(Cross-posted on dailykos.com)
After putting the kids to bed last night, we settled down to watch a video – Hotel Rwanda. I’d actually forgotten that a million people were brutally slaughtered in this sub-Saharan nation in 1994. A million people – that number is absolutely staggering. And the world did nothing to stop this slaughter of innocents.
There was one scene early on in the film that really stuck with me. Some reporters had snuck out and gotten some film footage of the slaughter taking place around them. The manager of the hotel (and the main character in this movie) said that surely, when the world sees this footage they’ll HAVE to send help. How can someone see that and not act?
The cameraman said that more than likely, people will see that on their television, say “how horrible” and then go back to eating their dinner.
It made me think about what I was doing 11 years ago. And I was ashamed I didn’t get involved in trying to stop this slaughter. It was on the news. We were all aware of what was going on and yet we as a nation did nothing. I never made one call – never wrote one letter to the editor. Nothing. I was too busy going to the pub on the weekends, hanging out with my friends and such.
And I thought of what’s going on now in the Sudan – and that people here in the states have referred to it as genocide. Repeatedly. And yet nothing’s being done. We’re too busy waging a war of choice against the people of Iraq. We’re too busy playing partisan politics here at home – up in arms over things that matter little in the grand scheme of things.
Granted, Karl Rove is a traitor and needs to be fired.
Granted, the fight over nominees to the Supreme Court is an important one and needs to be fought.
Granted, the midterm elections next year are important.
But people are dying in the Sudan.
How does all of the above stack up to genocide? To the senseless slaughter of innocent men, women and children? What follows is a brief description of what’s happening there…
Current Situation
Two years into the crisis, the western Sudanese region of Darfur is acknowledged to be a humanitarian and human rights tragedy of the first order. The humanitarian, security and political situation continue to deteriorate: atrocities continue, people are still dying in large numbers of malnutrition and disease, and a new famine is feared. According to recent reports by the World Food Program, the United Nations and the Coalition for International Justice, 3.5 million people are now hungry, 2.5 million have been displaced due to violence, and 400,000 people have died in Darfur thus far. The international community is failing to protect civilians or to influence the Sudanese government to do so.
The international community is deeply divided — perhaps paralyzed — over what to do next in Darfur. The UN Commission of Inquiry on Darfur described the massive scope of atrocities carried out in the territory, primarily by the government and its allied Janjaweed militias. And the situation on the ground shows a number of negative trends, which have been developing since the last quarter of 2004: deteriorating security; a credible threat of famine; mounting civilian casualties; the ceasefire in shambles; the negotiation process at a standstill; the rebel movements beginning to splinter, and new armed movements appearing in Darfur and neighboring states. Chaos and a culture of impunity are taking root in the region.
The humanitarian situation remains catastrophic, due to ongoing state-sponsored violence, layers of aid obstruction, the lack of an overall humanitarian strategic plan, and the weakened state of displaced Sudanese. Refugees and internally displaced civilians (IDPs) have been displaced for long periods, they are in terribly weakened states, they are subject to sexual abuse and attack, they do not have adequate shelter, and a new famine is feared. Infectious diseases and dysentery will drive up the body counts rapidly. Conventional responses are simply inadequate to prevent increasing mortality rates, and the current response will fail unless buttressed by a number of bold and urgent actions.
Rape has become a hallmark of the crimes against humanity in Darfur. It has proven one way for the Janjaweed militias to continue attacking Darfurians after driving them from their homes. Families must continue collecting wood, fetching water or working their fields, and in doing so, women daily put themselves or their children at the risk of rape, beatings or death as soon as they are outside the camps, towns or villages. It is assumed that the hundreds of rapes reported and treated grossly underestimate the actual number committed, as victims of rape in Darfur are often too scared or too ashamed to seek help. In a culture where rape draws heavy social disgrace, victims are often ostracised by their own families and communities. These women and children have been forced from their communities and even punished for illegal pregnancy as a result of being raped.
As need far outstrips the ability of agencies to deliver aid, it is not too soon to sound a famine alert. Relief workers on the ground are convinced that few if any of the nearly 2 million IDPs will return to their homes in time for the next planting season, thus ensuring at least longer term food insecurity. The onset of the rainy season in late May will further restrict access.
Compounding the problem is that the numbers of at-risk civilians continue to increase. The Janjaweed continue to undertake attacks against villages, prey on IDPs, and obstruct aid activities. Many Janjaweed have been integrated into the army and police; no one has been charged with any crime, and their actions are not being challenged. There remains a state of total impunity.
Not since the Rwanda genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of slaughter, rape, starvation and displacement. It is estimated that at least 250,000 people have died. More than 2 million people have been displaced from their homes and over 200,000 have fled across the border to Chad. The Sudanese government continues to flout international law with impunity.
We are a community of activists on this site. We have the power to do good with the resources and contacts here. I’m posting this as a call to action people – let’s put our collective energy and power together and do something to stop this horrendous slaughter.
The world did nothing for the people of Rwanda – let’s do something now so history will NOT show that we failed to act again.
Please, recommend this diary, and post your thoughts and ideas here. At the very least, go to the site linked above and make a donation or buy one of their green bracelets – NOT ON MY WATCH!
Peace