Seeds Will Grow

Dear Senators, Representative, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken,

I am your constituent in the state of Missouri. I have been working in and out of Africa and Asia in the nonprofit sector during the past 16 years. My college and graduate education is in community development, intercultural studies, child and family development, and conflict and dispute resolution. I have regularly communicated with your offices and met with your staff in DC to ask for your support to end the Korean War.

Today, I am writing to you about the war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Firstly, let me thank the State Department for its December 6th press release recognizing the war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing that the Sudanese people are enduring. Today, I am asking that, as my government representatives, you do all in your power to:

1. Stop US arms sales or transfers to the UAE or any proxy of Sudan’s warring parties and enforce the arms embargo on Sudan

2. Send much needed humanitarian aid to Sudan 

3. Pressure the UAE and other proxy actors to end any support for the war in Sudan

4. Refocus and intensify work for a ceasefire in Sudan

Personal Connection

I am married to a Sudanese man whose family has been suffering intensely since the outbreak of the war in Sudan on April 15th, 2023. In the last 13 months, he has lost four family members (that we know of) in direct violence and one family member from lack of access to healthcare as a result of the violence. Many of his family members were caught in the crossfire and forced to flee their homes last year. They are still living as internally displaced people. His uncle is struggling to maintain his diabetes without access to medication, and his nephew is caught in a city under siege, trying to survive long enough to escape. My husband’s hometown is filled with encampments of people fleeing the violence, and there are concerning reports that the RSF is approaching. Because the war disrupted food production and distribution networks, many of our family members have been eating one meal per day. Occasionally, our sisters choose to go without food for multiple days to allow their children to continue eating. Our family is one small glimpse at the situation in Sudan today, the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

Imagine, then, my horror to learn that my government continues selling American weapons and weapon systems to the UAE, when it is clearly documented that American weapons are being sent from the UAE to the RSF in Sudan. My government – my elected officials – American companies – American stockholders – are therefore playing a role in this war and have a responsibility to help end it.

US Weapons and Arms Embargo

In January 2024, the UN released a report that the UAE is sending weapons to the RSF in Sudan, validating Wall Street Journal reports of shipments as far back as June 2023. This week, I’ve been learning more through investigative reporting by Rachel Donald, and I’ve been looking through US major arms sales to the UAE reported to Congress over the last several years, including this month, on May 7th. I have also seen images coming out of Sudan with RSF fighters using American-made weapons.

The U.S. Government should strictly enforce current legislative tools, like the Arms Export Control Act, and enforce governmental mechanisms to prevent the export and proliferation of military-relevant items directly and indirectly to Sudan, including preventing the illicit flow of arms to non-state actors and private military companies. Stop US arms sales or transfers to the UAE or any proxy of Sudan’s warring parties and enforce the arms embargo on Sudan. 

Humanitarian Aid

Ultimately, the Sudanese people have played no part in this conflict; two forces currently fight to rule their country, neither of which were chosen by the people. The international community, including the United States, sidelined civilians and legitimized the rule of the military by accepting the coup on October 25, 2021. We bear a responsibility to the Sudanese people to provide humanitarian relief and to apply pressure to end the conflict.

Though Sudan’s humanitarian crisis has surpassed that of Ukraine, the United States has provided over $9 billion exclusively in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and its neighboring nations, more than 9 times that provided to Sudan and its neighbors. The revised 2024 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) requires $2.7 billion to provide life-saving multi-sectoral and protection assistance to 14.7 million people in desperate need this year. As of April 2024, only $145 million has been donated, with the US contributing roughly $16.3 million. This is a mere 5% of the need. 

Sudan needs more humanitarian aid funding, and at a much more rapid pace, to close the gap. The United States government should work to ensure the safe passage of humanitarian aid convoys and cooperate with trusted NGOs such as the World Food Program and the Red Crescent. Sudan is on the brink of famine with 43% of the population suffering from acute food insecurity, and diseases are spreading. I call on you to send tangible humanitarian aid to the Sudanese people. 

Pressure the UAE and other Proxies

It is quite clear that the war in Sudan is unsustainable without foreign allies arming and financing the two parties, effectively making Sudan’s conflict a proxy war. We call on the US government to leverage its relationships and apply targeted pressure on nations such as the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, whose involvement in the war has led to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. Pressure the UAE and other proxy actors to end any support for the war in Sudan.

Ceasefire

Although I watched early talks in Jeddah with great interest, US efforts toward a ceasefire in Sudan seem to have been put on the back burner. The U.S. should utilize effective pressure to support a broad international coalition to achieve an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, a monitoring mechanism, safe corridors for humanitarian aid, and resumption of suspended aid operations. Refocus and intensify your work for an immediate ceasefire. 

The Sudanese people believe in freedom, peace, and justice. So many Sudanese gave everything in the nonviolent resistance to Sudan’s military government, calling for democracy and civilian rule since 2018. They feel betrayed by the international community, including the United States, who legitimized the military forces now destroying their homeland.

Can I count on you to stand with the Sudanese people and more than 71,000 Sudanese Americans before the crisis worsens even further?

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Friends, thanks for reading this far.

Please join me and write to your government representatives.

More information and templates to craft your own letters:
www.sudanaction.org