In the Face of Genocide: The Miracle of Survival

I believe in the power of miracles.   I believe that we are capable of witnessing the multitude of miracles on a daily basis - even in the midst of the worst of atrocities.   As a Jew and an Israeli, but most importantly as a member of the human family, my moral compass guided me to the Sudanese Refugee Camps in Chad, Africa this past October.   It is for this reason that I am compelled to write to you.

I went to witness the strengths and struggles, the hope and faith, the community and individuality, of each of the hundreds of thousands of Sudanese refugees in Chad. Together we can affect change in the heart of this global disaster.   Together we can take a vow to turn our ears and hearts toward these remarkable people.

Last October I made a commitment to the International Medical Corps to raise $50,000 for the benefit of the Sudanese refugees and embarked on a personal mission to the border of Chad and Sudan to visit, interview and assess the needs on the ground.   In each of the three camps I visited I was greeted with warmth and excitement.   I witnessed how the human spirit prevails in those camps.   The children, women and men are living their lives to the fullest they are able.   They maintain their cultural costumes and celebrate life amidst very poor conditions.

Although my experience in Chad confirmed many of my expectations, I encountered many more surprises.   I saw things I did not expect to see. Most importantly, I witnessed the devastating inequality between the refugees and the local Chadian population - inequality that breeds tension, and puts the already fragile state of Chad on the verge of collapse.  

The local population in Eastern Chad allowed the international community to build refugee camps on their land, adjacent to their villages. For more than two years they have shared their scarce water-sources with these refugees.   But due to Western equipment, the wells at the camps provide better water quality and quantity.   Refugees have running water, while local Chadians still use ropes and buckets to extract their water. As a result, the refugees are able to grow vegetables in the camps and open a market, to which local Chadians come in order to buy food they cannot grow in their own land.

Furthermore, firewood, the means for preparing food, is collected from the fields of the host population for the benefit of the refugees.  

But probably the most humiliating and aggregating inequality is with the health-care situation. Refugees can seek medical treatment within hours at the camps, while local Chadians need to walk for five days to see a doctor, or pretend to be a refugee in the near-by camp.   Imagine the grievance and humiliation they must feel every day.

The United Nations agency on the ground is the High Commission on Refugees.   By definition, their mandate is to work solely with the refugee community and not with the local host population. Tensions are high, and if we want to secure our continuing ability to help the refugees, we must address these inequalities.  

The International Medical Corps is building, supplying and staffing permanent healthcare centers for the treatment of the host population as well as refugees.   The healthcare centers are located in the villages near the camps and are to be staffed by locally trained personnel, so when the refugees are re-settled in their homes, these centers will be transferred to the Chadian health system.

I need your help in making my commitment and establishing a new healthcare center in Amnabak, Chad. In Africa, a relatively small amount of money can go a very long way.

If you are interested in supporting the vital work of the International Medical Corps and my mission in Chad/Darfur, there are two ways in which you can help:

•  Write a check payable to the International Medical Corps and mail it to me at:

Please indicate on the check (in the note section) "Bergman - Darfur/Chad."   All donations are fully tax-deductible.

Donations of $300 and more will be sent a matted picture from Richard Levine's collection. Donations of $1,000 and more will be sent a hard-cover book with over 20 photos of the collection and a personal dedication.

•  Help me reach out to communities. Organize a gathering in your community with whom I can share my testimony, stories and photographs, in the hope of getting their support.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this letter.

Mickey Bergman

Click here for more Chad & Darfur...