The AFRECS team at the 81st Episcopal Convention in Louisville in June was honored by the presence of artist and retired Archbishop Hilary Garang Deng of Malakal. A magnetic figure, he greeted and prayed with South Sudanese and American friends,while sketching vibrant oil pastel works.
Inconclusive Sudan talks were set up for Geneva August 14, arranged by the US with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE as co-sponsors. The SAF did not show up. A new round was scheduled in Cairo August 26, but failed to materialize. One positive development: the SAF has now agreed that humanitarian assistance can enter Darfur via Adre, a key site it had previously ruled out.
The Famine Review Committee, a UN-related body for measuring food crises, has declared parts of North Darfur to be in famine, especially the ZamZam displacement camp housing 500,000 just south of El Fasher. Famine is also projected for other parts of Darfur, Gezira State, and Kordofan unless humanitarian access improves. One estimate projects that as many as 2.5 million could die from starvation. Pray for the Sudanese and urge maximum US efforts to save them.