Darfur Confl ict in

Singapore’s
Perspecti ve
“The Earth provides enough for man’s need but not enough
for man’s greed.” -Gandhi
 Map of Africa

in !
o m
Zo
 Map of Sudan

-Social Inequality
-Prejudice
-Discrimination
-Political Issues

Capital of Sudan

DAR FU R
 Introduction to Sudan
- Largest African country

- Population of 39 million people

- 134 languages

- 3 Conflicting Regions

i. Northern Sudan – Ethnics: Arabic, Religion: Muslims, Port of Sudan, Capital of Sudan: Khartoum

ii. Southern Sudan – Ethnics: Black, Religion: Christians, Oil Wells

iii. Western Sudan(Darfur) – Ethnics: Black, Religion: Muslims, Tribes: Fur, Masalit, Zaghawa

- Sudanese of Arabic ethnicity who have lighter coloured skin are considered more advanced and
higher on the hierarchy of Sudanese people

- Khartoum was a slave-market to sell Black people from Darfur

- Muslim Arabs in Khartoum look down on the Blacks in the Southern and Western parts of Sudan

- Muslim Arabs call the Black people “Abid” or “Slave”

- Nomadic groups of Arabs called “Janjaweed” live among the population of Darfur which has already
led to some ethnic tensions
 2003 till present
Darfur Rebellion against
Timeline of Sudan……
1 January 1956
Northen Sudan Independence of
northern and
-The North seek help southern Sudan
from China, their major through the
oil customer British
1983 - 2005
Second Sudanese Civil War -The north attacked - Increased Ethnic
civilians to get to the Tension
-In 1983, the civil war was reignited when rebels
President Gaafar Nimeiry decided to circumvent
the agreement.
1955 - 1972
-Substantial review of the Addis Ababa First Sudanese Civil War
Agreement in the areas of security arrangements,
border trade, language, culture and religion. -Fears that the north will dominate the
nation
-In June 1983, Southern troops rebelled against
the northern political offensive. - In 1955, the South formed the Anya-
Nya guerilla, the first Sudanese military
-In 1995, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter regime
negotiated a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid
to enter Southern Sudan which lasted almost six - It continued into 1969 when General
months. Gaafar Nimeiry led a successful coup‘d
eate
-Since 1983, civil war and famine has taken the -
lives of nearly 2 million people in Sudan. In 1972, the Addis Ababa agreement of
cessation on the north-south conflict
Prejudice and Discrimination in
Darfur
Q: What triggered such long-lasting ethnic conflicts?

A: Firstly, there are two different ethnic races which are respectively the Arabs and Blacks. In most
ethnic conflicts, the key contributing factor is usually ethnocentricity where people see themselves
superior to others. Also, skin colour has been a major factor for discrimination as we can see in the
States where the Blacks are treated as second class citizens.

In the case of Darfur, the Arabs consider themselves superior to the Blacks because of their lighter
skin colour and political strength. Their political strength came from the capital in northern Sudan
where the government consist of Sudanese Arabs. As such, the people of Darfur and Southern
Sudan were being harshly discriminated by Northern Sudan; being called slaves and sold in the
slave market.

Arabs Blacks
Prejudice and
Discrimination in Darfur (Continued)
Q: What triggered such long-lasting ethnic conflicts?

A: Secondly, Sudan’s main source of income comes from their oil.

Oil is a catalyst for international conflict because wherever there is
oil, there is people looking for positions to make a profit. In
southern Sudan, there are the oil wells where the oil is being
extracted, however, the port is at northern Sudan and both are
necessary to export the oil. Despite having the oil wells, the
payments are all going to northern Sudan because the port is
located there and that is mainly the reason they are able to keep
and hold power over the rest of Sudan.

70% of this oil exported goes to China which makes China their
major customer. Southern Sudan began to question why they did
not receive any of the benefits from the sale of Sudanese oil but the
government in Northern Sudan said “even if they had the money
why would they give it to you.” The south launched a rebellion
which became the 2nd Civil War. Eventually, the south won the war
and receive 49% of the oil revenue.
Prejudice and
Discrimination in Darfur (Continued)
Q: What triggered such long-lasting ethnic conflicts?

A: Darfur was left out of this benefits too thus they

launched their own rebellion in 2003. The North was
in a very dicey situation with the Darfur rebels and
the uncertainty of peace with the South. Thus, they
turned to China, their major customer for help. In
order to protect their oil supply, China supplied them
with modern military weapons.

The north decided to come up with a way of fighting

the war, to get the fish by draining the sea. The fish
being the rebels and the sea is the civilians of Darfur.
They attacked the villages of Darfur with their new
found power supplied by China. In addition, the
“Janjaweed”, Arabs leaving amongst the Darfur
people attacked the village, killed the villagers,
burned the houses and raped the woman. This
ultimately led to the genocide of the Darfur conflict in
2003.
Prejudice and
Discrimination in Darfur (Continued)
Q: What triggered such long-lasting ethnic conflicts?

A: As of 2008, an estimated 400,000 people

have died in the Darfur conflict and 2.5 to 4
million people have been displaced.

