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Hear
the Cleric chant (requires QuickTime)
Cleric
Ishag Molgoni Kasibu, from Tina, Western Darfur, Sudan, is now
in Mile Refugee Camps. His village was barraged by Antinov bombers,
helicopter gunships, soldiers in Land Cruiser pickups, and Janjaweed
militias in a coordinated attack on the 20th of May 2004. The
Janjaweed are thought to have been assembled, armed and supported
by the government of Sudan.
"I
had heard the Arabs hate blacks before my village was attacked.
I even had heard the Janjaweed were raiding," explains
Ishag."Now I see no Arabs in camps - no Arab refugees.
If the Government was not working with them they would be here
too."
As
an Islamic Cleric, Ishag would climb the minarets to perform
the call to prayer. He was revered for the caliber of his voice
by many in the camp where he is today. Ishag has nine family
members with him in Mile camp in Eastern Chad where more than
300,000 Darfur people now reside.
His
family thinks Ishag has gone insane since the bombings - a kind
of shell-shock - for now he is clearly showing signs of high
anxiety and post traumatic stress. "I hear the Avntinov's
and bombs always now," he says. "Are you hearing them
now?" I ask. "Yes, now," admits Ishag.
His
brother reveals that he is haunted by nightmares of being attacked
at night. Singing is the only way for him to deal with the fear
and to avoid thinking of the bombs falling from the sky and
the Janjaweed and government forces that terrorized him back
in Sudan. He has had nightmares every night since fleeing his
country. And while people in the camp suspect his isn't all
there anymore they still enjoy his voice.
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