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American Morning

Crisis in Darfur; Surviving Summer Travel

Aired May 09, 2006 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

(NEWSBREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: The president with his strongest statement yet on the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan. He called it genocide for the first time, and Mr. Bush vowed to step up U.S. efforts to end the ongoing killing there. But in many respects, this is a difficult problem that many of us have some difficulty understanding.

Joining me to look at how this all began and what might happen next is John Prendergast of the International Crisis Group. He worked in the Clinton White House and the State Department.

And John, I'd like to sort of do, if we could, a little bit of just Darfur 101 for people, so they really can understand what's going on there. First of all, the country of Sudan, this is largest country in Africa, about a quarter of the size of our country. And this Darfur region, the western part of it, if we take you down there and give you a sense of it, is an area that has been the focus of this violence for quite some time. Who is fighting whom? How did it get started?

JOHN PRENDERGAST, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: Well, Sudan, since independence, has been a country tormented by war. Southerners have revolted, easterners have revolted and now, the Darfurians, the westerners, have revolted. Since 2003, they took up arms -- principally, like most wars, over power sharing and wealth sharing issues.

And the government simply didn't trust its army to fight the rebels, so they subcontracted a group that's sort of equivalent of Sudan's Ku Klux Klan, the Janjaweed militias. And they set those Janjaweed militias loose, armed them and gave them total impunity to attack villages and conduct a scorched earth campaign for a couple years that really drove most of Darfur out of its villages and into these internally displaced camps, almost concentration-like camps that about two and a quarter million people are living in now/

M. O'BRIEN: So the Janjaweed henchmen, essentially, for the government. The government is controlled -- is an Islamic government. There is a religious issue here. Help us understand that.

PRENDERGAST: Well, there is definitely a religious issue in the war with the southern population, with the southern rebel group. Many southerners are Christian and the government in Sudan is an Islamist, extremist government, one would have to say, pushing for the creation of Islamic state and imposing its view of Islam on others.

However, in the west, in Darfur, the entire population is Muslim. So this war is in the West has nothing to do with religion. It's about power. It's about the government maintaining power by any means necessary, even if it has to commit genocide.

M. O'BRIEN: And what is it that the people there are Darfur feel they're being left out of? I know there is -- this country has in excess of 1.6 billion barrels of oil potentially here. Is it oil revenue or is it something else?

PRENDERGAST: Well, they've been cut out of the central government power for -- since independence and have been increasingly pushing politically for a share of that power at the center, and also for a regional government so that they can control their own affairs for regional autonomy. Just as many other parts of Sudan has been advocating for and fighting for now for many years. So it's been power and wealth, a cut of that oil wealth, that drove the rebels to go from being a political opposition, which they'd been for many years, into an armed opposition in 2003.

M. O'BRIEN: And the government of Sudan does not want to include the people of Darfur in a way that is satisfactory to them for what reason?

PRENDERGAST: Because it's absolute power. It's a government that rules by autocracy. It's a government -- it's a dictatorship. And to allow -- to open up the doors to different groups of people, to have a measure and a share of power would be a slippery slope that would lead to the end, the demise of the government in Khartoum as we know it. So they're not going to go down that road unless they're forced to at the barrel of a gun.

M. O'BRIEN: Tell us about this peace agreement. How real is it?

PRENDERGAST: It's only real if we can get a United Nations force out there on the ground of at least 20,000 troops. The U.S. is trying to take the lead now. It's late. Should have been pushing this for many, many months. But now -- we're going to have to get it out there now. And if that force is on the ground monitoring all the provisions of the agreement and really chasing the government, hounding the government and the rebels to do what they promised to do, we could see a change. We got to remember, people going home, two and a quarter million people going home, back to their villages to build or rebuild, is really the ultimate objective. And that's the measuring stick by which the agreement will be a success or not.

M. O'BRIEN: John, this has been going on for years. Why has it taken so long for the U.N. to take any action?

PRENDERGAST: It's very, very sad. I think that the reason is -- well, there are many reasons. After Africa is often at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to issues that the international community deals with. But I think the Sudan is a little different. Osama bin Laden lived there in the '90s. There's a counterterrorism relationship now between the United States and Sudan that complicates the picture.

