New Archbishop of Sudan Spoke at Washington University, and will preach and celebrate at Trinity, CWE May 4th
Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul Yak of the Episcopal Church of Sudan addressed an auditorium of Washington University students on Thursday, May 1, recounting details of the civil war and resulting CPA peace agreement in his country, while urging students to put pressure on their senators, congressmen, and the President to assist the peace and hold President Al-Bashir accountable to his agreements.'Just because a peace agreement was signed doesn't mean all is right,' Deng said. 'People are coming back, but they are not coming back to a perfect place. There is much work to do to get people resettled.' He said many of the people return to the place they thought were their villages -- and nothing is there, nothing is left. So they are starting from scratch, literally, he said. 'This is a huge problem.' They need water, tractors, seed, grinding mills, and mostly education, including technical education.
He said the U.S. has spent millions of dollars, along with other countries to establish this peace, so all parts of the CPA must be implemented, and not become merely 'words on paper.' He said the pressure must be kept on the Sudanese government to stem the tide of the janjaweed slaughter.
With a stabilized Sudan, agicultural and business development will occur, and assistance, like that from U.S. corporations may then occur. Deng, also linked the conflict in Darfur and Southern Sudan, saying both regions have suffered at the hands of 'Arabs who have been killing both black muslims (in Darfur), and black African Sudanese (in the South and parts of the North) and marginalized them: completely destroying their villages, raping the girls and women, driving them into the bush and away from their native homes.' Although, Deng said his church has a diocese, a bishop and several priests in the Darfur region, which he sees as "a sign of hope that peace will come." But Deng also said nongovernmental organizations were leading the relief efforts, and while their help was needed and appreciated, he expects more from the international community. "We are not getting the support we need from our partners abroad," he said. "The church needs our brothers and sisters in the U.S. and the U.K. to help us with education, with health care. The Archbishop will be preaching at Trinity, CWE on Sunday, May 4th at 10:30 a.m.
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