With a new President in office and a new Congress filling the Capitol Building and it's offices there seems to be little change in the policy regarding Sudan and the Darfur region. In fact, it looks as though this is not all too pressing of an issue because blogger has underlined Darfur as being spelt incorrectly because apparently the website does not know what it is. But it is a major issue as seen from my attached article.With the looming credit crisis, the housing meltdown, and the roller coaster of the stock market, not to mention the newfound sensationalism of "swine flu," the Darfur region seems to have fallen off of the radar of worries and injustices in this country. I have heard little from the activist celebrities or other groups on the issue as of late, and even the protest in this article only gathered 5 lawmakers to stand up to the Sudanese government.
Though the State Department has referred to this issue as a "genocide," why is the Sudanese embassy still open in the face of their blatant disregard of the problem. Not only should the United States place pressure on our allies and countries such as China and Russia to not deal with the Sudanese until this is sorted out, but also we should send a stronger message to the Sudanese government as well voicing our disdain for the problem. This truly is an example of how there is not always human rights for all.
2 comments:
I agree with you that people have forgotten about Darfur but I don't know if I think boycotting or stopping all dealings with Sudan would be the way out. I think sometimes it is more important to go in their and deal with it rather that disconnect from the place and expect them to deal with the issue on their own if they want the United States to have ties with them. Sudan being a third world and developing country, needs the support of developed countries to deal with the issues and it is important that the developed world intervene and help with the humanitarian issues at hand. The United States went into Iraq on humanitarian grounds and so they should go in now to Darfur and try and solve the problem as best they can.
I very much agree that the world has given up on Darfur. It was popular for awhile, but like clothing changes each season, it was almost as if Darfur went out of style. So then what do we do? The concept of human rights asks ultimately for a correction of wrongs to protect the innocent, their rights, and their freedom (concepts that some argue are rooted singularly in a Western mindset). Does diplomacy, monetary funds, and foreign policy “fix” it? Do we use force and power to go in and stop it? Taking lives in the name of justice? What job belongs to whom? There are atrocities around the world that occur every day, every hour. The concept of community has almost fallen out of vogue. Some assume the best way the “fix” things are to go in and “save” the people. Others argue that something is better than the present brutality. How do we demand the stop of brutality, violence and hatred, if we find it too difficult to stand up for the acts of hate on our own campus, community, and every day lives? Violence and brutality does not sprout from action, but of thought. So what then does this mean for Darfur? How do we stop the very present and very brutal violence? Does it start with a call to our senators? A letter to the president? Does our political system even give the people a voice in foreign affairs? Is it strong and loud enough? There are so many hard questions and perhaps ultimately no answers. Trying does not mean we get it completely right. Questions will only lead to more questions. Perhaps then we should motivate ourselves, our communities, and our politicians to try or perhaps this is too optimistic.
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