We want to preserve the government, even the government that commits genocide. So I think it's complicated things, very much. And we finally got clear we've got to stop this genocide, we've got to stop this war. And I think the international community is finally united around a plan.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. We'll leave it at that. And let's hope that's what exactly happens there. John Prendergast, senior adviser with the International Crisis Group. Thanks for your time.

PRENDERGAST: Thanks, Miles.

Soledad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer is here.

Hello, Andy.

S. O'BRIEN: Hi.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Hello, you guys.

Some big, big news on the Sony Playstation 3. Now, it is still not out yet, but we'll tell you about that. Plus, a movie studio distributing its wares on the Web in an unusual way. We'll get to that coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

S. O'BRIEN: Well, starting this summer, believe it or not, you can wake up with Whoopi. Comedian Whoopi Goldberg is going to host a nationwide radio show, national radio show.

M. O'BRIEN: You know what, folks, still wake up with us if you don't mind. I mean, we like Whoopi, but...

SERWER: Can you TiVo radio?

M. O'BRIEN: You can watch us and listen to her simultaneously.

S. O'BRIEN: You can watch Whoopi, starting at 5:00 to 6:00, and then you want to dump out and join AMERICAN MORNING.

Thank you, Miles.

(CROSSTALK)

S. O'BRIEN: It's going to be syndicated on stations all around the country. The live program is going to air during morning drive, but again, you don't want to stay with her past 6:00 a.m., because that's when we begin.

M. O'BRIEN: And we love Whoopi. She's a friend of the show.

S. O'BRIEN: She is.

M. O'BRIEN: But you know, still.

S. O'BRIEN: She's going to sing songs.

SERWER: She is?

S. O'BRIEN: No, she's not.

M. O'BRIEN: We'll sing for you, if you like.

S. O'BRIEN: Sorry, Whoop, not going to sing songs; she's going to play songs, radio and all. She's going to taking phone calls and just talk.

SERWER: She can talk, too. She's got stuff to say.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, she's got a lot to say.

M. O'BRIEN: She's going to do that live at 5:00?

S. O'BRIEN: Apparently.

M. O'BRIEN: Wow. We'll give her some tips on how to get up at 3:00 in the morning.

S. O'BRIEN: But she's in radio. Could be in the bed doing it.

SERWER: In her jammies.

M. O'BRIEN: I like that idea.

S. O'BRIEN: She doesn't need our tips. We need her tips.

M. O'BRIEN: That's right.

All right. Grapefruit juice part of a healthy diet, right? Well, mixed with certain drugs, believe it or not, it can be dangerous. We're going to a look at that in our "House Call."

And surviving summer travel. You've got to -- more to worry about on vacation than just sunburn. From identity theft to medical emergencies, oh, why don't you just stay home for gosh sakes. No, we'll give you some travel tips coming up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, I like that. Summer is just around the corner. Day two of the surviving summer travel series, though, right now. We're going to tell you what you need to know to be safe on your dream vacation. We're talking about identity theft, medical emergencies, even terrorism. And they're all real concerns, of course.

Keith Bellows is the editor-in-chief of "National Geographic Traveler." He's in New York's Times Square this morning. Nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us. Keith, appreciate it.

KEITH BELLOWS, "NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER": Good morning, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: You know, I'm just going to run through the tips you have, because I think they're terrific and I want to give you time to explain them. Let's talk about what you should travel with, first and foremost. When it comes to documents, what should every traveler have?

BELLOWS: Well, you obviously have to have your passport, your driver's license, all your credit cards -- all of that should be backed u. You should actually digitize it, get it on a file, put it on the computer and then e-mail it yourself. No matter where you are in the world, you're going to have a color digital copy that you can pull up. Give a copy to a relative or a friend so that they also have a back-up.

S. O'BRIEN: So just scan it in and then you carry it around with you?

BELLOWS: Exactly.

S. O'BRIEN: No more -- I mean, there was a day when we used to photocopy our passport and then try to make a copy and keep it in your bag while your other passport's in your handbag? Do you recommend people walk around with the passport or do you lock it in your room when you're traveling?

BELLOWS: You do lock it in the room. In fact, the color version of your passport that you can carry with you in a special belt inside -- you know, pushed into your pocket -- into your waist or whatever, with your money and your credit cards, that's critical to you. You do not want to be pulling the passport out in public.

