Searching For Jacob

Scott Pelley Reports On The Genocide In Darfur

(CBS)  This segment was originally broadcast on Oct. 22, 2006. It was updated on July 16, 2008.

It hardly seems possible, but the genocide in Darfur continues. Correspondent Scott Pelley first reported this story two years ago, as the government in Sudan launched a new offensive of ethnic cleansing.

Today, more than 300,000 people are dead and more than two million are refugees in the Sahara.

To understand what is happening in Darfur, 60 Minutes came upon on the story of a boy named Jacob. We know him only because his name is on schoolbooks found in the ashes of his home. Jacob's village was wiped out. Our team saw his books in a museum. We didn't know whether Jacob was alive or whether we could find him, but we decided to try. Our search turned into a remarkable journey into a place we were forbidden to travel, looking for a boy swept up in the 21st century's first genocide.

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The search for Jacob began at the United States Holocaust Memorial in Washington D.C. Dedicated to never letting genocide happen again, it now finds itself with fresh evidence in a new exhibit.

John Prendergast brought the remains from Jacob’s village to Washington and to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. In the Clinton White House, he led a team that imposed economic sanctions on Sudan. Now, he's with something called the "Enough Project", pressing for action in Darfur.

"We found in a book bag, a series of notebooks," Prendergast explains. "Clearly the kid who was doing math and spelling homework and the teacher has corrected it with a red pen."

The kid, Jacob, must have been 16 when his village was destroyed. 60 Minutes packed his books and left on a 7,000-mile journey.

One reason the Sudanese government is getting away with murder is that the scene of the crime is about as far away as a place can be. 60 Minutes hired a bush plane to drop the team in Chad along the Sudanese border. There was no runway, just rocks marking a strip in the Sahara. There are no roads either. We crossed with Jacob’s books during the rainy season, when all the rain of the year falls in just a few weeks. But this wasn’t the hard part.

Our problem was, Jacob’s story starts in a place we were forbidden to go. Darfur is occupied by government troops. Jacob's town, Hangala, is 50 miles inside. The U.S. State Department warned 60 Minutes not to try to go there.

If our team could get to Hangala, rebels who call themselves the National Redemption Front could help. It’s their families who are being massacred, and they agreed to give us cover to Hangala.

And so 60 Minutes crossed the border. We asked the Sudanese government for permission to come into Darfur but we didn't get it, which was no surprise - the Sudanese have been trying to keep reporters and other observers out of this area. They've intensified that effort lately. In just the last few weeks two journalists have been captured making this run.

You can look at it this way: back in 1944, the Germans didn’t want anybody coming in and seeing their death camps. Today in Sudan, the government doesn’t want anybody coming in and seeing what amount to death villages.

It’s a five hour trip, but in the rainy season the gun trucks sank to their axels. We dug them out, and did it again every hour or so. In time, we picked up speed, and it was a good thing. Five hours turned to 12. By the time the group reached Hangala, there were 45 minutes of daylight left. The rebels put scouts on the high ground and surrounded the village.

Before the attack, Hangala was a typical village, with a population of roughly 500; afterwards, the entire village was burned down.

Asked why the entire village was destroyed, Prendergast says it's a message. "It’s a message to non-Arab people in Darfur. 'We do not want you in Darfur.'"

It's a message delivered by Sudanese troops and a racist Arab militia called the Janjaweed.

[moerock2]

I am ashamed to be an American. In keeping an information exchange with Sudan we are in effect dealing with terrorists..Something the US supposedly doesn't do. The Doctor is right. In two years we will watch the reports again and be horrified again. I hope you will keep reporting on these atrocities and maybe the world will wake up.

[jkovaric]

I am surprised that there is no indepth report on what the African American leadship, politicians and other organizations, are doing about this attrocity.
It is strange that there seems to be more effort in
obtaining "retribution" than there is in publicizing these types of evils and atrocities occuring in Africa.

[jkovaric]

I am surprised that there is no indepth report on what the African American leadship, politicians and other organizations, are doing about this attrocity.
It is strange that there seems to be more effort in
obtaining "retribution" than there is in publicizing these types of evils and atrocities occuring in Africa.

