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Darfur rebels are being murdered by the Sudanese Government, after what was first a fight for religious freedom. Krystal urges her readers to do something to help end the genocide in Darfur.
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Genocide in Darfur
Krystal Wayne | 3/6/08 | Opinion
his, Grizzlies, is an update on the Genocide of Darfur.
The fight in Darfur started mainly over religious prosecution; the Sudanese government was unable to except the religious beliefs of the people of Darfur.
The Darfur conflict is a continuous problem in Darfur, the region known as western Sudan. On one side of the armed conflict is the Sudanese Government and military, also know to locals as the Janjaweed. The Janjaweed is a militia group formed mostly of the Arab Baggara tribes and the northern tribe of Rizeigat. The defensive end consists of rebel groups: the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement (SLM and JEM). The rebel movement is lead by the Fur, Zaghawa and Massaleit tribes/ethnic groups. These “rebel” groups are just men and women fighting the government because they wanted religious tolerance, now, they are fighting for more: their lives and the lives of their children.
In April 2007, numerous rebel fighters and refugees fled to borders of Sudan and into Chad, where they were offered sanctuary. In May 2007 Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and Chadian President Idriss Deby signed a peace agreement. It was aimed at reducing the tensions between the two countries, and between local Chadians and the refugee Darfurians. This accord was preceded over by Saudi Arabia. However, Chadian Rebels (which have been a problem for years) were secretly backed by Sudanese aid and UFFD. The Chadian Rebels then attacked the presidential Chadian forces in East Chad on the request of the Sudanese government. This move hurt the Darfur rebels the most: leading the President of Chad to believe that the attack was started because of the sanctioning of the Darfur rebels. The President was then considering forcing the helpless refugees back into Sudan. Unfortunately, by the end of May, the Sudanese government still had the upper hand.
In June, Oxfam (Oxfam International is a confederation of 13 organizations working with over 3000 partners in more than 100 countries to find solutions to poverty and injustice) announced that it is permanently pulling out of Gereida, the largest refuge in Darfur. More then 103,000 were encamped there. The constant hijackings of UN vehicles and the obscure deaths of American and UK citizens was making the UN question their position in Darfur, and if they were going to stay. The UN was the only thing standing between the Sudanese government and complete genocide of the Darfurians; if the UN pulled out, the men, women, and children of Darfur would become utterly helpless. So, in June, it became a major question as to whether or not Darfur would lose, what seemed to be, their last defense: the UN.
However, despite the lack of hope, Darfur found a bargaining chip in early July: water. As many of you know the Sudan is a gigantic desert, so water is a desperate lifeline of the people. BBC News reported that a large underground lake has been found directly beneath the Darfur region. Darfur hoped that this new found water would help end the destruction and genocide of their people. Unfortunately, the Genocide continued despite the new found relief. Fortunately, after the discovery of water, Britain and France began to push hard for immediate cease fire in Darfur. When cease-fire was possible, France and Britain were prepared to give immediate economic aid to the people of Darfur. But where is American in these proceedings? As the holocaust, we are just standing by and watching. Despite American lack of assistance, UN troops were allowed to enter Darfur and offer aide.
It began to seem like things were getting better in August, however, when existing rebel groups gathered in Tanzania to unite and make peace negotiations with the Government of Sudan. The conference was held from Aug. 3 to 5. On the last day of the conference, all rebel groups reached a decision concerning power, wealth, land, humanitarian issues and compensation for the genocide of the people. There is, as far as I can find, no news on the outcomes of the negotiations with the Sudanese government. The last death poll in Darfur wages more than half a million dead, and more than 2 million without a home country.
These deaths include many related to heavy fire, burning to death (mostly burned to death in their own homes when the government would torch the refugee camps), starvation and malnutrition. Women are also being raped and killed, and often left to deal with the disgrace of bearing a child of a rapist. Children and infants are being strangled or shot, and unborn fetuses are being aborted (by either killing the mother or cutting the baby from its mother’s womb). The atrocities and death toll is continuing, though it is slowing down.
Is American doing enough? Are you, as a Granite Hills Grizzly, doing enough? No, you’re not. It is the harsh truth but America is not assisting the people of Darfur. What can you do? What can you do to save a life that is half a world away? You’re just a teenager right? Wrong! You are an American citizen, you are a Grizzly, and I beg you to start acting like it. Growing up does not mean getting a car, or an i-pod, or moving out, or even going to college. It means that you are able to see the truth around you; it means you are finally able to do something. So do something!
Many ask if America’s noninvolvement is because of President Bush and his Administration, or because of Congress. In 2005 Bush made a public statement that concerned America’s observing stance. He stated that he wanted America to do more, that the free people of the world could not stand by and allow another Holocaust. “We must do all that we can to save these people,” stated Bush. He hopes that his Administration and the people will do all that they can. The question remains as to why we have not. The fault must rest on the shoulders of Congress. The reasons are unknown as to why the United States remains a spectator, but Congress must have their reasons. It is to my understanding that Congress finds itself “preoccupied with the situation in Iraqi.” This is no reason to ignore the devastation occurring in the western parts of Sudan.
Even during the time of elections, no new candidate has stepped forward and even slightly addressed the Darfur Genocide. Can you vote for someone that does not even address or acknowledge one of the greatest atrocities of our generation? I now suppose that if Congress shall not act, then you should do so as free American individuals—join a Save Darfur Coalition and raise funds and awareness, or make donations at www.darfurgenocide.org.
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