The war in Sudan still interests the media around the world. But since the beginning of the conflict, the media coverage seems less and less important. What must be done so that Sudan does not fall into oblivion?
Chad, South Sudan, Egypt… Hundreds of Sudanese are fleeing Sudan again and again. But in the newspapers, the media euphoria of the beginnings of the war gave way to increasingly scattered articles. However, the conflict is likely to resume even more violently in the hours to come, after the failure of talks between the two camps. And with the violence, it is an entire population that risks the worst: "All the food security of the country and its surroundings" is threatened, according to the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development.
But between the crisis in Tigray and that in South Sudan, it is easy to imagine that the Sudanese war will fall into oblivion in a few months... In the east of the country, the media silence has long been deafening. And this despite the thousands of victims and displaced people in Darfur. Also in the south. Two years ago, the UN mission of UNOPS considered that "the refugee crisis in South Sudan is largely forgotten".
Alert to help people
The CARE association, which fights against inequalities, identifies "forgotten humanitarian crises" each year by analyzing thousands of data. And it is clear that Africa is of less and less interest to the international media – even if they are at war. “For the first time since the publication of this report, these 10 least publicized crises are all in Africa,” laments CARE.
The association wants “to invite the public and the media to reflect on their choices, in what they decide to put on the front page or in the information they consume. Because in a certain way, we all have our part to play”. And the consequences of forgetting are terrible. In the Central African Republic, Ethiopia and the DRC, war is raging and countries are generally forced to fend for themselves, or with UN units. To talk about it is to provoke a massive influx of aid: the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, indicates the NGO, “has been enormously relayed by the media, which has led to an incredible outpouring of generosity”.
For the Sudanese populations, it is therefore better that the conflict between Dogolo and al-Burhane be publicized for as long as possible. Because if the fighting has already left more than 1 dead and 800 million refugees and displaced persons, the toll can only increase in the future. What should we hope for images of Sudan to always be in the headlines? The international community has a role to play. We have seen it: each time that it has failed to be active in resolving conflicts, the latter have fallen into oblivion.