[asm75]

Thank you Mr. Pelley. I am a High School teacher and I'm preparing to expose my students to these attrocities. The report brought me to tears and it enforces my belief that what's important in life is to make a difference. I always ask people who were old enough to comprehend what was taking place during the Hitler genocide to tell me what they knew and what they did about it. History will never forget Hitler's stain on the earth and we must not allow another genocide to happen(or shall I say... continue). If we end this at this very moment, we would all have plenty of blood on our hands as citizens of the strongest nation in the world. How much longer and how much more bureaucracy needs to take place before this ends? Thank you Mr. Pelley you have done your job as a citizen and as a human being.

[msladybug-2009]

I was outraged by the genocide in Darfur. What are the sacrifices of the USA's war on terror. We have sacrificed so many of our brave young men and women in this war. Now I am learning that we are cozying up with the Khartoum government on counterterrorism...So, the US government totally ignores the people of the Sudan! Honestly, I'm not sure why I am surprised. This administration has totally ignored the issues of humanity and the common people. So many innocent children, women, men, and our own soldiers being sacrificed to prove a point...and the point is what? Please, someone explain it to me!

[revcarla-2009]

If we were not as invested in the Iraq war, then perhaps we would have troops to send over to stop this genocide. My husband and I cried at the end of this story--for Jacob and the others who seem destined to die. How can the world leaders turn away from this killing and not do something? I am ashamed of our president and the Republican congress for worrying more about cutting taxes and benefiting large corporations than saving people's lives.

[barberee]

I watch a story like this, and I am outraged; outraged that the UN has allowed such an attrocity to happen. Outraged that our government has allowed genocide to happen (again) and has effectively provided a means for it to continue. We Americans are so shielded from these horrors, that we can watch a story of unbelievable horrors such as these and then sit back and watch teams of people travel around the globe to win a million dollars...

[drzhivago00]

Many people in America know about the situation in Darfur. President Bush called it Genocide to the face of the Sudanese at UN. Name me another foreign leader who did the same?! (Perhaps Tony Blair).
So, to suggest, that US Administration is "in bed with the Sudanese government", like Scott Pelley did, is a preposterous lie!! (would someone advise Mr. Pelley to do less his profile shots and look more in the camera - we know already he likes his profile!!)
Immediately following this program, Andy Rooney was commenting on Iraq. First he said, it was good we removed the dictator. Then he continued, the President should come forward and say it was all a mistake??!! So, which is it - right or wrong?!! This is a kind of logic that pervades this partisan network!! RatherGate did not teach them anything!!
We liberated Iraq! Let's our European "friends" to do the same for Sudan! Just ask Chirac to lead the charge!!!

[randalljones]

One thing that activists on the left and right have in common is their phony concern for what is going on in the Sudan. Both groups claim that the Arab controlled government is ethinically cleansing black Africans. If there was real concern in what is going on in Sudan, there would be a discussion about all the parties involved in the atrocities in the Sudan. I suggest you read the article "Tactical Use of Genocide in Sudan and the Five Lakes Region" by John Bart Gerald. (which can be searched for at http://globalresearch.ca)
In Liberia , Sierre Leone, and the Congo, millions have died while The United States, Israel, and European Countries have gained great wealth from diamonds, minerals, and other natural resources from these countries. THe United States has made billions of dollars selling weapons to various African countries. Child slaves in West Africa pick cocoa that is used in making chocalate. Is it okay for genocide and oppression to occur when industrialized countries benefit from it?

Unfortunately, the biased way activists on the right and left have discussed the Sudan makes it clear they don't really care about the people of Sudan and are only using the cause as a political tool.
Zionists have taken up the cause of Sudan because they like to link the Palestinian Arabs with the Sudanese Arabs. Others have taken up this cause so that they don't have to think about the genocide being committed in Iraq.

[rumblesink]

Maybe if the lazy, bought and paid for American press were not so fixated on scandal-mongering, the American people would be treated to more of the truth about what is going on in the world. Thank you, 60 Minutes, for this heart wrenching report. Both sides of the political fence have been in power while genocide was taking place in Sudan. Even though information about terrorists is important, whatever this son of the devil in Sudan knows, it's not worth the lives of so many innocent people. Send him back where he came from (it's hot and smells like sulfer). That'll wipe the smirk off his face! And tell us average, individual people what we can do to help.

