Sudan
An Arab state in North Africa just below Egypt; includes the
Darfur region in the west of Sudan, site of the 3-year conflict. The country is
made up mostly of flat plains, broken up by mountain ranges, and incorporating
the Nubian Desert to the North down to swamps, rainforest, and a six-month
rainy season in the South. Southern Sudan voted for independence and split the
country in 2011.
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| Northern Sudan |
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| Southern Sudanese soldier |
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| Refugees and displaced citizens |
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Sierra Leone
A relatively small, tropical country on the coast of West
Africa. A major producer of gold, titanium, and diamonds. (
Blood diamonds)
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| Looking for gold and diamonds |
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Congo
The Democratic Republic of Congo is the second-largest country
in Africa, and the most populous officially Francophone nation. The DRC and the
Republic of Congo straddle the Congo River in Central Africa, and the area is
primarily tropical/rainforest.
‘The Second Congo War, beginning in 1998, devastated the
country and is sometimes referred to as the “African world war” because it
involved nine African nations and some twenty armed groups.’ Fighting still
continues in the east. Rape and sexual violence are overwhelmingly prevalent in
the area, and over 5.4 million people have died since 1998 – mostly due to
malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition.
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| Refugees fleeing an attack in the Northern Congo |
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Somalia
A country created in 1960 by merging two territories, a
former British protectorate and an Italian colony, and encompassing the ‘Horn
of Africa’. A secure government has never successfully been established, and
constant unrest and lack of authority enabled Somali pirates to become a major
threat to international shipping in the area. Severe drought in recent years
has led to tens of thousands leaving for Ethiopia and Kenya in search of food.
Mogadishu – the largest city in Somalia and the nation’s capital
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