Sudan has been in the public eye of late due to many major problems. For one, genocide in the Western region of Darfur has led to the murders of 30,000 people (www.thenation.com). Furthermore, the nation has experienced a civil war for all but ten of thepast fourty-four years. While the separation of the African nation into northern and southern components may relieve some troubles, a major gap in wealth between the rich and poor may be more problematic.

The problem, like many international issues, has its roots in oil. In central and eastern Sudan (including the capital city, Khartoum) people are very wealthy. As Sudan has been endowed with large oil reserves, most of the oil wealth ends up in Khartoum (www.nytimes.com). This is a far cry from Western and Southern Sudan, where most people, who are peasants living in small villages, struggle to get by.

This is exacerbated internationally. While many nations condemn Sudan’s violent actions, the same nations’ leading corporations hypocritically sponsor the violence by purchasing large amounts of oil from Sudan.

Senior Evan Pye commented, “China should get its own oil instead of killing people for it and causing a wealth gap.”

As evidenced by the secession of South Sudan, the wealth gap is internally fueling strife (www.allafrica.com).

Sophomore Sasank Chundi said about the wealth gap, “This will cause more issues. This is the classic struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat and the proletariat always seeks more wealth, but the bourgeoisie will be reluctant to oblige them.”

Ultimately, problems may be aggravated by this blatant wealth gap. When asked how the international community should react to the wealth gap, senior USC student Mahen Seneviratne said triumphantly, “Power to the People!”