The genocide in Darfur should not be ignored
I was a child when it happened.
The malicious use of machetes that chopped off torsos. Heads. Toes. Futures. This was the genocide of Rwanda in April 1994. Within 100 days of terror, nearly one million people of an ethnic minority group called Tutsis were killed by the majority group Hutu, who were extremists and militiamen.
And this is happening again. In Darfur.
Since early 2003, in the western region of Darfur, Sudan, there have been approximately 400,000 non-Arab citizens raped, tortured and killed by a government-supported Arab militia known as the Janjaweed. Countless more people at this moment are still dying.
As I grew older, I began to understand the politics and red tape behind governmental policies not calling this ineffable crime a “genocide.“ In 1994, President Bill Clinton didn’t utter the word “genocide” because it would hold him with greater accountability from the public — more blood on his hands that can’t be wiped off.
In the article “US chose to ignore Rwandan genocide,“ senior presidential officials privately said the word “genocide“ within 16 days of the Rwandan killings. Yet, about a month later, Clinton’s administration chose to publicly say the word. Clinton later apologized in Rwanda in 1998 for his slow actions. He also should have apologized for being apathetic. Not everything rested on Clinton’s shoulders though.
There was us. Some individual lacked interest in the genocide back then and lack interest in the one now. Over breakfast, they chose to sip their coffee and turn their heads away from responsibility.
Many times, my heart would go out to the victims my age who looked like me. Every now and then, I also would get stirred up by an image of a child with tattered rags as clothes and wide-eyes that saw their parents shot to death by Janjaweed. For one moment, as I stared at the picture, I thought I could do something radical to raise awareness, money or support for those involved in the genocide.
But then I realized I had a math test in 30 minutes and I would rush off to the classroom, leaving my brothers and sisters in between the magazines to stare at dusty book shelves. Maybe someone else would help them I thoughtlessly rationalized.
Until now.
This time, I am not a child, and I can do something about it.
I will not wait for the government to decide if this Darfur catastrophe is horrible enough to be thought of as a genocide. I am not waiting on word from the government that they will supply the needed food and medical aid to a region terrified of its political leaders sworn to protect them. I will do what I can within my powers to spread the word about a genocide that many Americans know about, and are attempting to help end.
My start in helping these men, women and children begins today with awareness.
