Holocaust repeats itself in Darfur genocide !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Daanyeer]

Source: Yakima Herald
March 13, 2007 Author: ANDY CARROLL



After the atrocities of the Holocaust, the world promised to never again engage in the senseless, mass murder of a people because of ethnicity or beliefs.

On paper, it looks like a glorious promise, but the carrying out of this promise has been anything but flawless. The world has discovered a blind spot in this
promise: Africa.

Genocide is occurring in Darfur, the western region of Sudan, located in North Africa. This is not the first post-Holocaust instance of genocide in Africa; others include the Ugandan genocide in the 1970s and the Rwandan genocide in 1994. Genocide in Darfur has been going on since 2003, largely unnoticed by most of the world.

Similar to the Holocaust, the cause of the genocide in Darfur has to do with religion. The northern part of the country, which holds the power in government, is Muslim, while the southern part is Christian. In a demonstration of ethnic cleansing, the Sudanese government
gave clearance for the elimination of Christians.

By ignoring the violence of the militant group called the Janjaweed, a state of chaos has erupted in the Darfur region. Every day, many people in the southern region of the country are displaced from their homes and forced into refugee camps, where the threat of the Janjaweed grows with each passing day.

Since 2003, about 2 million people have been displaced, and around 400,000 of those displaced have been killed, according to the Web site www.savedarfur.org. Given the massive numbers of displacement and death, in addition to the brutal treatment of those captured or encountered, there is no doubt that the atrocities occurring in Darfur are indeed genocide.

Currently, there is no foreign military action in Darfur. Most of the military action in the world is focused elsewhere, due largely to the United States and the "war on terror." In America, the topic has attracted limited debate and discussion, as many people in this country are more focused on other issues, such as the war in Iraq or domestic political or economic issues.

In addition, the rest of the world seems to be hit-or-miss when it comes to knowledge of what is happening in Darfur. With so little attention paid to the atrocities, it may be safe to call the genocide in Darfur "the forgotten genocide."


In mid-October of 2006, the Darfur genocide was the topic of my school's "Faith in Action Week," a semi-
annual week we take to reflect on important, faith-related topics.

Before this, the topic of Darfur drew nothing but blank stares from many of my peers, but after the media presentation, it was abundantly clear to the room of unsettled, somewhat shocked teenagers: This atrocity is real, and it deserves our attention.

The thing that this sadly comes down to is the same idea that has plagued humanity since diversity became an issue: As human beings, many of us are reluctant to attempt to understand those who are different from us. Whether we talk about race, religion, sex, or any other such topic, there has always been ridiculous prejudice. It seems as though humanity as a whole, throughout the generations, has never ceased to fail in accepting the diversity in all of us.

However, this prejudice has sometimes been taken much too far, as some prejudicial hate has led to widespread killing in the most extreme cases. Of course, the most widely reported of these atrocities in the last century was the Holocaust, where about 6 million Jews were killed based entirely on their religious affiliation and ethnicity.

In some ways, the Darfur genocide parallels the Holocaust. Both involve ethnic cleansing based heavily, if not exclusively, on religious affiliation, the support of the country's government, and widespread killing.

The sad, but simple truth is the Darfur genocide is a nightmare that likely won't end until the world community steps in to end it. Some may debate "stepping in" would involve completely tearing down Sudan's government and having to strive toward reworking. Isn't that what our country is already doing in Iraq?

As long as the Sudanese government remains in control, innocent human beings will continue to lose their lives. Of course, many Americans would make the excuse the genocide is exclusively the concern of Sudan; but why should anyone ignore the desperate plea of our fellow human beings who want to be free from the ever-looming shadow of death?

Though many of us may not want to realize it, while we sit in our homes watching television and worrying about a dilemma of the next day, refugees in Darfur are starving and praying they may not die the next day. Though it may be true life is not always fair, is it entirely right there is such an extreme contrast between what people of two different parts of the world must experience?

The situation is bleak, but there is hope for the refugees in Darfur, and a great deal of it hinges on whether the rest of the world can care enough to help. We've always been taught to show respect to those around us and help those in need, but those lessons aren't limited to those we see in our everyday life.

There's little an individual might be able to do to ease the situation, but there is much that can be done if many such individuals gather and decide to reach out. This is a situation in which the "Golden Rule" -- "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" -- comes into play: If we were in a situation in which we were being killed for our race or religion and were helpless and hopeless against the oppressive force, wouldn't we want someone to reach out and help us?

The countless voices of Darfur are crying out. The most important question is: Can you hear them?


* Andy Carroll attends La Salle High School.

[FAH1223]

Its a tribal conflict

darfur rebels vs. khartoum govt

its not arab vs. african they want the same sh1t southern sudan got in the peace agreement

zionists and christian funamentalists are so ghey hyping this sh1t up and blaming the gov't for everything

worry about the people subjugated in your lands before you care about sudan

they mad the chinese got 40% of the oil

[Sadaam_Mariixmaan]

Fazzla said it