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En 2005, l’organisation Human Rights Watch (Observatoire des Droits de l’Homme), ONG internationale, a effectué une mission dans les camps de réfugiés du Darfour le long de la frontière avec le Tchad. Au cours d’entretiens avec les parents pour recueillir des témoignages sur les crims commis par les milices arabes janjawids contre les populations noires du Darfour, ils ont occupé les enfants avec du papier et des crayons. Ils ont ainsi rassemblé de précieux témoignages sur la vision de la guerre qu’ont les enfants :

Dessin et témoignage d’Abd-al-Rahman (13 ans) :

“I am looking at the sheep in the wadi [riverbed, or oasis]. I see Janjaweed coming—quickly, on horses and camels, with Kalashnikovs—shooting and yelling, ‘kill the slaves, kill the blacks.’ They killed many of the men with the animals. I saw people falling on the ground and bleeding. They chased after children. Some of us were taken, some we didn’t see again. All our animals were taken: camels, cows, sheep, and goats. Then the planes came and bombed the village.”

Dessin et commentaire de Taha (13 ou 14 ans)

“In the afternoon we returned from school and saw the planes. We were all looking, not imagining about bombing. Then they began the bombing. The first bomb [landed] in our garden, then four bombs at once in the garden. The bombs killed six people, including a young boy, a boy carried by his mother, and a girl. In another place in the garden a women was carrying her baby son—she was killed, not him. Now my nights are hard because I feel frightened. We became homeless. I cannot forget the bad images of the burning houses and fleeing at night because our village was burned…”

Dessin et commentaire de Musa (15 ans)

Musa drew this picture of Antonovs bombing his village. His mother, father, and brothers were all killed. His uncle told his family’s story:

“It was July 2003. At 6 a.m., the Sudanese government soldiers and Janjaweed came by car, tank, horse, camel, and on foot. There were three or four villages in our area, with a total population of maybe 1,200. Men, women, and children were killed—some by bombing, some by shooting. Some ran away. All our livestock, property, and food were taken. Then the village was burned: Some huts were set on fire by the Janjaweed. Later a plane came in the evening and burned the village. All the people who were still hiding in their huts—the old, the weak, the blind—were rounded up by the Janjaweed and shot. One hut was set on fire with someone still inside. I saw them with own eyes. I was then chased by Janjaweed but not caught. My family slept that night in the wadi [riverbed, or oasis]. We returned the next day. I counted around 80 or 90 bodies: men and children, a few women. We made a grave for all the people, 10 or 20 people to a grave, five or six graves in total.”

Dessin et commentaire de Jamil (12 ans)

“The Janjaweed came on camels and horses, very fast. Sometimes two on one camel, with guns. Many soldiers, with guns. This one is a machine gun. They were shooting us.”

In the same exercise book, Jamil had drawn a man with a radio transmitter, drawn larger than the man: “We needed help. There was no one to protect us.”

Dessin et commentaire de ‘Ala (13 ans)

Like many other children, Ala‘ witnessed conflict between rebel groups and the Janjaweed. This drawing depicts a rebel soldier first shot in the arm, then executed by gunshots to the groin. Ali, a teacher in a refugee camp, said the rebels are killed this way to emasculate them. “They [the Janjaweed] know what they are doing,” he said. “They are doing it with purpose.”

Dessin et commentaire de Salah (13 ans)

“There were soldiers from Sudan, Janjaweed, and planes and bombs. I saw the Janjaweed take girls and women. The women were screaming. They seized them, they took them by force. The pretty ones were taken away…Girls were taken, small girls too, I think 5 and 7 and 14. Some came back after four or five hours…some we haven’t seen again.”

Dessin et commentaire de Gamal (12 ans) et ANwar (10 ans)

Mohammed, 8, could not draw. He had never been to school. He could not read or write his name. These drawings were made by his brother and cousin. In the smallest voice, he said, “I am still scared of the Janjaweed. I remember the guns and the planes.” The last thing he said to Human Rights Watch researchers was, “Darigi jugi,”—“I need to go back home.

Dessin anonyme