Working in a war zone

by Nikki Tundel, Minnesota Public Radio

The Darfur region of Sudan has been called everything from "a powder keg" to "the next Rwanda." So just who would choose to work there?

St. Paul, Minn. — Jerry Farrell can tell you everything you'd want to know about the continuing violence in Western Sudan. Until September, the Minnesota resident was the director of the American Refugee Committee's relief program in Darfur.

Jerry can tell you about the countless villages that have been torched and the millions of people who have been forced from their homes.

He can tell you about the women who are raped on their way to find firewood and the 200,000 people who have been murdered in the three-year-long conflict.

And he can tell you that he never thought twice about accepting the job in Darfur. He says he just knew it would be the right fit.

Reporter Nikki Tundel talked to Jerry Farrell about his time in Sudan and how he's adjusting to life back in the United States.