Archbishop tells Global Powers to “Deliver” Now on Aid to Sudan

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams has called for the world’s powers to “deliver” as he addressed the people of Sudan. With urgency in his words the spiritual head of the worldwide Anglican Communion said, “Rebuilding is harder than tearing down. Expectations of help from the global community is high but the delivery is slow.”

|PIC1|Throughout his visit, the Archbishop has been face-to-face with the dire situation many in the country are facing, and Dr Williams told reporters that he felt Darfur was a “self-destructive tragedy”.

Over all eight days of his Sudan journey the Archbishop was greeted warmly everywhere he went, and along with the host Archbishop, the Most Revd Joseph Marona, the delegation visited 5 dioceses.

In a BBC interview, Archbishop Williams said, “I think people feel so forgotten a lot of the time because the effects of the peace agreement are so slow arriving, the number of displaced persons are colossal so I think any signal – even the smallest – that, that they’re not forgotten does impact on people.”

Speaking at al Gariya camp, he said, “One way and another, this area been at war for decades, not just the big civil war but unrest that goes back as far as the Fifties.”

Testifying the work of the World Food Programme (WFP) in the country, Dr Williams said, “One of the big areas of focus for this trip has actually been the co-operation that’s going on in the Malakal area between the church and the World Food Programme. We want to see what more can be done on the ground in the delivery of what the WFP has in mind.”

On Darfur he said, “Nobody has a quick formula for sorting it out. I think the difficulty many people find, or sense they find here in Sudan, is a feeling that some of the donors outside Sudan are waiting for Darfur to clear up before they can fully deliver on promises for the south and although that’s not a completely accurate percentage, it’s sort of skewing things.”

|TOP|Viewing the huge effort of reconstruction that is still to come in post-war Sudan, the Archbishop said, “It’s bound to be a future of construction, as I say infrastructure has to be put in place and there has to be, I think trust, in the national government.

"Because of the feeling of decades that basically the government has been run from the north for the north. The new government in the south the people from the south that have been brought into the national government need to display to the population as a whole that there is a worthwhile future for them in this collaborative enterprise.

"Now that means delivery, it means delivery of a fair share in oil revenues promised in the comprehensive peace agreement; it means access to food, employment, clean water, education and basic health care.”

On one visit, Archbishop Williams assured the people that they would be in his prayers and in the prayers of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

“You are not forgotten. Pray for a peace that will last. Remember God never runs out of love or glory. Be confident! In the heart of each one of us God has taken up his place,” he said, as the crowd responded with applause and singing.

|AD|In a compelling speech the host bishop said, “Your Grace, we are thankful for your visit to us. As you look around and see the dark and smiling faces still praising the Lord today, it is an indication that God never abandons his people to be wiped out easily by their circumstances. We are pressed from every side by trouble, but we are not crushed and broken (2. Cor. 4:8f). We have come to know that all our sufferings, torture and problems are opportunities for Christ to demonstrate His power and presence in and through us. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed everyday. If God is for us, nothing can separate us from His love. We will continue to live for Him and make Him Known throughout Sudan and the whole of Africa.”

He added, “Despite all our countless problems such as insecurity, poverty, diseases (HIV/AIDS, Malaria), our major concern is for the education of our children to prepare them for the continuity and survival of Christianity in the Sudan.

"History has shown that, the thriving church in North Africa was wiped out because they were unprepared for the future of the church, but the church fathers were concerned only about the controversies over doctrinal issues. We are alert in the Sudan and the church must exist now and in the future Sudan.

"Although 20 years has passed us without education for our children, we pray that the Lord will avail for our opportunity for education as a tool for us to expel poverty and disease, and as a tool to empower us to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ now and in the future, to all men and women in Sudan and everywhere on earth.”

The official delegation included the Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Revd David Stancliffe, whose diocese has formal links with the Episcopal Church in Sudan, the Ven Michael Paget-Wilkes, Sudan Church Association, the Revds John Corrie and Jonathan Jennings, Lambeth Palace staff, and Canon Jim Rosenthal of the Anglican Communion Office. HM Ambassador Ian Cliff also accompanied the archbishop throughout the visit. Sudanese Church liaisons were the Provincial Secretary the Revd Enock Tombe, the Revd Joanna Udal and the Revd Elisapana Arona. Neill Garvie from Christian Aid also travelled with the team during certain visits.