I was in South Darfur during the last two weeks, when I received the article "How can we name the Darfur crises?" I read the article with great interest. While I was there during the past two weeks, I have been listening to the views and analysis of some intellectuals from the area, some tribal leaders and civil society actors. They all stressed:

- The ongoing conflict has nothing to do with natural resources based conflict, it has nothing to do with tribal conflict; it is a political conflict between the government and the rebels, in which the government used the Janjawid to fight the rebels.

- Darfur people have been living together for hundreds of years, there have been intermarriage relationships between all tribes, Darfur people have mixed bloods. They said when Darfuria people go to the centre or north Sudan people there call all of them westerners. When people in the north label you as westerners they mean that you are not Arab. So the so called Arab from Darfur is not considering as Arab in the north and central Sudan.

- The international experts especially those who are now working in delivering humanitarian assistance in Darfur are all driven by the western mentality; most of them mistrust the Arab staff. As a result a new culture has been developed in the camps (for which some international agencies should partly be held responsible). You know, some people in the camps were telling us that when people in the camps want to say their prayers they will just pretend that they are not saying prayers, for they think that they might cause anger.

But when you discuss this issue in Khartoum (even with intellectuals), their analysis and accordingly their proposal for intervention is misleading. In Khartoum and up to now most are saying that either it is a natural resource based conflict or a tribal conflict with political interference. Sometimes it is hard for me to convince or even to continue discussing it, for the media in Khartoum is continuously sending the message that the conflict is over natural resources.

I am happy that I found most of my thoughts in your paper, which is really talking to the minds of the people (it is not an emotional article, as some others are). I have sent the article to as many people as possible, especially those I felt have to read it. Thanks a lot for providing us with such a rational and deep article, which really represents the reality.