Youth Rally for Peace in Sudan

Children in Sudan have never known peace.

For 21 years, a civil war has raged in this east African country, which is bordered by Ethiopia, Egypt, Libya, Kenya, and others countries, as well as the Red Sea. Once a colony of the U.K., today Sudan is ruled by military elite and Islamists. The government has enforced economic, political, and social domination of non-Muslim, non-Arab southern Sudanese. Christians and animists in the south have been pitted against the Arab and Muslim dominated north since 1983. At issue are questions of fair distribution of resources, religious intolerance, and civil and human rights.

The war and resulting famine have led to 2 million deaths and over 4 million people displaced from their homes. Children have suffered from lack of food, education, and adequate medical care, as well as living under the constant threat of violence, uncertainty, and conflict.

Now, however, they are demanding peace. The Associated Press and BBC News report that school children on Monday marched on the presidential palace in Khartoum, carrying signs that read, "No to war!" and "In peace we grow!"

Sudan Peace and Dignity, who organized the march, plan to bring some of the youth to Kenya, where Sudan's peace talks are taking place, to plead their case to the negotiating parties.

To learn more, read the article Sudanese children march for peace on the BBC website.

Catholic Connections

"Children should also be encouraged to contribute their own small efforts in building a better future for their peers around the world, making use of their talents and gifts for their personal growth and for the good of society.... In our day and age, the recognition of the rights of the child has undoubtedly made progress. But the violation of these rights in practice, exemplified by the many terrible assaults on their innocence and dignity, remains a cause for distress and, at the same time, calls us into action. We must see to it that the welfare of the child is always given priority during all the stages of its development, right from the moment of its conception when they become individual human beings. The international community should assure the well-being of children through political action at the highest level; for, in the end, the attention we give now for the well-being of the children is an assurance for the well-being of society, now and in the future. Since children are in need of almost everything, they can only spend a peaceful and joyful childhood when they have our solidarity and care. We must not fail them."
Msgr. Celestino Migliore, Address to the General Assembly of the United Nations on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Children, Monday, 20 October 2003

Reflection Questions

What issues do young people here in America face? How can children and teens stand up for themselves and work for a better future?

Join us in our Forum to discuss these questions!