Isn’t it time for this chatterbox to be silent?
As I see it
Adel Al-Baz
In just one week, I read dozens of statements in various newspapers and websites from the U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, Tom Perl. I followed three interviews (two with Saad Al-Kabali) and a final interview where he met with a group of journalists. In all these interviews, there is nothing new. The envoy repeats the same nonsense that he spews at us every time. It seems to me that this man was sent to fill cyberspace with thick smoke to obscure the real American role being played by the U.S. administration through what is known as the International Coalition for Peace and Saving Lives in Sudan, which includes the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, the United Nations, and the African Union. Imagine a coalition that includes the UAE raising the slogan of saving lives, those very lives that are daily wasted by the weapons of the UAE and the U.S.! How absurd.
In the envoy’s last interview, a question caught my attention, and I was surprised by his answer. The question was posed by the specialized economic site Bloomberg: “How does the international community seek to open corridors within Sudan without also seeking to deliver aid to millions of Sudanese refugees outside Sudan who are also suffering?” It’s a clever question, as all of America and its allies’ rhetoric has focused on the claim that Sudan is preventing aid from reaching citizens, and that lie has deceived many due to its tiresome repetition in hostile media. The clever question from Bloomberg’s journalist, Mohamed Al-Amin, essentially asks: There are 2,100,000 (two million, one hundred thousand) refugees according to the latest report from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in neighboring countries who need aid. So what is stopping you from delivering aid to them if you claim that the government is preventing aid? Does the Sudanese government or the army control refugee camps within those countries? Of course not. So why haven’t they received aid?
Look at the envoy’s response to Bloomberg’s question: “There is no doubt that there are large numbers of refugees in camps and urban areas in Ethiopia, Egypt, Chad, Uganda, Kenya, and many other countries. We have worked to support these communities financially and have also worked as logistical partners. We will continue our efforts to support refugees outside Sudan.” Is this really an answer to the question? We worked to support what? Support what exactly? And how much support have you provided so far? The truth is that you haven’t supported at all, even though there are no obstacles preventing you from providing support, even though the refugees in all the mentioned areas are outside Sudan. More than 2,165,833 refugees, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as of August 26th, are in need of support! They have received no support (the envoy said we are working). If we believe that the envoy is still “working on it”… then why accuse the government of preventing something that hasn’t even been provided… something that doesn’t exist?
The most astonishing part is that 17 international humanitarian organizations working in refugee relief on the borders within Chad issued a statement two months ago confirming that only 17% of the promised funding had actually reached them! Therefore, the noise that this envoy raises about relief, famine, and refugees is questionable in its objectives. How can you fail to relieve millions who are outside Sudan and insist on opening a specific corridor (Adré) to relieve the displaced inside? There is something strange going on here!
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in its latest report in August that 24,800,000 (twenty-four million eight hundred thousand refugees) need assistance, but only 14,700,000 (fourteen million seven hundred thousand) are targeted for help. It also stated that 7,900,000 (seven million nine hundred thousand) are internally displaced, and to provide relief to all these refugees and displaced groups, they need $2,700,000,000 (two billion seven hundred million dollars), of which they have only received $1,100,000,000 (one billion one hundred million dollars) throughout 2024, representing just 40% of the total amount needed to cover urgent relief needs!
From this, it becomes clear that the issues of relief and famine are just a smokescreen. While the need for relief is undeniable and the famine caused by the militia in some areas is known, the issue is not about opening a single corridor; once it’s opened, famine will end, and the relief problem will be solved. As the above report from the High Commissioner shows, the real issue is that there isn’t enough funding to carry out relief operations, and support refugees, and displaced people. For these reasons, which the envoy Tom Perl cannot disclose because they reveal his agenda, the media frenzy about corridors and relief is nothing but deception, aimed at obscuring the real goal, which is to provide the militia with the means of survival, not to help the refugees or displaced people who have not received anything so far. Even the relief that has now entered through the Adré corridor was looted by the militia just the day before yesterday, as Médecins Sans Frontières issued a statement announcing that two trucks heading to El Fasher were hijacked by the Rapid Support Forces! Strangely, the verbose envoy has not yet issued a statement, nor has the High Commissioner condemned the militia that hijacked Médecins Sans Frontières’ relief, violating its commitments in Geneva, which have not yet dried! Mr. Perl, stop your empty rhetoric. In these last days of your mission, focus on saying goodbye to your friends and colleagues who gathered at all the conferences, but did not achieve anything for you, leaving you empty-handed with no accomplishments. Be silent and leave our land and sky as quickly as you can… May God not reward your efforts!
