NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks to John Prendergast, of the Enough Project, about the effects of U.S. humanitarian aid to South Sudan amid a humanitarian crisis.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST: The White House announced what could be a major foreign policy move last week that, amidst the news on North Korea and Iran, didn't get a lot of attention. The Trump administration says it will review all aid that it gives to South Sudan as the 8-year-old nation spirals into further chaos. The U.S. is the largest donor for humanitarian programs in the country, so any potential change could have an enormous impact. John Prendergast is the founding director of the Enough Project, which seeks to stop genocide in Sudan. He's also a former State Department official on the Africa Desk, among other government posts. And he joins us now. Welcome to the program. JOHN PRENDERGAST: Thank you so much. GARCIA-NAVARRO: So let's start with - how bad are things in South Sudan right now? PRENDERGAST: All the worst sort of manifestations of war are unfolding today in South Sudan - you know, recruitment of child soldiers, rape as an instrument of conflict and war, the pushing - the displacement of people - the forced displacement of people - you would call ethnic cleansing in many parts of the country - leading to the deterioration of humanitarian conditions to the point of near famine. GARCIA-NAVARRO: The U.S. said in a very strong statement this past week that it will not continue in a partnership with leaders who are only interested in what it calls perpetrating an endless war. You were part of the brain trust that helped in the creation of South Sudan, which the United States was heavily involved in. Why do you think this administration is threatening to cut all humanitarian programs? PRENDERGAST: Well, I think, you know, at this point, the feeling is that this is a government that's lost all of its legitimacy. This is a government that no longer, really - it can be conceived of in conventional political terms. This is not a government that supplies services to its people. It's not a government that builds infrastructure, it's not a government that provides security and adjudicates disputes. It's a looting machine. It's a kleptocracy. It's a den of thieves. GARCIA-NAVARRO: Would cutting all the aid work? PRENDERGAST: Oh, no. I think this is a point of leverage that we think we have, but it would only work if people actually cared about the welfare of their own population. So what I fear is, if we actually followed through - the United States actually followed through with cutting off humanitarian assistance, the government of South Sudan would point at the starving babies and say, look what the United States did. GARCIA-NAVARRO: South Sudan gained independence in 2011, as we mentioned, with U.S. help. Was it a mistake when you now look at what has happened there? PRENDERGAST: There wasn't really a choice between independence, which turned into a fiasco, and something better. It was bad choices all around. But could the independence been handled better, the post independence period? Absolutely. GARCIA-NAVARRO: What now? PRENDERGAST: We need to help create a consequence. The United States has the tools, the financial tools to go after the leaders of South Sudan and freeze their assets and seize all of the kind of money that they've stolen, put into banks, put into real estate, beautiful houses around the world, put into shell companies. Go after that money and really create a serious financial consequence for the looting and destruction of their state. GARCIA-NAVARRO: John Prendergast is the founding director of the Enough Project. Thank you so much. PRENDERGAST: Thanks for having me. (SOUNDBITE OF APHEX TWIN'S "#3") Copyright © 2018 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use[1] and permissions[2] pages at www.npr.org[3] for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc.[4], an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
References
- ^ terms of use (www.npr.org)
- ^ permissions (www.npr.org)
- ^ www.npr.org (www.npr.org)
- ^ Verb8tm, Inc. (www.verb8tm.com)
Newer articles:
- South Sudan conflict mediator warns against wasting talks - 15/05/2018 01:48
- Sudan reshuffles cabinet, replacing oil and foreign ministers - 15/05/2018 00:14
- S. Sudan conflict mediator asks IGAD to take action against saboteurs of peace - 15/05/2018 00:04
- South Sudan peace monitors call for sobriety ahead of peace talks - 14/05/2018 17:01
- South Sudanese military general's son, 22, on welfare benefits bought a $1.5m Melbourne mansion 'using five unexplained installments from African companies' - 14/05/2018 00:15
Older news items
- South Sudan group asks ICC to indict President Kiir, Riek Machar - 12/05/2018 18:00
- America an obstacle to South Sudan peace, says Kiir - 12/05/2018 16:15
- South Sudan cabinet removes fuel subsidy - 12/05/2018 15:18
- South Sudan's new bank governor pledges monetary reforms - 12/05/2018 11:04
- Security Sector Stabilization: A Prerequisite for Political Stability in South Sudan - 11/05/2018 15:13
Latest news items (all categories):
- South Sudan sets 22 December for country's long-delayed first-ever election - 23/06/2026 15:44
- Ambassador Enarsson Backs Campaign to End Sexual Violence in Conflict at Juba Advocacy Event - 23/06/2026 15:41
- Rampant Junior Starlets crush South Sudan to clinch CECAFA bronze - 23/06/2026 15:26
- Validating Progress Towards Closing Immunity Gaps in South Sudan - 23/06/2026 15:23
- تحديد موعد أول انتخابات في تاريخ جنوب السودان - 23/06/2026 15:14
Random articles (all categories):
- Coronavirus: African Union Member States reporting COVID-19 cases as of 7 March 2021, 9 am EAT - 07/03/2021 18:43
- No Independence Day for South Sudan; it says can't afford it - 30/06/2016 07:37
- South Sudan highway road link project planned - 30/09/2022 07:03
- Next Year’s UN Human Rights Council: Fewer ‘Free’ Democracies Than Ever Before - 12/10/2022 00:45
- Statement from IGAD special envoy for South Sudan - 24/05/2020 04:59
Popular articles:
- Who is the darkest person in the world, according to Guinness World Record? - 25/10/2022 02:34 - Read 146569 times
- School exam results in South Sudan show decline - 01/04/2012 17:58 - Read 27534 times
- Top 10 weakest currency exchange rates in Africa in 2023 - 19/07/2023 00:24 - Read 24695 times
- No oil in troubled waters - 25/03/2014 15:02 - Read 24029 times
- NDSU student from South Sudan receives scholarship - In-Forum - 29/09/2012 01:44 - Read 21907 times
