U.N. Panel Calls for Action in Darfur
Ethnic fighting in Darfur, Sudan, a country in Africa, has killed 200,000 people and displaced 2.5 million in four years there. A U.N. human rights team criticized the international community Monday for failing to halt atrocities in Darfur, saying in a sharply worded report that the United Nations must act now to protect civilians from a violence campaign orchestrated by Sudan's government. Please read the article at: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2943688
Conclude what is obstructing efforts to quell the violence there. Evaluate the effect of this devastation in this part of the world. Does it affect us here in the United States? Compare and Contrast this situation with another similar one from history.
Conclude what is obstructing efforts to quell the violence there. Evaluate the effect of this devastation in this part of the world. Does it affect us here in the United States? Compare and Contrast this situation with another similar one from history.
posted by Mrs. Osimanti at 6:27 AM
16 Comments:
I think the violence in Darfur hasn't been suppressed for the same reason the spread of AIDs hasn't been stopped; too many people are doing too little to help stop it, and the problem is so widespread that it's hard to tell where to even begin to fix it. Everyone knows this is a serious problem and some people or organizations raise money to help stop genocide war in Darfur, but for most people, talking about the issue is as far as they get to helping it. I think if this is going to be stopped then everyone needs to be a little bit more proactive. This can be compared to Armenian Genocide or even the Holocaust because of the random but severe acts of violence against people of a certain ethnicity for no apparent reason, and because no one is taking huge steps to stop it.
These are clips from the show I was talking about in class today:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/video/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTNvaZu30UQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmLJ8j5PIys&mode=user&search=
I just thought you would think they were interesting.
Though the UN has large efforts to stop the killing and torture in Darfur, I think that it is not enough. Past wars and revolutions has used more force to stop these killers, (such as stalin in the russian revolutino) and when the two are put side by side, it should be more of a priority to kill those who are killing mass numbers than to allow the terror to continue in vain of stopping it. The volience is not going to be stopped simpy by asking. This devastation is very serious and innocent people should not be dying in numbers as great as 200,000. Since united states is part of the UN, they are effected, and we also have trading tied that could put us at risk.
I agree with Heather and Amanda and say that one of the reasons that the violence is not being stopped is because there are too few people taking action. The UN should step up and be proactive. They should educate citizens from countries like America, Canada, England, and other wealthier nations. This might be helpful in trying to stop the genocide in Africa.
This comment has been removed by the author.
I agree with Heather, how this situation can be compared to Armenian Genocide, or the Holocaust. There is servere violence which must be stopped, and yet asking, like Amanda said, is not enough. People need to use a stronger method, in order to put an end to the violence in Darfur. Furthermore, like Brian said, the UN should educate people on what is going on. This way people will be aware of the devestation, and try to do more to help end this violence. This should be a top priority, as so many people are dying, and it is affecting millions of people.
IF we helped we would be imperialistic and hated, but if we don't help, we are selfish and hated. We go into iraq to make peace and we get crap, we don't help durfur and we get crap.
When will it end?
(I think we should help, by the way)
I saw the leader of Sudan being interviewed on tv the other day and it was amazing that even though so many people know about the horrible things going on in Darfur and the hundreds of thousands of people being pointlessly tortured and killed, the leader of Sudan poblicaly denied any such accusations from being true. I couldn't believe that he could sit there and say that while we all know that is deffinitelly not true. Deffinitelly one reason things aren't improving in Darfur is that the government there isn't helping at all.
I agree with Heather and Dana how this could be related to a genocide. I would relate it to the Rwandan Genocide (which Hotel Rwanda was based on) in the sence that all of the terrors were being made extremely apparent to all of America through the television and yet even the UN wasn't doing much to help. A quote from that movie involves a news reporter watching everything that happened on tape and saying that even if they did release the footage to the media, other nations would feel some sympathy "and then go back to eating their dinners." People in America have the mind set that if it doesn't hit close to home, then all you can do is talk about it, when really, there's so much more a person could do.
Off of what clint said, I agree that America is kind of at a point where every little thing that we do is bound to be criticized. However, I think the fear of criticism is keeping America from really helping Darfur. Being such a young country, we are very sensitive to peer pressure, but I think our country needs to grow up and realize that genocide is terrible and should not be tolerated, and that we have the man-power and the money to be very helpful to Darfur. The question is not if the genocide effects us, but rather why are we doing nothing to stop it?
And yes, the violence in Darfur could be compared to the Armenian Genocide or the Holocaust, possibly even the Great Purge in Russia.
THe government seems to be the main problem in Darfur. They are the one's who are financially backing the janjewee (spelling?) who are the people committing these genocidal atrocities. Also, the fact that these groups have always fought amongst each other for land and water doesn't help the situation. I don't think that this situation effects the United States at all. Although it is horrible that these people are suffering, I don't necessarily think that people would be happy with us trying to calm things down. We have already seen how ugly things can turn with guerilla warfare in places like Iraq and Somalia. Therefore, since this doesn't really affect us, I don't think that we will do anything to help.
I agree with Brian that there need to be more people to acting to help stop the violence. Plus, more people need to be educated and start helping. Other countries that are more established to start educating their people to help oher 3rd world countries.
There is absolutely no reason that such devastation and violence should be occurring in Darfur. More acts need to be put into affect to make this stop. It is despicable to think that any country in the UN (American being one), could just sit back and watch this monstrosity happening before our eyes. This can be related to our recent curriculum, the Russian Revolution. Like what occurred to Stalin, Darfur needs to be taken under control and needs to have some changes made in order for the region to obtain some sense of national security. America also has a trading tie with this area which is another reason we need to help out in the efforts. Without their trade, our economy could be greatly affected.
I believe the United Nations shoudl take more responsibilty for Dafur. The blame for the horrors occuring over theree is not to blame on rich countries like America alone. The government in Darfur deserves a lot of the blame. So that the United States don't get full blame the United Nations should really take on this project and make it better. The last time America tried to create peace in a foreign country (Iraq) on its own it didn't turn out well at all.
I think there are a few reasons nations are tentative to take action in Sudan. Clint brought up a good point, America is faulted for everything these days, and I think that they are worried interfering will cause hatred for America in Africa.
I don't blame the United States Government for being tentative on this issue. There's no question that the people of Darfur need aid, but America already has two wars that are going downhill. With American Troops stretched thin, it would definitely be a wise idea not to get caught up in African Politics as well.
This reminds me of the Armenian Genocide during World War I. Both of these disasters have taken place in tumultuous areas of the globe with fanatical rulers. In both cases, help has been hard to offer without upsetting many people. I believe that something will be done about Darfur as public awareness increases.
Despite the fact that the United Nations has made great attempts to stop the killing and agony in Darfur, I believe that it’s insufficient. Previous battles have used more power to stop these executioners, and it should be more important to eliminate those who are slaughtering heaps of people rather than letting terror proceed instead of stopping it. The hostility is not going to be ended by asking them to stop. This destruction is serious and innocent citizens shouldn’t suffer the consequences of nearly 200,000 deaths. The US is affected being a branch of the UN, and we have to keep trading in mind b/c it could be put at risk.
Post a Comment
<< Home