In conclusion, countries like China who buy the

resources out of these poor countries are
supporting the government who are not
acceptable of their own ethnic citizens and
giving them military support for their own
biased needs. This clearly explains what
happens when the government takes sides in
the ethnical problems of their own country and
it is truly a sad case to learn about the entire
Darfur conflict in 2003.
 Singapore 2009 vs Darfur
Factor Darfur
Resource scarcity -Lack of fertile land and
drinking water due to
growing desertification
-To cater to about 6.5 m
-People fight over resources
and govt. supports conflict,
eventually to wipe out ‘Arabs’
Economic Land ownership given to elite
rulers and local chief allocate
land to specific individual for
cultivation
Political Govt. prefer locals to Arabs,
support conflict to wipe them
out
Singapore
-Lack of land and water as
natural resource due to
developments
-To cater to 4.8m people
-Govt. negotiate with other
countries for resources
Higher–paying jobs given to
Chinese, rather than
minorities.
Govt favours Chinese, import
Mainland Chinese workers to
set Chinese community at
75% of population
 Singapore 2009 vs Darfur
Factor Darfur Singapore
Multi-cultural community 80 ethnic tribes 4 races with sub ethnic

Treatment of “foreigners” Arabs who just moved Emotional and psychological

into Darfur region needs of foreign workers such
neglected and demonized as Mainland Chinese and
by Sudan govt., depriving Indians moving into Singapore
them of resources are neglected

Housing An additional two million PAP’s public housing scheme to

IDPs live in greater splinter Malay community to
Khartoum under appalling different housing estates in
conditions. Over 270,000 Singapore. Ethnic residential
IDPs have been settled in quotas given to prevent racial
four overcrowded camps. harmony disagreement
 What is discrimination?
action based on prejudice resulting in unfair treatment of people.

To discriminate socially is to make a distinction between people on the basis of class or

category without regard to individual merit

Examples include:

age

Economic class

Physical appearance

Racial

Religious
 Have you been discriminated or have been
unfairly treated?

31%

Ye
s
No

69%

Out of 120 people surveyed, 78 people thinks that they are being discriminated .
 Have you been discriminated or have been
unfairly treated?
Yes

11% 7%
Chinese
Malays
37% Indians
Eurasians
45%

We have surveyed 120people; 30 people for each race. Indians and Malays are
the majority who are being discriminated. This shows that discrimination is
prominent in Singapore.
Discrimination in Singapore

3 main areas :

Racism

Relgious discrimination

Classism
 Racism

racism is not about how you look, it is about

how people assign meaning to how you look –
Robin D.G. Kelley, historian
 Racism
Indian and Chinese wife emigrate to Australia because his wife experienced racial discrimination

snide remarks from other Chinese ladies, about having 'contaminated herself', when she fetch her
mixed son from school

Only Chinese Singaporeans do not experience racial discrimination

Indian and Malay job seekers face discrimination by employers who ask if they can speak
Chinese, not if they can do the job (not based on merit)

The few who responded that they could were then asked if they could write Chinese

Unfair recruitment practices that discriminate against minority race applicants will lead to tension
 Religious discrimination

Religious discrimination is valuing a person or

group lower because of their religion, or
treating someone differently because of what
they do or don't believe.
Beware enclaves of the like-minded STRAIT TIMES FRIDAY JULY 2009

•Worried about religions growing influence in workplace interactions

•A Christian boss more likely to promote a fellow Christian

•Many turn to religion for guidance in current economic downturn

•Government worried about growing religiosity and its potentially adverse impact on social
harmony

•Religion can make a community become closed

•Closed communities insist on purity as the measure of a persons worth

•They keep out people who are different (impure) – segregating people – threat to social
cohesion
•2005 STRAITS TIMES poll of 622 Singapore residents aged 15 and above

•Those with religion – half devoted time every day to prayer

•Half would not marry someone of a different religion

•1 in 10 would consider going into religious service full-time

•survey of 183 Christian clergymen - 50% afraid that inter-religious dialogue would
compromise their religious convictions

•41.5% are unwilling to collaborate with a non-christian religious leader in a charity drive for
fear that it might lead to the perception that all religions are equal

•In 1965 , government enforced ratio quota to prevent enclaves where people of the same
race lived together

•Now have to prevent enclaves of the like-minded

•Challenge because barriers are deeply held beliefs and values

 Classism

Classism is any form of prejudice or oppression

against people as a result of their actual or
perceived social class (especially in the form of
lower or higher socioeconomic status)
shabbily dressed - seen as having low spending power - staff reluctant to serve you, poor service
quality

white-collar expatriates (foreign talents) are given incentives to work in Singapore, with the promise
of a comfortable and secure residence

Foreign workers treated very differently

Residents in a classy residential area in Serangoon Gardens opposed a proposal to have foreign
workers living near them

Domestic workers excluded from Singapore’s Employment Act

Employers and agencies decide key labour conditions such as wages, working hours, and salary
deductions

Domestic workers have little/ no bargaining power

Agree to work for low wages for fear of being sent back to their own country where pay is even
lower

Leads to domestic worker abuse - forced to work long hours with insufficient rest
 Causes of prejudice & discrimination
Through self interest, hatred, fear, and the threat of a common enemy

To bolster own status , ascribe superior characteristics to the groups to which one
belongs and exaggerate differences between ones group and outsiders

seen in military patriotism, in nationalism, and in any situation of "negative identity" in which
one group defines itself in terms of what it is not.