[macraab]

I would like to know what WE ARE doing to help the people in Darfur? Scott Pelley and his camera crew risked their lives to tell this story and I hope that CBS continues to broadcast it every day so the message hits home to all. The American people will not turn a deaf ear to this plight, all we need is the press to broadcast the message so everyone hears what is going on. If CBS does it then the others will be shamed into giving more air time and the momentum will hopefully encourage George Bush to do something. Sorry Mr President but your *** bits of info that the Sudan government are sending you are not worth the lives lost of innocent women and children!

[macraab]

I would like to know what WE ARE doing to help the people in Darfur? Scott Pelley and his camera crew risked their lives to tell this story and I hope that CBS continues to broadcast it every day so the message hits home to all. The American people will not turn a deaf ear to this plight, all we need is the press to broadcast the message so everyone hears what is going on. If CBS does it then the others will be shamed into giving more air time and the momentum will hopefully encourage George Bush to do something. Sorry Mr President but your *** bits of info that the Sudan government are sending you are not worth the lives lost of innocent women and children!

[macraab]

I would like to know what WE ARE doing to help the people in Darfur? Scott Pelley and his camera crew risked their lives to tell this story and I hope that CBS continues to broadcast it every day so the message hits home to all. The American people will not turn a deaf ear to this plight, all we need is the press to broadcast the message so everyone hears what is going on. If CBS does it then the others will be shamed into giving more air time and the momentum will hopefully encourage George Bush to do something. Sorry Mr President but your *** bits of info that the Sudan government are sending you are not worth the lives lost of innocent women and children!

[macraab]

I would like to know what WE ARE doing to help the people in Darfur? Scott Pelley and his camera crew risked their lives to tell this story and I hope that CBS continues to broadcast it every day so the message hits home to all. The American people will not turn a deaf ear to this plight, all we need is the press to broadcast the message so everyone hears what is going on. If CBS does it then the others will be shamed into giving more air time and the momentum will hopefully encourage George Bush to do something. Sorry Mr President but your *** bits of info that the Sudan government are sending you are not worth the lives lost of innocent women and children!

[ag4030]

What are we doing? How can we overlook atrocities that are taking place without action? I would like to know how media attention overlooks this type of murder yet focus on how poorly our troops are doing. The media is preventing our troops from doing their jobs and instead should be doing what 60 minutes is doing and show us the real news of the world. It is ridiculous that genocide takes place in this day and age and I challenge all to raise their voices and help end this horrid action.

[sandra_h]

My heart is breaking for these people and I would like to know what I can do to help. I don't know how I can sit in the comfort of my home while these people are being murdered just for being who they are. Please let me know what I can do.

[randalljones]

What was left out of the report is that Osama Ben Ladin was once a CIA asset and the people of Iraq and Afghnaistan are paying the price for the U.S.' actions.
Also it was left out of the report that the United States is the number one seller of weapons to Africa. Why wasn't the role the United Staes plays in instigating and fueling wars in Africa discussed?
Why wasn't it discussed that will the U.S., Israel and Europe are cryuing crocidile tears for Darfur, they have benefited from the deaths of blacks in other parts of Africa. They have benefited from the retrieval of diamonds and minerals by slave labor. Where are the crocadile tears for these people?

[randalljones]

What was left out of the report is that Osama Ben Ladin was once a CIA asset and the people of Iraq and Afghnaistan are paying the price for the U.S.' actions.
Also it was left out of the report that the United States is the number one seller of weapons to Africa. Why wasn't the role the United Staes plays in instigating and fueling wars in Africa discussed?
Why wasn't it discussed that while the U.S., Israel and Europe are cryuing crocodile tears for Darfur, they have benefited from the deaths of blacks in other parts of Africa. They have benefited from the retrieval of diamonds and minerals by slave labor. Where are the crocodile tears for these people?

