Google maps the Darfur crisis

Internet users can now interactively view satellite images of individual devastated villages.

from the April 13, 2007 edition

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The problem with satellite technology, Kagwanja says, is that it can only show the physical signs of conflict, not the motive behind it. "The question is whether these pictures might play into Khartoum's propaganda of portraying this as armored clashes between communities, as spontaneous clashes and not a genocide financed or directed by governments. This is a question that Google Earth cannot answer."

Google Earth's new service comes at a time when international journalists are finding it increasingly difficult to cover the unfolding tragedy in Darfur. Jonah Fisher, the BBC's Sudan correspondent, has been told his work permit will not be renewed when it expires Friday.

He ran into trouble with the government in November when he traveled to the Darfur border with Chad to report on atrocities committed by janjaweed militias there.

Mohamed Guyo, an analyst with the Institute for Security Studies in Nairobi, says he would like to see similar systems developed across Africa where press freedom is often limited.

"In any conflict situation, access can be very difficult for journalists," he says. "It can be difficult for journalists just to get into Sudan, let alone to move freely once they are there, so this tool is very important and it ensures that we can keep abreast of what is going on."

Sudan strictly controls access to Darfur. Journalists must obtain a travel permit before flying to the region – a process that can take weeks.

In November, all access for correspondents was halted and it was only in March that journalists found their applications to visit Darfur were once again being approved.

Bea Spadacini, of the aid agency Care International, which works throughout Sudan, said Darfur's problems needed a political solution to be hammered out on the international stage, but that Google Earth could help keep up pressure.

"It's a fascinating tool in terms of raising awareness and showing the scale and extent of what is happening in Darfur for people who are interested and who want to be involved," she said.

Yet one NGO official, who requested anonymity, told the Monitor that Khartoum is using Google Earth itself. "They are using Google Earth to intimidate NGOs in the Darfur area. They go up to NGOs and tell them, 'We are using Google Earth, we can monitor your activities.'"

Find Darfur on Google Earth

1. Go online to: http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html. Click on 'Download Google Earth,' and wait for the software to be downloaded.

2.Open the program; in bottom-left corner, click open tabs 'PrimaryDatabase,' then 'Global Awareness,' then 'USHMM: Crisis in Darfur.'Check the box next to 'Darfur' so markers appear over the region.Double-click the word 'Darfur' to automatically zoom in on the region.

3. Use mouse or navigation tools in top-right corner to move around the map.

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