Reflection week 7

This week, I went to hear a panel on the genocide in Sudan. Two men who escaped from Sudan and have been living in America since have organized a freedom walk, starting in New York, and ending at the capitol. I was planning to attend the walk and following rally, but had classes. The men who came and talked at the panel were very moving, and talked about the conflict and awful things occurring today in Sudan, and their reasons for walking.

I had written an informative speech on the topic of the “lost boys” from Darfur 3 years ago, but the issue has morphed into something slightly different since that time. When I first became aware of Sudan’s bloody conflict, I was 14, and had gone to see the documentary God Grew Tired of Us, regarding the situation of the lost boys in Sudan at the time (http://www.godgrewtiredofus.com). I was struck by the plight of these young boys, forced to walk over 1,000 miles for sometimes more than 5 years in order to escape the bloody civil war in their own country. They survived bombings, hyenas, starvation, dehydration, and had to deal with the abandonment of their families and the deaths of family members and friends. In the end, some of the lost boys made it out of the refugee camps to the United States, and a safer life, still sending money home from their new jobs to oppressed family members back in Africa. Although the situation of the “lost boys” has not changed much in previous years, the bigger issue today in Sudan is the overall genocide and war crimes being committed by the Janjaweed, which represents both the government and the Arab tribes. African farmers and other innocents in Darfur have been systematically being wiped out by these ruthless forces, all in the name of “ethnic cleansing”. This fighting has claimed 400,000 lives and displaced over 2,500,000 people, and over one 100 people continue to die each day; five thousand every month.

Perhaps the most upsetting component of the entire conflict is the lack of awareness in the world. Even though these atrocities have been ongoing since 2003, the international community remains ignorant and inactive. There are children being snatched from their villages, desensitized, and forced to commit violent acts against their own people, killing, raping and pillaging all before they hit puberty. And no one seems to care. In our news, we see headlines about facebook, celebrities, and the newest technology before we come across anything to do with Sudan. And what can we do? The thing is, Looking at this crisis from a realist perspective, you can’t really blame countries that don’t intervene. What do they have to gain? In most cases, nothing. If the US were to send troops into Darfur to attempt an aid mission, it may worsen the situation, and would be a waste of our troops and money. We wouldn’t gain any dominance by showing we are a compassionate nation, as Darfurians do not determine our standing on the world stage. Also, if we send our armies to help one country, we will be left less protected then before.