[opinionist-2009]

Compliments on this evening's story on Darfur. Thank you for raising awareness, and bringing much needed attention into the foreground of our thoughts. I am glad to see that your story has moved people other than myself. But I have to admit that I am a first time blogger tonight. This horrific situation can no longer be ignored. Nor can I ignore the intense feeling of obligation that sits like a boulder on my on my back. While I appreciate the watercooler conversation you've provided for this week, I apologize to my co-workers in advance, as this is not an issue that I will soon let rest. If we can work to remove the politics of this issue, and stick to the basic disgusting facts, the story will speak for itself. Until then however we must answer to our obligation as humans and get the conversations going.
savedarfur.org

[opinionist-2009]

Compliments on this evening's story on Darfur. Thank you for raising awareness, and bringing much needed attention into the foreground of our thoughts. I am glad to see that your story has moved people other than myself. But I have to admit that I am a first time blogger tonight. This horrific situation can no longer be ignored. Nor can I ignore the intense feeling of obligation that sits like a boulder on my on my back. While I appreciate the watercooler conversation you've provided for this week, I apologize to my co-workers in advance, as this is not an issue that I will soon let rest. If we can work to remove the politics of this issue, and stick to the basic disgusting facts, the story will speak for itself. Until then however we must answer to our obligation as humans and get the conversations going.
savedarfur.org

[red1530]

Since the UN is dragging its feet the US should act unilaterally and bomb Sudan.

[chassimon]

The genocide on going in Darfur is very sad indeed. However, why is it that your reporter could not call those governoring Sudan and responsible for these acts what they are.

"Why are these people targets of genocide today? Because they%u2019re not Arabs." The answer to this question skirts the real problem that CBS and 60 Minutes would not like the American people to know. It is not because they (those being killed by the thousands) are not Arab. It is because they are not Muslim or followers of Islam.

Keep hide your head in the sand and terrorism will surely return to our soil.

[divac63]

I am also a first time blogger here, although the issues in Darfur have been on my mind for some time now. PLEASE do not let tonight go without action! PLEASE write your congressmen and women, and ask for their dedication to stopping this genocide. PLEASE visit the savedarfur.org website,

[divac63]

I am also a first time blogger here, although the issues in Darfur have been on my mind for some time now. PLEASE do not let tonight go without action! PLEASE write your congressmen and women, and ask for their dedication to stopping this genocide. PLEASE visit the savedarfur.org website, send a note to GWB, and perhaps donate money or purchase items to support the peacekeeping. And most of all, PLEASE tell your friends and families about this. If you would like a copy of the letter I sent to mine, please email me at [e-mail].

[randalljones]

con-cerned,
You must have attention deficit disorder, both sides of the Darfur conflict are Muslim. The Holocaust Museum is only concerned with the situation because it likes to smear the Palestinian Arabs with the crimes of certain Sudanese Arabs. Isn't interesting how we have a government funded Holocaust Museum, while we do not have government funded museums that memorilize the genocide of the American Indians or the blacks that died during the trans-Atlantic salve trade?
Why isn't the genocide in the Congo given as much attention? Is it because we benefit from the diamonds and mineral and the money we make exporting weapons to that country?

[randalljones]

Red1530 wrote:

"Since the UN is dragging its feet the US should act unilaterally and bomb Sudan. "

Did you forget that during the Clinton adminstration how a medicine factory was bombed? Who knows how many additional people have died due to lack of medicine.

Why is it left out in the program that Osama Ben Laden was once a CIA asset?

[jmarieone]

You used this boy's life story to hang your whole feature report around. You probably budgeted over 100,000 to get this boy's life story for your own ends - to provide a riveting story for millions of Americans. But did you offer this boy some money for his life story rights? No, you abandoned and exploited him for your own ends. Really, the difference between so-called hard news reporting and feature reporting can be a fine line. I personally think it is disgraceful that you used this unfortunate young boy without recompense. Next time, do the right thing. In Hollywood, we have entertainment attorneys to represent us. In the Sudan, who cares, right...or wrong?

[cartier7]

We need to take care of our own homeless and helpless beautiful children. Presdient Bush is doing the best he can in a very bad situation. I am so proud of the men and women serving our Country that make us all feel safe when we go to bed each night and know that nothing is going to happen on their watch!!

