Darfur. Do you know where that is? “I have no idea what that is.”, says Jared King, currently a freshman. For many, Darfur is just a word, and they are unaware that currently millions threatened by genocide in Africa. If you are one of these people, consider this an intervention.
Darfur is the far western section of Sudan a country is northeastern Africa. Since early 2003, a conflict has been going on in the region. As of now about 500,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million have been displaced, and an average of 10,000 more people die each month.
You may be wondering why these people are dying, or why no action is being taken.
First of all, this area has been in disaster for some time now, due to famine and desertification, as well as political tension. This finally erupted when a group called the Darfur Liberation Front began assaulting Sudanese government buildings. This would normally be put down by the army, but the military was deployed at the time in southern Sudan, where a civil was just ending. The government therefore, turned to militias, known as the Janjaweed, for help. The Janjaweed were originally Arabic nomadic herders, but they were made in to a well-armed counter-insurgency force by the Sudanese government.
Upon entering the conflict the
Janjaweed were dominant, routing the rebels. The Janjaweed have thus far destroyed 385 villages in Darfur, singling out non-Arab villages. This has led the conflict to be called genocide.
It became international in 2004, when the Janjaweed began pursuing refugees into Sudan’s neighbor, Chad. Eventually, peace was supposedly made, but the Janjaweed continue to slaughter civilians in Darfur. Even now, the Sudanese government continues to supply heavy weapon and to the Janjaweed.
Many aid organizations are in Darfur, but they are constantly targets for violence. This has led some to pull out, plunging the area further into crisis. With no one stepping up to take action against it, this genocide looks like it’s going to continue for a long time.
Sources: newsweek, US news.
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thats for sure, man
If only Darfur had oil, maybe then we could help them! This is one of several horrific cases of its sort that is largely unaided by anyone, and that needs to be remedied. A comedian once said that we, being the world, don’t really care who you kill, just don’t kill your neighbour (referring precisely to situations such as these), and that’s so incredibly true and shaming. Clearly some country needs to open its eyes to this blatant genocide.