I started to post about the situation in Darfur in 2008 and reported on the pledge by Dr. Farouk El-Baz to drill 1001 (or 1000) wells in Darfur, which at the time was the beleaguered province in western Sudan where the locals were being harassed and murdered by the Janjaweed militia that had been sent in by the Sudan government to do its dirty work.
The map is from a Washington Post article.It shows South Sudan, which was not in existence when all this started.
El-Baz gained a lot of press by claiming that work by the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University, which he then headed, had discovered a region in Darfur that might provide abundant groundwater. He got a lot of good press (even meeting with the Sudadnese President and top UN officials) about this project, even though no ground-truthing had been done - it was satellite data.
I would periodically check the CRS website and email El-Baz, who is now emeritus director of the CRS.
Here is my last substantive post:
Perhaps I can make this first 2012 post an optimistic one. I'll let you be the judge.
I last posted on this topic in September 2011: Earth to '1000 Wells for Darfur': SOS?. Before that, it was in February 2011: Has '1000 Wells for Darfur' Dried Up?
You can go here to find links to my early posts about the project, including some of the scientific aspects.
Intending to do an update, I went to the project's WWW site and Dr. Farouk El-Baz's blog, only to find both defunct. So I emailed El-Baz and received his prompt reply on 31 December 2011:
There is still fighting in Darfur, but hopefully that will end soon after the death of the rebel leader Ibrahim.
In the meantime there are several efforts continuing, including student volunteers who are collecting funds for a well in the name of their institution. Boston University. students collected $7,300 of the $10,000 needed for one.
The effort will be initiated as soon as the Doha peace agreement is fully accepted.
/s/Farouk El-BazThere is no mention of any test drilling to verify the existence of the postulated groundwater reservoirsuggested by satellite imagery. Ground truthing is needed before '1000 Wells for Darfur' can be realized.
I appreciate Dr. El-Baz's reply and encourage him to reactivate the project WWW site/blog to keep people apprised of the project's progress.
We'll see what happens. Let's hope for good things in 2012.
More from March 2013:
Thinking that things might be improving, I went to the '1001 Wells For Darfur' site and El-Baz's blog that I had listed in my 4 September 2011 blog. Both were unavailable - neither Safari nor IE could find them. I was just about to proclaim the project 'R.I.P.' when I Googled and found a WWW site for 1001 Wells for Darfur and aFacebook page. Both seem oriented towards the BU students' efforts to raise $10,000 for a single well (that is why it is now '1001' instead of the original '1000' wells). It should be noted that they have been trying to raise $10,000 for several years. They had $7,300 in December 2011; still $2,700 short after a year? They have had fundraisers in November 2012 and last month so maybe they broke the barrier. But click on 'Donations' and it shows $1,230 raised towards a goal of $2,000. WTF?
I find it amusing that on the WWW site, beneath the title, it says, 'A simple solution to a serious problem'. Simple? Oh, really? Got that sustainability plan done? Get out very often, folks?
I applaud the students' efforts, but one well is not going to do much for the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, which has fallen off the radar. There is no new information either the WWW site or the Facebook page about the larger project - the original '1000 Wells'. What information is there is the SOS and is a more homage to Dr. El-Baz than anything else.
My assessment of 1001 Wells for Darfur: great PR for Dr. Farouk El-Baz, nothing substantive for Darfur.
Sad.
I just checked the CRS website and there is no mention of 1000 (or 1001, or whatever) Wells for Darfur. I realize there has been some recent violence in West Darfur (see here as well) and who knows if that will continue. Surely no one wants to drill wells in a war zone. I don't know what's afoot in the rest of Darfur, but I believe there is a peace treaty between (north) Sudan and Darfur rebels.
Maybe it's time for another email to Dr. El-Baz. But for now I'll have to go with what I said above:
My assessment of 1001 Wells for Darfur: great PR for Dr. Farouk El-Baz, nothing substantive for Darfur.
Sad.
If you have more information please comment. Thanks.
"One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important." - Bertrand Russell
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