[blueingreen3]

Although, our homeless need all our help. No one is trying to exterminate them due to their unfortune, or their choice of religion or their culture. It's not only irresponsible to say what we are doing is enough. But we are sending the wrong message to our helpless beautiful children. We are saying "save no one but yourself." Stop blaming it on the past. We can change today. Today's president is Bush not Clinton. No more GENOCIDE!! For a better world for ourselves and our CHILDREN. savedarfur.org

[samk61]

I think jmarieone raises an interesting question. I wonder what CBS 60 Minutes has to say in response?
Regarding the genocide in Darfur: I found a reference to an interesting website to check out...http://passionofthepresent.org/

[samk61]

I think jmarieone raises an interesting question. I wonder what CBS 60 Minutes has to say in response?
Regarding the genocide in Darfur: I found a reference to an interesting website to check out...http://passionofthepresent.org/

[bobschacht]

Your commentary suggested that OUR GOVERNMENT is turning a blind eye to the genocide in Darfur because it is receiving "valuable" intelligence on Al Queada from the Arab-speaking dictators of the Sudan. I have read the same point elsewhere.

But is it really worth more than thousands of African lives? Or perhaps are African lives not very valuable to this administration?

This is an unconscionable and immoral policy. At the very least, our government should be considered as an accessory to a war crime.

This is another reason for voting in the November elections against Republicans in Congress, who have utterly failed in their oversight responsibilities.

Bob in HI

[angry_in_la]

WWJD? I see so many people wearing these bracelets. What would Jesus do about this? How can we call ourselves Christians, Muslims, Buddists or any other organized religions believers and stand by and watch this again? America cries for the Jews every year, when is she going to cry for the Africans? This is not the first, second or third time that such a crime has been committed against an entire race of people. But we need to do everything in out power to make sure it stops and never starts again. I am ashamed of how our society is so caught in B.S. like why Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton aren't speaking? Or who father dumb *** Anna Nicole Smith's baby? People are dying, no people are being tortured and killed! While the world watches.........once again I ask WWJD?

[roni8877]

Where in the name of God are all the worlsw Christian Leaders??To sit in silence and allow this makes them all nothing more than Hypocrites with the mentality Hilter had

This is an outrage and we need to do more to bring this to the attention of all American Leaders to just do what is right for these poor innocent people

thank you for the courge it took to go there and do this show keep it up

char larsen
oakdale mn

[carolynstevi]

This is one of the biggest atrocities. If we now care, after all these years, about the hollocost, why would we not care about the present situation in Sudan? I believe we waste so much time on the past to try to atone our lack of empathy we should have had when the atrocity occured.Why can't we stop trying to force other governments to adopt our so called democracy and pull our military support and place them where they could make a big difference. Like saving the people in Sudan from genocide.

[tamara3741]

This administration is looking out for it's own interests. Like Kanye West said, "Bush doesn't care about black people."

Isn't it ironic that we're allowing genocide to continue by protecting a regime that protected and sheltered Osama bin Laden?

How many people are we going to allow to die and what rights are we going to continue to forfeit in the name of our security? Dead - millions in Darfur, 100,000s Iraqis and Afghans, thousands of US soldiers. The loss of Habeus Corpus, torture, wire-tapping, Gitmo - are these the values America stands for? Are we really more secure? Or are we cultivating new extremists by our extreme actions?

It's saddening and disappointing to see yet another example of President Bush's Orwellian double speak - on the one hand speaks in front of the UN calling the Darfur situation genocide and on the other supporting the regime for bogus intelligence.

[bigisle]

My TV stopped working so I am thankful that 60 minutes has this info here on the web. And I am thankful that people write in and tell their TRUE thoughts, beliefs and feelings about the hypocracy of Christians in this world. Bush and his cronies are hell bent on ending the world as we know it for their Chrisitianity religious purposes and anyone who can not see it is a fool. To see people kill over religion is so rediculuous when the first law of either religion is NOT TO KILL! And why do they not hear that? Hypocracy I say! As they take everyone else down with them. Including many innocent children, and children in the Natl. Guard. Does everyone know that Bush is taking criminals rather than making them go to prison they can go to war instead? No they don't tell you that do they?
People killing over one God/Lord/Jah/Allah/Buddah/it's all the same WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!

[herebythesea]

I agree wholeheartedly with "angry_in_LA". Why is it that we know all about Sarah Evans divorce and her nanny than we know about these refugees in Sudan. For that matter, why do we know more about the divorce scandal than any of the atrocities going on in the world? What have the American people come to? We don't want to know about the evil in the world, because that would make us feel discomfort or guilt. And, by all means, Americans with all of our advantages should NEVER be made to feel uncomfortable or guilty. Guilt? No, these advantages are our "rights".

