Krásna Hôrka and Yida

Krásna Hôrka

The images of the castle Krásna Hôrka burning shook me in a way I hadn't expected. I've never heard of the castle before and have no emotional ties to it what so ever, still I felt like crying. It's a large piece of history that went up in smoke, only because two kids wanted to try smoking.

I was already emotional though. I've been reading about the refugee camp in Yida South Sudan. There are Swedish journalists that are in the area looking into an oil company and the wars that the oil in the area have caused. This is a topic for more urgent than the "Kony 2012" video that has gone viral, yet it's difficult to find anything to read about it.

Other than the article in the Swedish news paper I've been this:
A blog called Ruya Blog. Ru'ya is a non profit organisation that mainly work with Nuba women in the South Kordofan region.
Claire Budd, a journalist's site on the topic. In one article you can read this; "The UN has predicted a famine, saying the area will reach a level four emergency by March 2012 – famine is level 5." This is happening now, right now as I type this down.
And the Sudan Tribune.

Like all conflicts in Sudan and South Sudan there is no easy way to take it all in. The oil is a major part of the conflict, but it's not as easy as it being the only reason. The conflict ties into the Darfur conflict and many other factors too. 

Some days when what I read is too complex I throw my hands up and think; "Do I really need to know this?". I keep coming to the same answer, "Yes". I have to know what happens in the world around me. We can't change the world if we don't know what's happening in it.