For all of the young people we met in our ten days in southern Sudan, the future was bleak. To learn more about what they needed to rebuild their lives, we sought out "returnees" -- those who had returned after fleeing to neighboring countries or to other areas of Sudan during the 21-year civil war between north and south Sudan. This war only ended when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in January 2005.

President Obama’s speech on U.S. policy in Iraq Friday was significant for two reasons.  First, he announced that “by August 31, 2010, our combat mission in Iraq will end” and that “I intend to remove all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of 2011.”  Second, he said that the U.S. will work with Iraq and other countries in the region “to help the millions of displaced Iraqis.”

Vice President Joe Biden visited Afghanistan just one week before the inauguration, indicating the new administration’s foreign policy priorities. It is clear that America’s “to do” list in Afghanistan is a long one. But the first order of business should be regaining the trust of Afghans.

After seven years of international presence, the country is still facing tremendous challenges: a weak government, a fledging economy, a serious humanitarian situation and a growing insurgency. As the Vice President himself said on his return, "The truth is that things are going to get tougher in Afghanistan before they're going to get better.” 

Richard Holbrooke, the Obama administration’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, knows first hand that peacemaking can be dangerous and difficult.  He dedicated To End A War, his book on the negotiations that ended the war in the Balkans 15 years ago, to three colleagues who died in the early stages of that effort.

In announcing the appointment last week, President Obama said:  “There is no answer in Afghanistan that does not confront the Al Qaida and Taliban bases along the border, and there will be no lasting peace unless we expand spheres of opportunity for the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan.”

“It’s a particularly exciting week to be here in our nation’s capital,” said host Sarah Jessica Parker last night as she kicked off the VIP reception before the powerful and stirring performance of the play Betrayed at the Kennedy Center.

Ms. Parker, with her co-host and Refugees International Board Member Matt Dillon, graciously welcomed guests at the VIP reception and immediately prior to the play.  They remarked upon the challenges facing the incoming Obama administration to help nearly 5 million Iraqis displaced by the war, and they spoke of their hopes in bringing this one-time performance to Washington, D.C.

"When I saw the play, I was struck by how powerfully it illustrates the crisis facing Iraqi refugees,” noted Mr. Dillon.  “What better place to present it than with Refugees International in Washington, where it can have the biggest impact with policy makers."

Ms. Parker echoed this sentiment: “Seeing so many of our leading citizens here tonight gives me hope that we won’t let their situation slip into the shadow of the past, that we will reach out with the assistance they so critically need to survive and rebuild their lives.”

Barack Obama may not know it, but soon he will have refugees on his mind.

In a recent interview with TIME Magazine, the president-elect talked about the foreign policy priorities that will occupy him and his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.

"There’s no doubt that managing the transition in Iraq is going to be a top priority," he said.  "Managing a more effective strategy in Afghanistan will be a top priority.  Recognizing that it is not simply an Afghanistan problem but it’s an Afghanistan-Pakistan-India-Kashmir-Iran problem is going to be a priority."  He also said that “The Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be a priority."

All of these crises are characterized by displacement problems.  Here is a rundown:

President-elect Barack Obama believes that displacement poses both humanitarian and security problems.  A recent article in The New York Times illustrates this point by describing problems caused by angry youths in Sudanese refugee camps.

Some 2.7 million people in the Darfur region of Sudan have been displaced by five years of civil war, and many of them live in vast camps.  “Increasingly angry and outspoken about their uncertain fate, the generation that came of age in the camps is challenging the traditional sheiks, upending the age-old authority structure of their tribal society and complicating efforts to achieve peace,” The Times reported over the weekend.

The story caught my eye because it highlights a serious problem:  long stays in camps—either as refugees out of their countries or displaced within their own countries—can radicalize youth.  We have seen this over the years with Palestinians and with Afghan refugees, and we could well see it with displaced Iraqi youths who are living in increasingly desperate conditions.

Today, nearly four years after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended over 26 years of brutal civil war, southern Sudan continues to be a place of acute poverty and underdevelopment.  Juba, the capital of the south, is a town consisting of ramshackle, hastily put together homes and a steady stream of goats and dust through what could charitably be considered streets.