Project

Our Choice Too: On the Edge in Darfur

Pulitzer Center Executive Director Jon Sawyer traveled in early 2006 to Sudan. He spent a week with African Union peace monitors in Darfur, staying with soldiers in their camps and traveling by AU helicopters from the regional capitals of El Fasher and Nyala to remote regions along the Chad border.

At a time when U.S. officials and American Darfur activists were focused on building pressure for the dispatch of a United Nations peacekeeping force, Sawyer's reporting made the case that beefing up the existing African force was a quicker, surer route to protecting the people of Darfur. Sawyer reported his findings in newspaper and television reports and in a 20-minute video documentary prepared in partnership with World Security Institute's Azimuth Media.

The documentary framed a panel presentation at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum that was broadcast live via Internet 2 to some three dozen locations around the country; the entire video and panel discussion were then rebroadcast on the satellite channel LinkTV.

Time for Diplomacy Not Confrontation

Without Khartoum's agreement, even 200,000 NATO troops wouldn't be able to impose a political settlement in Darfur. While the force that could ease Darfur's situation—the African Union—is underfunded.

A Week with the African Union

US Holocaust Memorial Museum Committee on Conscience

Award winning journalist and director of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Jon Sawyer, recently returned from Darfur where he spent a week traveling with African Union troops. He discusses patrols with the African Union, the attacks near the Chad border, the capabilities, limitations, and morale of the troops, and the mission of the newly founded Pulitzer Center.

Our Choice, Too: On the Edge in Darfur

Peacekeeping mission undertaken by the African Union in Darfur, Sudan, is said to be ineffective. A documentary produced by Pulitzer Center's Jon Sawyer reveals what actually goes on in the region.

What Peace?

They have made a difference in Darfur, Sudan. But understaffed and underfunded—rarely able to halt aggressive attacks, the African Union peacekeeping force is becoming a target of violence themselves.

Round Two: Winning Essays

In May 2008, the Pulitzer Center partnered with Helium to continue its second round of the Global Issues/Citizen Voices Writing Contest. Find the winning essays here.