Continuing the thread of an earlier post, blogging and activism, a new blogging initiative: “We blog for Darfur” – launched by Drima, an African blogger at Sudanese Thinker, and some Middle Eastern bloggers – aims to shed more light on the events in Darfur. Drima, is a Sudanese student in South East Asia whose eight month blogging stint has been impressive. In an introductory post, he writes:
“The Arab media is a shame… a real shame. Why is there hardly anything on Darfur? Why? Is it because the victims are a bunch of “blackie darkiesâ€?…The Mideast Youth bunch and I have taken in it upon ourselves to spread awareness throughout the blogosphere since the media hardly seems to care. Maybe they’ll actually start picking up more stories and reporting more about Darfur.”
The African media equally sucks! It might not be a bad idea to expand their coverage into the African blogosphere as well. After all, that is the place the events are unfolding, not Asia. Besides, it appears the awareness level is as low in Africa as in the Middle East, if not worse:
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“Western countries and America are not busying themselves out of sympathy for the Sudanese people or for Africa but for oil and for the return of colonialism to the African continent…To be occupied by the Sudanese army is better than to be occupied by UN forces, and the biggest disaster is if the Atlantic army came and positioned itself in Sudan.”
This is from no other person than the Libyan strongman – [tag]Muammar Gaddafi[/tag], speaking in Tripoli during a ceremony celebrating the signing of yet another peace agreement.
What is there to celebrate about Sudan/Darfur, I ask?
A place where “screaming toddlers were ripped from their [mothers'] grasp and shot; older children who tried to save their brothers and sisters were hunted down.”
“Five peace treaties have been signed and torn up since conflict erupted in Darfur in 2003. Local tribes, mostly “African” farmers, formed rebel movements to protest against the neglect of their region and the arming of Arabic-speaking nomadic militias. The government responded by encouraging the militias, known as the janjaweed, to target civilians it suspected of supporting the rebels.”
Would Africa and the entire universe be better off without the likes of Gaddafi, dictators high on empty pride and suffering from chronic cases of grandiose delusion? This is a question that begets no answer, I suppose.
Despite Rwanda [tag]genocide[/tag], and with the 200,000+ deaths in Darfur, it is gut-wrenching that the likes of Gaddafi would prefer to sit on their high horses and continue to play the meaningless game of politics! If only Reagan’s bomb didn’t miss in 1986…
The Janjaweed, the Sudanese government killing machine, is “comprised of fighters claiming Arab background and has been one of the principal actors in the Darfur conflict, which has pitted the Arab-identified Sudanese against the non-Arab population of the region”.
The Sudan Watch blog draws attention to an ex-Janjaweed operative’s interview on the BBC. Here is an excerpt:
“The people who trained us came from the north, from the government. They gave us orders, and they say that after we are trained they will give us guns and ammunition…They were wearing the uniforms of the military…
I tell you one fact. The Janjaweed don’t make decisions. The orders come from the government…
One very well-known and regular visitor was Interior Minister Abdul Rahim Muhammad Hussein.” — BBC
Many of the [tag]Janjaweed[/tag] leaders had “extensive previous experience as militia raiders; some had served in Muamar Ghaddafi’s notorious “Islamic Legion”, writes Eric Reeves in a Guardian article that warns another wave of violence may be in the horizon in the region.
Nigeria just accomplished a rare feat some couple of days back by successfully hosting a grand musical jamboree to mark the 46th independence anniversary from the British. Though not a milestone by my standard, the organizers, from the information garnered so far, did an excellent Job in making the event a memorable one. The publisher of ThisDay Newspaper, being the promoter, played a significant role in this project. The job was a perfect PR job for the nation in general. It was fun and more fun while it lasted, but that is all there is to it. It brings little or no value to the society in general. It was an exercise that was far anchored from the realities of the Nigerian world and Africa in general. And this need not be.
The need for social crusaders can’t be over emphasized, particularly in developmentally challenged regions like Africa. They were the catalysts that initiated several paradigm shifts worldwide, and have continued to use simple common sense and well-planned strategies to invoke changes in every facets of life. Dr Martin Luther King Jr. is an example, and there are several others elsewhere with the exception of Africa.
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There are more than one way to contribute to the resolution of the Darfur crisis - being vocal about the issue is one. And we can be vocal through a variety of media and in a multitude of ways. Have you done you part?
My blogging buddy, BRE at Jewels in the Jungle, has some updates on the Darfur crisis. Two issues caught my attention: First the STAND campaign – which was yesterday, and the helpless impotence of the [tag]African Union[/tag] peacekeepers in Darfur.
“[tag]DarfurFast[/tag] to give something up in recognition of the genocide taking place in Sudan. The Fast will raise awareness about the crisis in Darfur and support an immediate and robust protection force for the people of Darfur. The Fast is meant to tell individuals and communities around the globe that the people of Darfur will not and should not be forgotten.” -STAND website
This statement wouldn’t be a big deal if it came from within the shores of the continent where the genocide is, but it is the voices of some concerned people thousands of miles in the United States. And to me that is a big deal.This begets the question: What is happening within the African continent in regard to Darfur? Are there no voices speaking against the [tag]Darfur genocide[/tag], are there any mass action, particularly from the universities – places that were notoriously popular (in the past) as breeding grounds for all sorts of radical panAfrican activism. Many of these universities, especially those in Nigeria have been unusually silent lately.
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Brian Steidle, a U.S. representative on an African Union observation team, “has become the most vivid chronicler of one of the world’s worst humanitarian catastrophes.” How? Through photographs.
“For the past 18 months, Steidle has shown his photos, told his story and asked people to lobby the Bush administration and the U.N. to stop the carnage in Darfur.
“He has taken his message to Congress and the British House of Commons, to an audience of 35 on a college campus in San Antonio and to 100 people at church in Fort Wayne, Ind. Wherever he goes, a newspaper story or broadcast interview usually follows.”
Though not a journalist, Brian opened his country’s eyes to the [tag]Darfur genocide[/tag], through photographs. A simple act of great significance. I wonder what Africans reporters, and aid-workers and observers in Darfur are doing to bring the genocide to people’s consciouness. Not much, according to this survey:Â
“Awareness of the situation in Darfur is fairly low. Just over one-third of Africans interviewed (36%) say they have heard or read a great deal or a fair amount about the conflict in the Sudan region called Darfur.”
It’s not ‘endgame’ yet for Darfur per Molara Wood’s blog posting. The African Union (A.U) peacekeeping tenure has been extended till the end of the year.
Many have mused, ranted and opined over the Darfur crisis, and there are certain patterns/themes to the commentaries: There is profound displeasure over the crisis and claims by some that the West hasn’t done enough; some have labeled the crisis an Arab-African conflict; some have questioned the indifference of the Northern African and Middle Eastern nations over the killings and humanitarian crisis; and many have called for more actions from the blogosphere and general citizens. These will be the framework for this post.
Would this crisis have lingered this long if Sudan were in Central Europe or a next-door neighbor to United States? No. But it’s always easy to put the blame on the West; too easy for that matter.
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