"Why does the genocide in Darfur matter today?"
Eleven million people were murdered in the European Holocaust in the 1940s. Millions could have been saved if not for the ignorance and indifference of governments, citizens and the media around the world. Millions can be saved today in Darfur if the world would cease to continue ignoring the atrocities occurring there.
To millions, Darfur is home. They never would have imagined war coming to their once peaceful villages. Their homes became "little short of hell on earth" according to the United Nations Secretary-general, Kofi Annan. Imagine if you awoke in the middle of the night to find people attacking your village and then have to run away, leaving your family and people you have known your whole life. In Darfur, children all on their own are forced to flee from their homes, and either cross over the Chad border or find refuge in other areas of Sudan. Sometimes they have no clue where they are going, where their families are, if their families are even alive, and if they are going to survive.
After the European Holocaust the slogan "Never Again" was embraced by the Jewish people. We promised that we would never again allow ourselves to be victims of genocide. I believe this idea should apply to all of humanity. Never again should we ignore the murder of innocent civilians in any country due to race, religion, ethnicity or culture.
However, that has not been the case, as we watched two million die in Southern Sudan, thousands die in Bosnia, 800,000 die in Rwanda and countless other genocide's have occurred since the Holocaust. We are still apathetic as we continue to watch people being killed, raped, and die of malnutrition and hunger in Darfur, Sudan. The genocide in Darfur has already taken the lives of 400,000 black Sudanese. Almost three million people have been displaced, 200,000 have taken refuge in Chad, 80% of Darfur's children suffer from malnutrition, and over one million people are still at risk of being victims of violence.
This genocide is not making headlines, although i believe it should. And like the majority of genocide or any other human rights stories, when Darfur is mentioned on the news, many people just change the station. Others will do as the U.N peace keeper says in the movie Hotel Rwanda "...'That's horrible,' and then go on eating their dinners..."
Only after genocide takes place do people question how the American government and the United Nations could know what was happening and not intervene. We only question our government when it is too late to save lives. However, I believe we should not criticize our government for not intervening in situations that have previously happened; instead, we should put pressure on them to take action as the genocide is occurring.
I strongly believe, the media should cover the genocide in Darfur right now. Making peace plans should be near the top of our government’s priorities, instead of at the bottom. Citizens should push our government to intervene. Our government and Citizens should send aid to Darfur; only then would the slogan "Never Again" become a reality.
The war in Darfur clearly shows no mercy nor does it have any limits. The Sudanese government supports the Janjaweed (Arab Militia), by giving them weapons and uniforms, but they are not gaining anything by doing so. For Americans, our position on intervention in Darfur should not be about political or religious beliefs; it should be about humanity.
If this article has motivated you to help the Darfurian people, one of the greatest ways to help end the situation in Darfur is by writing local politicians. This idea has proven effective on November 18th when the Senate passed a law of intervention in Darfur. Although, this law still needs to be passed by the House of Representatives. Another great way to help is by educating others to raise awareness of the ongoing atrocities. To find more information and ways to help end the Darfur Genocide, visit my website at http://freewebs.com/savesudan.
