Educational Media Reviews Online

Taghreed Elsanhouri returns to her birth place in order to understand the conflict she has heard so much about. Interviewing ordinary Sudanese in tea shops and markets Elsanhouri provides a first hand account of what people in the Sudan think about the conflict in Dafur

In order to find a historic link to the present day conflict in Dafur, Elsanhouri explores the history of the Sudan. She interviews her great aunts and visits her old school in order to understand how history is taught and how conflict among ethnic groups and colonial powers led to present day Sudan.

Culture, identity and race are discussed by various interviewees. It is acknowledged that there is a difference between the inhabitants in the North and those in the West. Repeatedly it is said that the conflict in Dafur is not racial, but rather it is political. Over and over again it is acknowledged that the government has made mistakes and did not act quickly enough to correct them. But nobody seems to know how to correct the situation, repeatedly it is suggested that the government has to do something.

One of the most interesting scenes in the movie is a discussion about foreign intervention. As you listen to the arguments for and against it, you are struck by the opinion that foreign intervention might lead to a threat to national sovereignty. It is suggested that this might result in a situation similar to Iraq where the insurgents will eventually have to turn against the foreigners who have come to help them, in order to expel them from their country.

Elsanhouri puts a face on those devastated by the conflict by interviewing a family in the Abu Shoak camp. As they explain why they left their home and went to the camp, we understand what there lives were and what it has become.

Recommended for high schools, colleges, and adults who want to get a better understanding of the conflict within Dafur.