Since the primary theme of my work here in Guatemala is the genocide that took place in the early 80s, I thought it only appropriate to keep some notes here on the genocide that's unfolding on our generation's watch...and most importantly, what we can do to avoid complicity.
We say never again. The phrase has become a brand rallying cry, characterizing the movement against genocide and repeatedly resulting in not much more than an empty promise. And today, a genocide is raging in Darfur, a marginalized Western region of Sudan. According to a recent Amnesty International report, some statistics on the growing crisis are as follows:
- 2.2 million… number of refugees and people displaced by the conflict.
- 285,000… estimated number of deaths from starvation, disease and killings in Darfur since 2003.
- 7,000… number of African Union monitors deployed in Darfur.
- 13… number of UN Security Council resolutions adopted on Darfur.
- Zero… number of United Nations peacekeepers deployed in Darfur.
At it's most genuine, "Never Again" it is a show of solidarity; a sorrowful conviction that what has passed in Rwanda, Cambodia, and many other countries were acts of utter inhumanity. Although we have come a long way in the recognition and denouncement of genocide, outcries of Never Again have proved futile. Darfur is an ongoing reminder of that, and we would do well to heed it. It's important to fight to keep from ignoring the atrocities being committed there; because somehow, apparently, genocide is a very easy thing to ignore.
“Race murder,” as genocide has been called (see Samantha Power's A Problem from Hell), may be one of the most difficult concepts for us to fathom as reality. But the incomprehensible nature of a truth like genocide does not absolve us from recognizing that not only is it going on, but it may well also continue. Daily events that take place in Darfur and that occurred years ago in Treblinka, Poland; Quiché, Guatemala; Kigali, Rwanda; and Srebrenica, Bosnia among others will take place again somewhere not yet known. That is unless we face the reality of genocide, struggle with it, and finally, come up with the conviction to create the intellectual and practical machinery to prevent it.
“Race murder,” as genocide has been called (see Samantha Power's A Problem from Hell), may be one of the most difficult concepts for us to fathom as reality. But the incomprehensible nature of a truth like genocide does not absolve us from recognizing that not only is it going on, but it may well also continue. Daily events that take place in Darfur and that occurred years ago in Treblinka, Poland; Quiché, Guatemala; Kigali, Rwanda; and Srebrenica, Bosnia among others will take place again somewhere not yet known. That is unless we face the reality of genocide, struggle with it, and finally, come up with the conviction to create the intellectual and practical machinery to prevent it.
There's plenty of reading to be done to sort out the particulars of the violence in Darfur--scholar Gérard Prunier calls it "the ambigious genocide" in part because of just how complex the antecedents, ethnic lines, and characterization of victims and perpetrators are. We ought not to call it simply one side systematically devastating another; however, nor should we stall any longer chalking up the violence to overcomplicated ethnic warfare founded in too-deeply-rooted historic background. (On this note, for a really interesting and well-written take on humanitarian intervention [relating to Iraq and the Balkans but nevertheless revelant] check out this article from The New York Times by Roger Cohen.) Below are some links that help clarify the history and debate, along with some powerful visuals to make the events real in our minds.
Perhaps more surprisingly, another thing that there is plenty of are ways to act--on individual and collective levels--to start sending a signal that the violence calculated and committed by Sudanese government forces must stop. The links below are also where you can find a range of options for action from divestment to letter-writing to awareness campaigns.
Suggested methods of action may sound like just making noise, but making noise is one thing that needs to happen--stopping genocide is a task that's neither easy nor cheap, so if politicians have no reason to believe we care, they certainly won't make efforts to end the crisis.
Perhaps more surprisingly, another thing that there is plenty of are ways to act--on individual and collective levels--to start sending a signal that the violence calculated and committed by Sudanese government forces must stop. The links below are also where you can find a range of options for action from divestment to letter-writing to awareness campaigns.
Suggested methods of action may sound like just making noise, but making noise is one thing that needs to happen--stopping genocide is a task that's neither easy nor cheap, so if politicians have no reason to believe we care, they certainly won't make efforts to end the crisis.
