The Land

This is the third and final layer defining the physical landscape for this print. I chose to depict an area of Darfur where attacks have occurred and, as you can see from the map below, there are also refugee camps near this location. The red square on the map shows the approximate location of the satellite map I used for reference. 

Another reason I chose this location is because it shows an important geographical feature, the wadis. Wadis are seasonal watercourses ranging from small rivulets that flood only occasionally during the wet season to large wadis that flood for most of the rains and flow hundreds of miles west to Lake Chad. Most of the villages are located near the wadis. 

Land use is a large part of the conflict in Darfur. According to Sudan's land laws all unregistered land belongs to the state, which can allocate leases without reference to who is actually living on the land. These land laws have disadvantaged rural communities at the expense of commercial farmers and state development schemes which have not brought benefits to the local population. This is one reason that the local population has felt marginalized by the government and has taken up arms.