What's a Darfur?

If you have read my blog in the past, you will know that I often like to talk about the situation in many of the African nations. In many cases we choose to keep these difficult situations out of sight, and out of mind. Unfortunately there is a tendency in this country to pay more attention to the birth of a celebrity baby, while we turn a blind eye to the thousands of babies dying in Africa every single day.

However, there is a growing list of celebrities who have taken an active role in trying to break this pattern. One of my favorite efforts was a video for "World on Fire" made by Sarah McLachlan. It cut close to the bone for me, because it points out the enormous waste that occurs in my own chosen profession.

One of the places in Africa that I think needs our immediate attention is Uganda. I tried my best to give a short but thorough portrayal of what is going on there in my post The Night Commuters. To date, it is one of the entries on this blog that I am most proud of.

Another area that deserves your attention is Darfur. Darfur is a region in western Sudan. It is a 200,000 square mile area in the western half of Sudan. It is a flat arid land mass with some volcanic peaks in the center. This region shares a border with the Central African Republic, Chad, and Libya. (See map below)




I won’t go too in depth, but there is a massive genocide going on there right now. A group called the Janjaweed has inflicted the lion’s share of violence against their neighbors to the south. The Janjaweed are a paramilitary group made up mostly of northern cattle-herders from the Baggara tribe. It is a widely held belief that this group is supported and armed by none other than the Sudanese government.




This violence has caused many of the non-Baggara people to flee the violence. By doing this, they have had to leave behind all their possessions, and in some cases their family members. The lucky ones flee to refugee camps over the border in Chad. The unlucky ones are raped and or mutilated. Some husbands are forced to watch their wives and/or daughters raped right in front of them. Others simply starve while attempting the long trip to safety.




Unlike the Sudanese Civil War, which was fought between the Muslim north and Christian south, in Darfur most of the residents are Muslim. Some people believe that because this conflict is Muslim vs. Muslim, it draws little concern from conservatives in this country.

Currently every four seconds someone is dying in this conflict. That amounts to 10,000 people dead every single month.

Although I do not believe that America should play the role of “World Police”, I do think the UN should step in. In late August of this year, the UN passed resolution 1706. However, the Sudanese government has not supported this resolution, and has said that it would consider the UN forces in the region as foreign invaders.

In my opinion George Bush’s frequent stance on the UN has left it weak and ineffective. Without this strength, little can be done to stop this violence and save these people.