Darfur: Pointers
about Genocide
By
Sarah Van Buren (May 11, 2006)
You’ve seen it in the newspaper; you’ve
watched it on the news. The Darfur genocide
has been getting a lot of attention these past few weeks, especially
with the rally held on Sunday, April 30. An estimated 10,000 people
showed up to voice their opinions on the war crimes in Sudan – but
the fact is that most people don’t know what is actually going
on in Darfur. So here are a few pointers on the genocide and various
crises happening in Sudan.
Darfur,
a region in Sudan, Africa,
is home to many Muslims as well as African tribes. Although the
African tribes make up a noticeable percentage of the Sudanese
population, the government was still set up by Arabian (Muslim)
rule and generally did not incorporate any of the opinions of the
tribes and minorities. The minority groups were greatly angered
by this and supposedly set out to kill local Muslims in protest
against the Muslim government. The government saw the groups as
a great threat, as only 65 percent of Sudan is
Muslim – the non-Muslim minorities could build a strong and
determined army.
In response to the outbreak of massacres, the
government armed rebel groups and trained many men to form a militia
given the name Janjaweed. The Janjaweed militants
were sent out to kill, maim and rape thousands of innocent Africans,
as well as thousands of Muslims caught up in the mess. The minority
groups and others, easily defeated by the well trained Janjaweed are
systematically killed by the militants. Most observers believe that the Janjaweed works for the government and, therefore, the government
is killing its own people, though the government denies this. The Janjaweed militants also destroy the many villages, and strangely
the many mosques that dot the countryside. Although the real reason
for destroying the mosques is uncertain, it is believed that Sudanese
refugees hide in the mosques for protection from the Janjaweed.
Originally, the Janjaweed was
set up to protect the government from being overthrown. Then, it
was set up so that the government could protect the center religion
of Sudan,
Islam, from being disrespected. Although the government still proclaims
that the mass murder is still apart of their religious war – many
are aware of what this is really about. It’s what most things
are about these days, oil and power. With the original protest
from the minority groups, the whole fight is about who controls
the country and the oil wells of Sudan.
Now the Janjaweed, to keep the people
under control and to keep the money made from the oil going to
the government, are murdering thousands. The violence is getting
out of hand and thousands now must flee to its neighboring country Chad as
refugees.
Already 400,000 people have been murdered
in Darfur, another 2.5 million have been displaced
from their homes and millions more are left hungry and without
hope. Some countries have acknowledged the mass murdering and genocide like activities in Darfur, but because of Sudan’s
industry of importing oil to China and Chad they
have taken no action against the Janjaweed.
Thousands of innocent people are being murdered for no good reason
and no country and not even the UN will do anything to stop it.
After the Holocaust, our world did come together and say “never
again” to genocide. Still, Darfur has yet to be proclaimed a UN approved
genocide. The war crimes in Darfur continue
today.
Bibliography, To Read More about this Situation,
Check Out the Following:
Ed O'Keefe and Jeffrey Marcus, “Crisis in Sudan” September
4th 2004 The
Washington Post © 1996
Zahed Amanullah, “Return Of The Janjaweed, This Time In Chad” April 20th 2006 Alt.Muslim © 2001
Emily Wax, “5
Truths About Darfur” April
23rd 2006, The Washington Post © 1996
