Bad Muslim comes an important book, unlike any other, that looks at the crisis in Darfur within the context of the history of Sudan and examines the world’s response to that crisis. In Saviors and Survivors, Mahmood Mamdani explains how the conflict in Darfur began as a civil war (1987—89) between nomadic and peasant tribes over fertile land in the south, triggered by a severe drought that had expanded the Sahara Desert by more than sixty miles in forty years; how British colonial officials had artificially tribalized Darfur, dividing its population into “native” and “settler” tribes and creating homelands for the former at the expense of the latter; how the war intensified in the 1990s when the Sudanese government tried unsuccessfully... |
 |
Darfur's Sorrow: A History of Destruction and Genocide by M. W. Daly (Author) Darfur is a region set apart, huge, remote and poverty stricken. Its people are today locked in conflict, terrorised by the lawless Arab militia known as janjawid. As M.W. Daly explains, the roots of the crisis lie deep in Darfur's past. Tracing the story from the origins of the Fur state in the seventeenth century to Darfur's annexation by the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, he shows how years of neglect left the region unprepared for independence. This complex story is told with compassion, insight and a strong sense of place. |
|
Obey The Hope For Darfur Tee in White,T-shirts for Men, Extra Extra Large,White by Obey Obey The Hope For Darfur Tee in White,T-shirts for Men: Model is wearing a size MEDIUM The Hope For Darfur Tee in White is made from 100% cotton and features a screen print of three Sudanese children with the words "Hope for Darfur" written underneath and "Obey Awareness" printed at the back of the neck. Showcase your awareness of the horrible atrocities taking place in Darfur by wearing this tee and visiting www.savedarfur.org to do more. By Obey | |
 |
War in Darfur and the Search for Peace (Studies in Global Equity, Darfur) by Alex de Waal (Editor), Julie Flint (Editor), Ali Haggar (Editor), Musa Abdel Jalil (Editor), Roland Marchal (Editor), Adam Azzain Mohammed (Editor), Deborah Murphy (Editor), Abdul-Jabbar Abdullah Fadul (Editor), Ahmen Kamal El-Din (Editor), Ahmed A. Yousuf (Editor), Rebecca Hamilton (Editor), Chad Hazlett (Editor), Laurie Nathan (Editor), Victor Tanner (Editor), Dawit Toga (Editor), Jérôme Tubiana (Editor) Since it sprang from obscurity to international headlines in 2004, the name "Darfur" has become synonymous with war, massacre, and humanitarian crisis. The crisis had, however, been brewing for far longer, its causes neglected by both scholars and Sudanese leaders. War in Darfur and the Search for Peace is a series of essays by leading Sudanese and international specialists on Darfur, combining original research and analysis. The book provides in-depth analysis of the origins and dimensions of the conflict, including detailed accounts of the evolution of ethnic and religious identities, the breakdown of local administration, the emergence of Arab militia and resistance movements, and regional dimensions to the conflict. The study also focuses on the search for... |
| © 2009 BrightSurf.com |