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Darfur atrocities demand action from the global community
Aditi Dubey
Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: Ed-Op
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I am writing this commentary after weeks of frustration. Every time I engage in a conversation with someone about Darfur, most of the time I see that the person has no idea what the situation is all about. Students don't really know as much about it as they should. This worries me. The Darfur crisis is everyone's problem. If someone's human rights are being violated, everyone needs to pay attention. Why? Because if this can happen to them, maybe it's only a matter of time until it can happen you. Because we believe in equality, and because we all agreed a long time ago to treat people with dignity and afford everyone basic freedoms. I mean, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights didn't just fall out of the air.
It's everyone's responsibility to know, and to act. I am not promising to give you a 'Quick Guide to Darfur' here, and I am not trying to change minds and hearts overnight with my words. But we're all playing a part in this larger scheme of things here, so let's make an effort to at least understand this.
Darfur. What does it mean to you? A troubled region in Africa? A genocide? A humanitarian crisis? A political and religious conflict? Regressive civilization?
No matter what perspective one might take, Darfur represents all that can go wrong in a nation with a diverse population and a widespread lack of resources. This ongoing armed conflict, almost bordering on genocide, has paralyzed the entire Sudan - the largest country in Africa. But whose failure is it? Is it the government, the people, or the region itself that inherently invites conflict because of its geographic location?
Darfur is a region in western Sudan and is mainly populated by Africans, with some Arab populations also present in the region. For years now, even before the armed conflict began, there have been tensions between these two sections, the African farmers and Arab herders, who compete for resources such as land and subsequently, money.
Also, geographically, Darfur's relatively peripheral location on the country's borders isolates it from central Sudan, which enjoys agricultural privileges from being on the bank of the river Nile. The region tends to have high population growth rates, low literacy rates, and an overall state of chaos even when its people are not being forced to flee their homes for fear of the their lives.
It's everyone's responsibility to know, and to act. I am not promising to give you a 'Quick Guide to Darfur' here, and I am not trying to change minds and hearts overnight with my words. But we're all playing a part in this larger scheme of things here, so let's make an effort to at least understand this.
Darfur. What does it mean to you? A troubled region in Africa? A genocide? A humanitarian crisis? A political and religious conflict? Regressive civilization?
No matter what perspective one might take, Darfur represents all that can go wrong in a nation with a diverse population and a widespread lack of resources. This ongoing armed conflict, almost bordering on genocide, has paralyzed the entire Sudan - the largest country in Africa. But whose failure is it? Is it the government, the people, or the region itself that inherently invites conflict because of its geographic location?
Darfur is a region in western Sudan and is mainly populated by Africans, with some Arab populations also present in the region. For years now, even before the armed conflict began, there have been tensions between these two sections, the African farmers and Arab herders, who compete for resources such as land and subsequently, money.
Also, geographically, Darfur's relatively peripheral location on the country's borders isolates it from central Sudan, which enjoys agricultural privileges from being on the bank of the river Nile. The region tends to have high population growth rates, low literacy rates, and an overall state of chaos even when its people are not being forced to flee their homes for fear of the their lives.
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