When you discuss the word genocide people usually
think of the Holocaust in Germany during World War II.
This event was well documented and is taught to on going
generations so that the world will never forget what
happened and likewise prevent such atrocities from happening
again. Unfortunately this was not the last genocide to occur
in our world. Even more unfortunately we have done little to
nothing to stop any of the genocides that have occurred
since that time. Cambodia, Rwanda, and now Sudan to name a
few. It is almost as if governments have learned if you are
going to do something bad then do it on a huge scale and you
will not get in trouble for it because everyone will be to
shocked to believe it is really that bad.
In Darfur Sudan a genocide has been ongoing since
around February 2003. Since that time 400,000 men,
women, and children have been brutally murdered and 2.5
million have fled the country to understaffed refugee camps.
Countless women and children have been raped and beaten.
Villages have been burned and wells destroyed. The Sudan
government conducts the killing through supplying a militia
group referred to as the Janajaweed which means “Devil on
horse back” The government and Janajaweed are fundamentalist
Arabs and their victims are non Arab Black African Muslim
agrarian farmers from various tribes. There is no end in
site as the UN still refuses to take a hard stance on the
Sudanese government.
The Sudan conflict while seemingly complicated,
could be solved very simply. It is important that we do not
develop the attitude that “there will always be conflict in
the world”. The implications of this attitude are basically
“so why should I care”. While it is true that our world will
probably never be perfect no one could argue against the
notion that it could be a lot better. Therefore please take
the time to get involved with the problems in the world. One
simple way to help is to feel your heart with compassion in
all situations. With so much wrong in the world we certainly
do not want to personally contribute more negatives. Helping
starts on an individual level. If nothing else be kinder
today in honor of those suffering and please try to find
ways during your day to contribute to more collaborative
issues in our world that need fixing such as the genocide in
Darfur.
Child soldiers are another major problem in the
world that this movie focuses on. Children who are
barely old enough to hold a gun straight are often abducted
into various armies, given alcohol to keep them involved,
and sent to the front lines. There has always been cruelty
in the world but with our “advanced” society though we have
found horrific ways to mass produce evil and suffering. The
hardships of progress and the greed of mankind have combined
to bring about some of the largest scale atrocities in the
history of mankind during the past 100 years. We must
utilize the other benefits of our modern society to counter
this cruelty. There are many wonderful groups in place now
that are raising awareness about these problems. The
encouraging part is that we as individuals can come together
to put an end to such atrocities. What else better to do
with our time here then help alleviate the suffering of
others?
