What's going on in Darfur? In the Darfur region
of Sudan, an estimated 400,000 individuals are dead. Imagine the United States government wiping out the entire population
of Atlanta, Georgia- the numbers are almost exact, according to the U.S. Census 2000. Now, imagine all of the African-Americans
in New York City being forced from their homes- again, the numbers are similar to the situation in Darfur, where over 2,500,000
innocent civilians have fled into neighboring Chad. In Darfur, millions of others face starvation, rape, and unending
fear as a result of violent actions executed by the government-sponsored Janjaweed militias.
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| Map Courtesy of www.humanrightsfirst.org |
Many
world leaders have judged the current situation in Darfur to be "genocide." Some, hesitant to invoke the powerful
connotations of the word "genocide," have used the more subtle label of "ethnic cleansing," while still
others ignore the humanitarian crisis altogether. We call it genocide. Arab Darfurians, at the urging of Sudan's
government, are wiping out villages of primarily non-Arab African civilians, raping women, burning homes, and sparing no one.
One ethnicity attempting to wipe out another... Does this sound like genocide to you? Since the escalation of the Darfur conflict in
July 2003, innocent victims in Darfur have been crying out to the international community for help, imploring wealthier nations
to acknowledge the violence and provide much-needed aid. World leaders have done well to recognize the Darfur crisis
and discuss the possibility of replacing the undersupplied African Union troops, responsible for sustaining the majority of
the Darfur peacekeeping efforts thus far, with United Nations forces. Despite opposition from the Sudanese government,
the United Nations Security Council recently approved Resolution 1706, calling to send 20,000 UN peacekeeping troops to Darfur.
While the passage of this resolution is most encouraging, the genocide in Darfur cannot be put to and end unless we are further
educated about this infringement upon human rights. It's the responsibility of our generation to answer the calls
for help. It's up to our generation to start Dancing for Darfur!
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