[friestyle-2009]

How do we help Dr. Ashis Brahma or contact him?

[vickilatorre]

What can we do to help? What organizations are working best to solve this problem?

[gramto7]

The first thing most of can do is get to our election precinct on November 7 and change the makeup of the Senate and House of Representatives. After that write all those that are voted in and demand a change in policy so that Darfur is no longer placed, not just on the back burner, but somewhere in the lower reaches of the refrigerator. Actually that is not quite right. It is somewhere in he11. These people have suffered more than all the people in the United States put together. Coming from me, that says a lot as I watch my grandson die from a brain tumor.

[bessbright]

Americans do not wish to have their privileged lives contaminated by the unsettling story 60 Minutes presented on Darfur and the Sudanese government. That is on the other side of the world, "Let those people handle their own lives... Just don't make me think about anything other than my own well being and my television programs." Never mind that while Rip Van Winkle sleeps, our government has been reduced to a joke by much of the world, thought of as country deserving of the asinine, inept leasership that it has. Until people see the face of God, Allah, Buddah, Higher Power etc... on the face of all beings then this heinous part of life will go on and on. bessbright

[redturtlegir]

I sat doing laundry with my 6 month old son last night watching 60 MINUTES. I watched in horror as the picture of the malnourished baby flashed across the tele. I literally, gasped and started crying. I held my son and said a thankful prayer... that I live in America, that I was born free, (even if I live on an Indian reservation--one of the hardest places to live). I want to help. I think it would be a disservice to humanity to simply watch this unfold. If the holocaust museum says, "never again" then why are WE allowing it to happen?

[mjv2944]

There is no money to be made in Africa and that is why our government for big business and by big business don't care. There's only a couple of countries that have oil, and Dubya and his coharts figures that there is not enough to worry about. This is where we should be instead of Iraq. These people have suffered long enough.

[octopibingo]

Let's face it, everything that's happening in the world is Bush's fault. Does that really make liberals feel better? I guess it does evade the real problem, summed up by tamara 3741 and the "great" Kanye West. But it needs a rephrase. "Bush doesn't care about black people."? How about something more accurate, seeing the problem for what it is. "Black people don't care about black people."
As for the comment "We are WE allowing this to happen," how about "Why is the rest of the world allowing this to happen?" People who don't want us involved in other countries and situations they deem unnecessary want us immersed in Africa.

[politikz]

After reading this segment, I too wonder why we are still fighting in Iraq and not doing something to protect thousands dying in the Sudan. I do not want to hear another person in the administration lie about how the Iraqi people are now free. At least they are not starving or being burned to death. I think I would have taken my chances in a Saddam Hussein run-Iraq, than to try and make it in the Sudan. If Dubya was so concerned about human rights and making sure third world nations like this don't turn into training camps for terrorist, he would have done something. Dubya will go down as one of the worst U.S. presidents, alongside Useless Grant and Andrew Johnson!!

[calex4]

I am not only horrified by extemely moved to want to help...What can we do and how do we get into contact with Dr. Ashis Brahma to get him things that can help him...As a Jewish American and a mother of 2 I can not just stand by anymore and just watch or sit and wait for our government to get a CLUE!!! I want to help please point me in the right direction...

[violet49]

I wish to thank Scott Pelley of CBS for his courage to bring this story to the American people. By putting the faces of the Darfurians on the screen and giving background on the story of the genocide in Darfur, veiwers cannot say they didn't know. And maybe WE who enjoy freedom, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness will demand action from our government. I urge all reading this to visit savedarfur.org and get involved. The "intelligence" received on Osama bin Laden is of little, even NO consequence when you see the suffering of Jacob and the extermination of his people. As a Catholic Christian, I pray to God the U.S. will do what is right. Remember Rwanda, The Holocaust? At least 400,000 people have already died since the genocide began in 02/2003. Now eat your nourishing dinner and climb into your soft, warm SAFE beds.

[octopibingo]

Darfur supposedly does have oil, which is why the Arab Muslims, practicing the religion of peace, are killing anyone in the way.
If you people truly want to help, then stop whining and find out how. You sound like a bunch of liberals.