Since 2003 the government in Sudan has been sponsoring the Janjaweed militias to conduct a campaign of ethnic cleansing of all non-Arab people. Between 80%-90% of Darfur’s African villages have been destroyed, an estimated 400,000 people have been massacred, and more than 2.5 million survivors have fled to squalid camps across Darfur, eastern Chad and the Central African Republic.
As early as September 2004 Secretary Powell officially invoked the term “genocide” to describe what was going on there in testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. He was followed soon after by President Bush (white House Press Release, September 9, 2004). This represented the first time an ongoing genocide was called its rightful name by a sitting U.S. president.
Despite calling it a genocide the U.S. and the rest of the world have taken no effective action to date. This is Rwanda 2:0, and the killing not only continues, it is getting worse.
At 6 a.m. on the morning of Aug. 25, Kalma camp, home to 90,000 displaced Darfuris, was surrounded by Sudanese government forces. By 7 a.m., 60 heavily armed military vehicles had entered the camp, shooting and setting straw huts ablaze. Terrified civilians — who had previously fled their burning villages when they were attacked by this same government and its proxy killers the Janjaweed — hastily armed themselves with sticks, spears and knives. Of course, these were no match for machine guns and automatic weapons. By 9 a.m., the worst of the brutal assault was over. The vehicles rolled out leaving scores dead and over 100 wounded. Most were women and children.
As poverty and corruption go, it does not get much worse than the situation in Darfur! It is Rwanda all over again and the world is responding in exactly the same way – DOING NOTHING!. By doing nothing our governments are guilty, by not forcing our governments to do anything we are equally complicit. PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD AND JOIN A CAMPAIGN!
I don’t think that the world cares unless there is a significant gain to be had. I have a hard time understanding how people can see these atrocities take place and turn away, pretending it doesn’t exist! I really hope others will read your blog it is well written I get far too emotional but still I write and sign and send letters, send emails, make phones calls etc. I try hard to keep my wits but when I think of the evil and corruption that this world has bathed in for so long I get furious! Children, women and men are dying, not just dying, they are being slaughtered, starved, uprooted, thrown away as if they are nothing….. how long will others stand by and allow all of this to occur. Write a letter people it is one small step that can make a big difference. God bless and keep up your fight!