Johannesburg - The National Writers Association of South Africa (NWASA) is calling for the cessation of war in Sudan.
NWASA said in a statement that while the entire world was witnessing the prolonged war between Russia and Ukraine, to which Africa is mischievously drawn in to take sides, Africa was horrified by the raging war in Sudan that was maiming and claiming lives as well as destroying property. And the world is turning a blind eye.
“We, as Africans, have to silence the guns at our doorsteps! Hence, as the National Writers Association of South Africa (NWASA), we join the call by our continental umbrella body, the Pan African Writers Association (PAWA), for the cessation of war in Sudan.”
In a recent media statement, PAWA lamented the unnecessary carnage and loss of human lives as a result of the hostilities in Sudan.
The Ghana-based outfit stated: “PAWA is currently worried by the current crisis in the Republic of Sudan and has called on the parties involved to lay down their weapons and immediately enter into peace talks to be sponsored by the AU in order to resolve the crisis.'”
The association appeals to our government to also get involved in the peace-making initiatives in this regard.
“While we cannot separate cultural workers and practitioners from the besieged Sudanese nation, we nevertheless particularly pledge solidarity with the Sudanese writers and wish them strength to use their craft to uplift the nation from the horrors of war,” added the statement.
Meanwhile, International Relations and Co-operation Minister, Dr Naledi Pandor, has welcomed back home the remaining group of South Africans who were evacuated from conflict-stricken Sudan.
A total of 53 individuals arrived on a flight back to South Africa earlier yesterday.
She said a lot of organisation went into bringing the country’s citizens home.
“We had a joint committee that worked on evacuations,” she said of the committee made up of various government departments.
A total of 51 South Africans returned home from Sudan on Sunday. In addition to the 51 citizens, a Lesotho national and a Zimbabwean national were on board the flight, bringing the total number of those evacuated from Sudan to 53. We are really happy that you’re back home,“ said Pandor.
Pandor said as government, they hoped that they could play some role in bringing peace back to Sudan, because she didn’t think they should desert the people of Sudan.
“It is in South Africa’s policy that we must try wherever we can on our continent to silence the guns.
“We are unhappy when we see people suffering, and so we will try to make every effort to really engage with the current conflict parties in Sudan to persuade them to lay down arms to persuade them to work for peace,” she said.
The Star