peace in pieces

i was invited to a debate on sudan today at the house of lords.

i must confess i knew little about the place other than the news feeds and stories form some of the agencies that i work with.

my colleague briefed me in some its history, challenges and operations that are being carried out.

i went further and saw some of the pictures. in particuar the famous shot of a thin scrambling child, probably about one of my children's age, with what little energy they had struggling to get to a feeding UN station and quietly in the background a vulture sat. the photographer, kevin carter, won a pulizer prize for the shot in april 1994. 3 months later he killed himself.

this coming saturday marks the 5 year anniversay of a peace agreement that hangs on thread again as reports show.

140 people lost their lives in an ethnic clash in the tonj region only this past weekend. just under half the population do not have access to clean water. elections are due to start this april. aid agencies are calling this a "lethal cocktail" of rising violence, chronic poverty and political tensions.