Lead to violence on a large scale eg. Darfur conflict

implicit associations part of human cognition to help us navigate and survive in our
environment

To make sense of the world around us, we put things into groups and remember relations
between objects and actions or adjectives: eg. people automatically note that cars move fast
and mosquitoes bite.

problem arises when we form associations that contradict our intentions, beliefs and values.

people associate “female” with “weak,” “Arab” with “terrorist,” or “black” with “criminal,” even though
such stereotypes undermine values we uphold such as fairness and equality
 Solutions

Developing personal relationships

Finding common values

Education
 I am what time, circumstance, history, have
made of me, certainly, but I am also much
more than that. So are we all. - James Baldwin
 Develop personal relationships

focus on individual, not on their ethnic background.

Stereotype-breaking - people see the "enemy" as a real, living, breathing, feeling,

caring person

develop mutual understanding and trust between people

both parties may still have divergent interests or unmet needs but understand that
their problem is a mutual one, and must be solved by cooperating, not competing or
trying to destroy the other.
Government can create opportunities for people to develop personal relationships with other
groups
Dialogues

joint projects

sporting events

Challenge:

"scaling up" such transformed personal relationships from individual people to

the whole society.

Personal relationships between individuals can change quickly, but it is difficult and
takes time to replicate these changes in whole of Singapore
 Solution for racial discrimination (Develop
personal relationships)

Make it compulsory for school students to join a CCA of another ethic group

Better understand other cultures and traditions

Develop mutual respect and understanding

Challenge:

As adolescence approaches, the child seeks personal security and a new identity in his peer groups,
which usually are of his own race.
 Other solutions for racial discrimination

in Singapore, we are discouraged from mentioning this issue for fear of racial riots breaking out

Government must be more open and willing to discuss this issue

educate the public through seminars

Track and Impose stricter penalties on people who practice discrimination.

Put a magnifying glass on common
values shared in
different civilizations
- Walter Isaacson
 Finding common values
Fundamental beliefs that people will not compromise

eg. Will not accept behaviours condemned by their religion no matter what others think

willingness of the parties to tolerate their differences

Search for values that all parties have in common

eg. Value of peace / human life

All parties work together to achieve common values instead of focussing on differences
 Solution for religious discrimination
(Finding common values)
Common values of Singaporeans:

Peace & harmony

Safe home
Job security

Businesses thrive here because we have a harmonious society

Government must emphasize that even though we are different in many ways, we have similar
goals as Singaporeans which can only be realised by cooperating with one another.

Through media, speeches, campaigns

parties must reduce prejudices that are undermining their own interests

Challenge: Stubborn people who do not want to cooperate

Stereotyped thinking is often reduced
as a result of more education
- Allport Gordon
 Education
Make it compulsory for all students to take these modules in school:

•Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination.

o understand the stereotypes they have of others

o adverse impact of discrimination

o learn ways to counteract discrimination

•Conflict Management Challenge: Getting students to apply what they have learnt
o Learn how to resolve conflicts

o Learn how to manage anger

o Learn the importance of harmony and teamwork

•intercultural communication

o Study the culture, race and traditions of people around the world

o Appreciate and accept diversity

o Learn how to be sensitive to others feelings

 Solution for Classism (Education)

Educate children from young the importance of mutual respect

Education campaigns to change employers’ attitudes towards domestic workers.

Change public mindset of that domestic work is of lowly status

Remind public that foreign workers play a crucial role in Singapore’s development

Portray foreign workers in a favourable light in the media – increase public acceptance of them.
 What can we do as individuals?

Have a higher tolerance for differences

Speak out against people who discriminate

Be wary of agitators who want to flame every small misunderstanding into a racial issue

Make sure that your accusations are supported by facts or else you will be seen as discriminating
the person
 Sources
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http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=buried-prejudice-the-bigot-in-your-brain&sc=
rss

http://www.understandingprejudice.org/about/

http://www.mendaki.org.sg/content.jsp?cont_cat_id=17&cont_id=704

http://www.management-issues.com/2007/6/21/blog/discrimination-singapore-style.asp

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/default.stm

http://www.singapore-window.org/sw05/050809ht.htm

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/home?r.l1=1073858787&r.l3=1074003268&r.lc=e
n&r.l2=1073877851&r.s=m
http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2004/0805africa_cohen.aspx

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3847

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6632959.stm

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/29/europe/EU-Darfur.php

http://www.africaaction.org/resources/page.php?op=read&documentid=2183&type=6&issues=
1024

http://www.genocideintervention.net/educate/darfur/history

http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList432/52178769E22DEDA9C1257062002E958F

http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2004/05/05/darfur8536.htm
THE END