S. O'BRIEN: Medication. I know you should bring some. But how much? And I mean, obviously, you can't pick up everything at the drugstore before you go overseas, especially if you're going to be carrying it in a backpack.

BELLOWS: Well, I have my little sort of medical kit, which has the usual basics. But, you know, some people actually have medical conditions. You should go and visit your doctor before you leave on vacation, get an adequate supply of what you need and get a letter from the doctor saying what these medications are for.

S. O'BRIEN: Why do you need the letter?

BELLOWS: You need the letter because you might get stopped at a passport point. You may get stopped at a security -- people are always asking what's in this, what is the drug you're carrying? Make sure that you have documentation for what you're carrying. S. O'BRIEN: You also recommend travelers' insurance. What kind of travelers' insurance would I buy? I mean, and does it matter if I'm going to a more dangerous or risky country, would you recommend it? Or if I'm just going to do a little, you know, jaunt not too far from home?

BELLOWS: Well, I think any time you're worried about whether or not your plane connection's going to work out right or, you know, you're going to a hurricane zone, it does not hurt to get travel insurance. Now that travel insurance really covers the specific trip you're on. You also may want to consider medical travel insurance. For instance, I have a couple of kids, three kids, a wife. I have to pay about $225 for bed check. That gets me full coverage for the year. Something happens to me in Asia or in Colorado, they will airlift me to the nearest hospital to get expert medical attention. It's a very little amount to pay for very great security.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow, $225 for the entire year and you're covered?

BELLOWS: Yes, you are.

S. O'BRIEN: And that's at medjetassistance.com, I know.

BELLOWS: That's right.

S. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a couple more questions. You know, whenever you travel, you often are asked to use your passport as ID. You check into the hotel and from that moment on, you're giving your passport as your ID. People can steal that, can't they?

BELLOWS: Well, they can. And I think that, as much as possible, leave that passport behind, as I said. Keep a copy with you. But when you're pulling things out, try to use your driver's license. Try to use something that if you lose it, it's not going to be critical. Not easy to replace a driver's license, but it's a whole lot harder to replace your passport, especially when you're in another country. It means you have to go to the embassy. The pass -- the driver's license, not quite as big a problem.

S. O'BRIEN: ATMs. What's the best way to protect yourself when you're taking money out and you don't really know a neighborhood as well as you might know the neighborhood ATM where you live?

BELLOWS: Well, what I would do is ask -- first of all, ask the concierge for an ATM near you. But if you're going to use an ATM, make sure you are going inside. So many ATMs are located on the street. That leaves you at risk. It also means that you can be surveyed, and you don't want that. So if you can get inside, that's the best practice.

S. O'BRIEN: Final advice, have a medical plan. What do you mean?

BELLOWS: Pardon me?

S. O'BRIEN: Final advice, you say have a medical plan. BELLOWS: Have a medical plan. What I want to be able to do when I leave -- and this is just like playing chess -- you spend three -- if you're three moves ahead, you've got a better chance of traveling successfully. So when you leave, check out what the hospitals are. Ask your doctor if there any conditions that you have to be aware of in the area. For instance, if you're going into a malaria zone.

Make sure that you have all the needed medications that you need. Know what the phone call that you have make if you get in trouble. When you check into the hotel, check what kind of medical help they have there. Is there a doctor on duty? All these things, advanced planning, really helps when the trouble hits.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, questions you don't want to asking in a country where you don't speak the language when the emergency is unfolding right front of you.

BELLOWS: Exactly.

S. O'BRIEN: Keith Bellows is with "National Geographic Traveler." Thanks, Keith, excellent advice. Appreciate it.

BELLOWS: My pleasure, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up tomorrow in our summer -- surviving summer travel series -- with gas prices at all-time highs, some tips on how to save money if you're planning on driving on your summer vacation.

And coming up in just a moment, the top stories, including a state of emergency in Florida, brush fires burning more than 8,000 acres.

Police searching for a motive after a teenage gunman opens fire at a police station in Virginia.

Sentencing resumes for a man accused of a deadly Rhode Island nightclub fire. We're going to hear from the victims' families just ahead.

And President Bush taking another hit in recent polls. The war in Iraq is said to be among the issues weighing him down.

Plus, a guy who calls himself the "Fat Man Walking" making the trek from California to New York City just to lose weight. We're going to catch up with him ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

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