Darfur Is Not a 'Genocide'

            Not even recognized as ‘genocide’ by the United Nations, reports about the situation in Darfur, Sudan have made headlines throughout the years. What people don’t seem to know is the importance of this present-day genocide that started merely six years ago on February 2, 2003. More than 400,000 civilians have been murdered and more than 2.5 million people displaced from their homes. 

            The phrase ‘Genocide in Darfur’ has struck most, if not all, our minds sometime within these past years. But, be honest, how many of you know what is actually going on in Darfur? It seems that there has been a mass slaughter of a targeted group when in actuality, the term ‘civil war’ is what could be used to correctly categorize this problem in Darfur.

            What is now known as the most notorious ‘genocide’ of the twenty-first century has stirred mixed emotions in people all around the world. Some background for those who are unsure about what ‘Genocide in Darfur’ is actually about: due to various cases of human casualties by the government, two rebel groups were formed in response. One group, the Arabs–consisting of the Sudanese military and the Janjaweed, a Sudanese militia group recruited mostly from the Afro-Arab Abbala tribes of the northern Rizeigat region of Sudan–is mainly nomadic. The other group, the non-Arabs–composed of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army and Justice and Equality movement–are deemed to be the peasants of Darfur. The neglect of the government’s role in Sudan left its people poor and voiceless. Finally, in February of 2003, the two Darfurian rebel groups launched an uprising against the Khartoum government provoked by the frustrations of poverty and neglect. The government responded to their uproar with a scorched-earth campaign, enlisting the help of a militia of nomadic Arab tribes in the region against the innocent civilians of Darfur. And since then, the Sudanese government in Khartoum and the government-sponsored Janjaweed militia has been guilty of rape, displacement, organized starvation, threats against aid workers and mass murder. Thousands of innocent Darfurians were killed due to extreme violence, disease and displacement every month. 

            As Americans, we have a particularly important role to assume in supporting peace in Darfur. Our government has been proactive in speaking out in support of the people of Darfur, but there’s still so much we could have done. Six years later, the US and international governments have yet to take the actions needed to end this genocide. 

            Although many activists are working to resolve this issue of civil war between two Darfurian rebellion groups, the groups seem to be refusing, responding with a violent outrage in their local towns. This is an especially frightening aspect, as genocides are documented throughout history. Adolf Hitler launched the Final Solution during the Holocaust, ensuring the mass murder of Jews and others they deemed as ‘sub-humans,’ Joseph Stalin took over Ukraine for their farms and arable land which started the Ukrainian Genocide and Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge launched a genocide in Cambodia, leaving many suffering from extreme war tactics that forever wounded them both mentally and physically.

            Genocides are often referred to as the world’s bad past. However, if that is true, then why do many continue to suffer in a present-day genocide in Darfur? Unlike other genocides that took place in Europe, a well-developed region of the world, Africa is considered third world to us–but does that mean we should give up and not provide aide? Of course not. As a developed nation, we should all try to do what we can to ensure that those who can be rescued are able to reach refugee camps, hopefully providing the best chance for protection from the center of violence. 

            Many activists are also giving their time and have started local organizations that raise awareness and organize fund raisers and networking for donations. But many teenagers still seem to lack awareness of the situation in Darfur. Speaking from personal experience, I was not aware of the Darfurian genocide until learning of it in my Global History class in school. A unit focused primarily on the genocides that occurred during World War II, covering Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot. But until then, I had no idea that genocide is a present-day problem. It is difficult to comprehend how genocides come to be, especially now that we have the aide of many developed nations, including ourselves. 

            My question is: why have developed nations failed to prevent another genocide, despite promises to never let it happen again? I know nobody wants to relive this world’s horrible past, but it’s true: history does repeat itself. So, what are the ways we can effectively prevent genocide? One thing for sure—raising awareness. 

            No matter how young or even how old, no matter how uneducated or how well-educated you are, there is lots to learn about genocides; and just by learning more and more each day, you raise awareness in yourself that can ultimately reflect onto other people, whether you realize it or not.

            At this time of turmoil, sometimes an informed mind is what’s best and we need to work to ensure that the world fulfills its responsibility to protect the civilians of Darfur.