Once more, our guest speaker has spoken powerfully and evocatively to the class. Charles Lomudak’s account of his personal experiences of the Sudanese civil war was both a rude awakening and a call for action. I argue that, from what I gained from his lecture, there are three things that must be considered to help curtail intrastate wars.

First regards the issue of environmental extraction. For some warring states, the resource curse (Sinpeng, 2014) is an affliction that is commonly seen, particularly in poorer nations. The harsh quest for these raw materials can be the cause, effect, or a factor for elongating bloody civil conflict. And though there are some who profit (largely not the citizens of the state in which it occurs), the destruction and despair that follows could never justify the act, and as such there must be more restriction when pursuing these ventures.

Secondly, the power of external interests and internationalization of civil conflicts (Sinpeng, 2014) must be curbed. Specifically in instances of poverty-stricken states, obtaining arms and support occurs with, often illicit, trade. While difficulty lies in prohibiting the influence of non-state actors such as drug cartels and rebel groups, nations should stop funding any faction of a civil war. Regardless of alliances and vested interests, this clearly only perpetuates the warfare. The only way any external actor should be involved in civil conflicts, if at all, is with humanitarian aid, and not with any means of battle.

Finally, as Charles very ardently maintained, our generation has a lot of power to help alleviate the suffering brought on by civil war (Lomudak, 2014). The young people of today have great power to spur on change in the world, along with the tools to achieve it. One of the strongest of these is the ever-growing power of technology and social media, which now more than ever allows an individual to have their opinions or actions spread globally in an instant. If only the potential is realized, then positive change of boundless magnitude will be seen.

These are three things that I garnered from Charles’ speech. It is disgusting that civil wars, of which have existed for many years, are still a reality. But whether with these or any other factors, there is hope for a solution.

Sources:

Sinpeng, Aim. “Contemporary Civil Wars and Ethnic Conflicts.” Poli 360. UBC, Vancouver. 9 Oct 14. Lecture.

Lomudak, Charles Okumu. “Living through War: A Refugee’s Journey from South Sudan.” Poli 360. UBC, Vancouver. 14 Oct 14. Lecture.