The next step in Darfur

At this point, pretty much everybody knows about what’s happening in Darfur. \nBut just in case you don’t, Darfur is a region in Sudan, an African nation just south of Egypt. The region has been plagued by conflict since 2003, when the Sudanese government began backing a militia known as the janjaweed in a battle against two anti-government rebel groups.\nThe janjaweed and the government’s armed forces have attacked civilian populations in an attempt to destroy popular support for the rebels. They have burned crops and villages, killed thousands of innocent civilians and committed thousands of rapes.\nFor many around the world, the Darfur situation has become an incredibly important issue – many action groups, such as the Save Darfur Coalition, have formed to try to prompt an end to the violence. The U.S. Congress has, among other things, passed legislation declaring the conflict genocide, an important step toward making real progress in the region.\nThe situation in Darfur isn’t really getting any better, though, despite all that has been done thus far. Attempts to put United Nations peacekeepers in Darfur have failed to this point, as they have been contingent on Sudanese approval. These forces would support the African Union forces that are already in the region – forces that desperately need the help, as they are realistically too few in number to really stop the violence. \nThe effort needs to be taken to the next step now. Instead of putting labels on it, or just raising money and awareness, real action needs to be taken.\nSome are beginning to take that approach. Recently, several European leaders expressed the need to increase sanctions on Sudan, possibly including a no-fly zone over the nation. British Prime Minister Tony Blair and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the situation “intolerable” and “unbearable,” respectively. \nThe new sanctions proposed against Sudan signify that world leaders understand that the crisis is not being abated by the current tactics being used. However, it seems that asking Sudan to allow a peacekeeping force to enter the country is not a productive plan. The Sudanese government is behind the violence. Why would they want to allow a force to come in and stop it? The U.N. needs to take a much stronger stance on this matter. \nI see another, more unexpected problem, however. As I said at the beginning, pretty much everybody knows about Darfur. I was watching TV with some people the other day, and a Save Darfur Coalition commercial came on. When it was over, one of the people I was with said that he was “tired of hearing about Darfur.”\nI’m fairly certain that the people of Darfur are tired of being raped and murdered.\nWe can’t choose to forget about or ignore the crisis in Darfur, or any of the other similar human-rights crises that are simultaneously going on in places like Uganda. The international community has to take steps to stop these catastrophes – otherwise, the victims’ blood will be on all of our hands.