CRISIS IN DARFUR

You may have heard mention of a place called Darfur. It may have been from a 15 second news clip or maybe when you accidentally switched your radio to NPR for a few seconds and heard of a genocide happening there.

After the Holocaust the phrase “never again” became popular with the idea that as a human race we would never again allow such an atrocity to occur without stepping in and stopping it.

That being said, it’s sad that many of us are not aware of the same atrocities happening today not only in Darfur but other regions of the world as well.

You may be asking how this affects you or how you could possibly make a difference. One of the reasons that these genocides continue is because too many of us are complaisant with doing nothing thinking that there is nothing that can be done.

Some, however, aren’t content with that answer. If you believe that there really is something that can be done then there are a lot of resources available to you.

Savedarfur.org is an excellent website that not only provides a history and an overview of what is going on in Darfur but it also gives many ways that you can become involved by writing letters to local and national officials, donating money, holding bake sales or concerts to raise money and a plethora of other ideas. It also contains a blog with updated information about the ongoing struggle.

Genocideintervention.net is another very informative website providing history and current situations mainly happening in Africa. Students at Swarthmore College started it in the fall of 2004. The founders have set up a program with the African Union, a peacekeeping force in Darfur, to allow average Americans the opportunity of helping through donations that go directly to those in need, specifically helping women and girls who are in refugee camps in Northern Darfur. Another very useful tool to become involved is an events map that marks locations of where events are taking place across the country.

Thedarfurblog.blogspot.com is a blog created by Orikinla Osinachi, a self-proclaimed Christian Pacifist. The blog includes several videos from BBC that provide a different look at the genocide in Darfur. The latest entry talks about Steven Spielberg and eight Nobel Peace laureates who are threatening to boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to protest against the role of China in Darfur. There is an average of one new post per month, which isn’t a lot. I would recommend looking at the blog on savedarfur.org. It is kept more up to date.

There are many ways of educating yourself and becoming involved. All it takes is one person to start a positive revolution. Don’t wait for someone else to do it.