Virtually all of the genocide perpetrated on the people of Darfur has been committed by the Janjaweed. Janjaweed roughly translates as "a man with a gun on a horse". It's estimated that to date 200,000 people have been murdered and countless more made homeless and living in terror at the murderous hands of the Janjaweed. They are comprised of nomadic Arabic speaking African tribes and have been in conflict with the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement, rebel factions attempting to end the violence. Their main goal in Darfu as in other parts of Africa is ethnic cleansing. They attack villages of innocent people, killing at will and without mercy - men, women, children alike - and use rape as an "effective weapon of ethnic cleansing". The terror and sorrow administered at their hands for the past four and half years has devastated the entire western region.
Last July, the UN-AU officials promised to send 26,000 peace keeping troops into the area. They also agreed to support the already deployed 7,000 AU peacekeeper there. However, the no-show of representatives at the recent peace talks held in Libya may have delayed the proposed deployment which was was supposed to happen at the end of this year. It is thought that without the commitment and participation of these rebel factions, other countries would not readily commit to using their troops to stop the blood shed. The rebel leaders who did not attend the talks complained that the U.N has refused to heed their requests for a delay in sending troops which, they say, would allow them to form a more united front among the various rebel factions and come to some agreement on a delegation. At face value, the rebel factions requests seem reasonable since they are currently fighting under separate control with independent leadership. But I have to think that this is also a thinly veiled ploy to jockey for the leading position in who has the power to do what in the conflict that will ensue. Whatever the reason, all this has done is delayed any help that should be sent to Darfur and allowed the violence to continue at a rapid pace.
I have been watching the events in Darfur unfold with interest and horror. As an American I am saddened that my own government, so quick to plow into lessor conflicts with little thought, has been disappointingly slow to respond to the plight of Darfur. Our news media has not shed light on the genocide of these people with the importance they deserve. They will broadcast full hour long reports on the latest rehab debacle of Britney Spears and Darfur is an a 20 second after thought or a scroll at the bottom of the screen. I feel that is primarily because America has nothing to gain from assisting this tortured region of the world. As a nation which once prided itself as the caring shoulders of the world, our recent indifferent, self serving role in foreign affairs has forever tarnished our relationships in many countries and has made us the butt of jokes and hatred almost universally.
As a woman, I am personally appalled at the tactics being perpetrated by the Janjaweed - murdering children in front of their horrified mothers and then raping those mothers to breed a more "ethnically pure" race. We are witnessing a holocaust of new era. As an American, I am deeply disappointed in the lack of swift action to alleviate the suffering of these people and the turning of the eye to their plight. As a human being, I am dismayed that those who are attempting to send relief have bogged the process with petty arguments about who will lead. In the meantime, the violence continues and the people of Darfur, the Sudan and Chad continue to flee for their lives and lose everything they have and everyone they love.
http://instantkarma.org/index.html
Last July, the UN-AU officials promised to send 26,000 peace keeping troops into the area. They also agreed to support the already deployed 7,000 AU peacekeeper there. However, the no-show of representatives at the recent peace talks held in Libya may have delayed the proposed deployment which was was supposed to happen at the end of this year. It is thought that without the commitment and participation of these rebel factions, other countries would not readily commit to using their troops to stop the blood shed. The rebel leaders who did not attend the talks complained that the U.N has refused to heed their requests for a delay in sending troops which, they say, would allow them to form a more united front among the various rebel factions and come to some agreement on a delegation. At face value, the rebel factions requests seem reasonable since they are currently fighting under separate control with independent leadership. But I have to think that this is also a thinly veiled ploy to jockey for the leading position in who has the power to do what in the conflict that will ensue. Whatever the reason, all this has done is delayed any help that should be sent to Darfur and allowed the violence to continue at a rapid pace.
I have been watching the events in Darfur unfold with interest and horror. As an American I am saddened that my own government, so quick to plow into lessor conflicts with little thought, has been disappointingly slow to respond to the plight of Darfur. Our news media has not shed light on the genocide of these people with the importance they deserve. They will broadcast full hour long reports on the latest rehab debacle of Britney Spears and Darfur is an a 20 second after thought or a scroll at the bottom of the screen. I feel that is primarily because America has nothing to gain from assisting this tortured region of the world. As a nation which once prided itself as the caring shoulders of the world, our recent indifferent, self serving role in foreign affairs has forever tarnished our relationships in many countries and has made us the butt of jokes and hatred almost universally.
As a woman, I am personally appalled at the tactics being perpetrated by the Janjaweed - murdering children in front of their horrified mothers and then raping those mothers to breed a more "ethnically pure" race. We are witnessing a holocaust of new era. As an American, I am deeply disappointed in the lack of swift action to alleviate the suffering of these people and the turning of the eye to their plight. As a human being, I am dismayed that those who are attempting to send relief have bogged the process with petty arguments about who will lead. In the meantime, the violence continues and the people of Darfur, the Sudan and Chad continue to flee for their lives and lose everything they have and everyone they love.
http://instantkarma.org/index.html
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