The Worst Humanitarian Crisis In the World
5 years of fighting. 5 years of the UN screaming about the plight of people in Darfur. 5 years of supposed international support and aid. And what's the result?
According to John Holmes -take a minute and go wild with the jokes... OK. Better?
Now, according to John Holmes, the Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, as of April 22, 2008 the situation in Darfur in the last 12 months has in fact worsened.
Way to go international community!
The United Nations Humanitarian Chief informed the Security Counsel today that the world has yet to find a solution to the problems in the region and that as bad as the situation is, it will deteriorate further unless urgent measures are taken now!
And estimated 300,000 people are now believed to have died since fighting erupted in 2003. Those not killed in the fighting died from disease and malnutrition. More than 2.7 million have been displaced-with the lucky ones living in inadequately supplied camps.
In his briefing to the Council, Rodolphe Adada, the AU-UN Joint Special Representative for Darfur said it was "disturbing that while the region has remained near the top of the international agenda, this attention had not been matched with the necessary action to provide UNAMID with the means to accomplish the tasks assigned to it."
...This I have no problem believing. The other week I hosted a yard sale. I actively pushed a petition addressed to local government demanding more support for the humanitarian aid in Darfur. Next to no one wanted to read the informational packet I had provided and next to no one signed the petition. The number one reason given: "It was just too horrific."
By all mean people, stick your head in the sand and pretend it doesn't exist. That always works when dealing with genocide. It worked for the US government in 2004 when it reported that Darfur was in fact not a genocide in progress!
I realize we don''t have anything to gain in Africa, there is nothing to further any agenda we might have. No direct benefit to the US. There certainly aren't any weapons of mass destruction. People instead are hacked to death by machete's, child soldiers are mowed down by gunfire, and women are repeatedly raped at times to death. The tactics are undeniably brutal and it is in my opinion the ugliest kind of war. Which is all the more reason the worlds super power, the United States, with its profound belief in human rights has an obligation to interfere unconditionally on the behalf of people who are truly suffering and takes the necessary actions to end this conflict. Without question and without hesitation.
I am a patriot. A proud citizen and a good American. And I am embarrassed that 5 years after this genocide in Africa began, the situation (with the help of the United States) is progressively getting worse instead of better.
So if you haven't read A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. I really recommend it. It's a hard read, but I do believe that if things are going to change, remaining ignorant of the situation should not be an option. This is the worst humanitarian crisis in the WORLD...
According to John Holmes -take a minute and go wild with the jokes... OK. Better?
Now, according to John Holmes, the Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, as of April 22, 2008 the situation in Darfur in the last 12 months has in fact worsened.
Way to go international community!
The United Nations Humanitarian Chief informed the Security Counsel today that the world has yet to find a solution to the problems in the region and that as bad as the situation is, it will deteriorate further unless urgent measures are taken now!
And estimated 300,000 people are now believed to have died since fighting erupted in 2003. Those not killed in the fighting died from disease and malnutrition. More than 2.7 million have been displaced-with the lucky ones living in inadequately supplied camps.
In his briefing to the Council, Rodolphe Adada, the AU-UN Joint Special Representative for Darfur said it was "disturbing that while the region has remained near the top of the international agenda, this attention had not been matched with the necessary action to provide UNAMID with the means to accomplish the tasks assigned to it."
...This I have no problem believing. The other week I hosted a yard sale. I actively pushed a petition addressed to local government demanding more support for the humanitarian aid in Darfur. Next to no one wanted to read the informational packet I had provided and next to no one signed the petition. The number one reason given: "It was just too horrific."
By all mean people, stick your head in the sand and pretend it doesn't exist. That always works when dealing with genocide. It worked for the US government in 2004 when it reported that Darfur was in fact not a genocide in progress!
I realize we don''t have anything to gain in Africa, there is nothing to further any agenda we might have. No direct benefit to the US. There certainly aren't any weapons of mass destruction. People instead are hacked to death by machete's, child soldiers are mowed down by gunfire, and women are repeatedly raped at times to death. The tactics are undeniably brutal and it is in my opinion the ugliest kind of war. Which is all the more reason the worlds super power, the United States, with its profound belief in human rights has an obligation to interfere unconditionally on the behalf of people who are truly suffering and takes the necessary actions to end this conflict. Without question and without hesitation.
I am a patriot. A proud citizen and a good American. And I am embarrassed that 5 years after this genocide in Africa began, the situation (with the help of the United States) is progressively getting worse instead of better.
So if you haven't read A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. I really recommend it. It's a hard read, but I do believe that if things are going to change, remaining ignorant of the situation should not be an option. This is the worst humanitarian crisis in the WORLD...
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