Today, April the 13th, is the Global Darfur Day of Action. All over the world today, projects and protests to raise awareness and lobby governments to take action in the Darfur region of the Sudan are taking place.
Because of an intense attack of allergies (the pollen count was around 160 where I am), and a possible sinus infection, I have been rendered unable to be involved in any local protesting. So I’m going to start a revolution from my bed, as the Beatles’ would say. In all actuality, I’m sitting at my desk, but that is of no consequence right now.
I am posting this note multiple times until every person on my friend list has been tagged, to tell everyone I know about what is happening in Darfur region. I apologize, but only a little bit, if I tag you multiple times by accident. Personally, I am very uneducated about the issue as a whole, but it is still close to my heart and often in my prayers and regularly on my mind….so I will share with you what I can.
I am posting some basic information, links for where you can find more information, and links for places you can get involved.
As a Christian, I want to begin with one thought as you read over the material below. In the book of Isaiah, our God strongly chides his people for the disconnect between their beliefs and their actions. They believed in and claimed that they wanted to follow God, but they denied this faith by their actions. Our God is a God of justice, and when they ignored the injustices going on in the world around them, God got angry with them. He even told them that he would not listen to their prayers, and that their worship made him sick. Instead, he said, “Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17).
Turn your ear and your heart to Darfur, and learn to to good and seek justice, O children of God.
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What Is the Situation in Sudan? (From: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20765-2004Jul1.html
An increasingly dire situation in Darfur in western Sudan has devolved into the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to international observers and the U.S. State Department. A State Department report issued Sept. 9 says that 1.2 million people have been displaced from their homes in Sudan while at least 200,000 have fled to neighboring Chad. As many as 405 villages have been destroyed and and more than 100 others significantly damaged. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports at least 50,000 people have died as a result of the conflict between government-backed Arab militias and Africans in western Sudan.
Living conditions in the region threaten hundreds of thousands of people. The U.N. World Food Program delivered food to nearly one million people in Darfur in August, falling short of its goal of 1.2 million people. If the situation persists, the U.S. Agency for International Development estimates that at least 350,000 people will die of disease and malnutrition by the end of the year.
The government-backed groups, known as “Janjaweed,” terrorize Africans, destroying villages, killing and maiming men, ransacking food supplies and blocking international assistance. The Washington Post’s Emily Wax reports that the Janjaweed also carry out systematic campaigns of rape against African women in an attempt to humiliate the women and their families and weaken tribal ethnic lines. Human rights groups say the government, by funding the Janjaweed militants, is carrying out an ethnic cleansing campaign.”
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(basically, an Arab government in the Sudan is terrorizing and killing communities and entire tribes, leaving thousands upon thousands of people displaced or killed. I’ll note that some of the targeted groups have been Sudanese Christians)
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From www.savedarfur.org :
Darfur has been embroiled in a deadly conflict for over three years. At least 400,000 people have been killed; more than 2 million innocent civilians have been forced to flee their homes and now live in displaced-persons camps in Sudan or in refugee camps in neighboring Chad; and more than 3.5 million men, women, and children are completely reliant on international aid for survival. Not since the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated campaign of displacement, starvation, rape, and mass slaughter.
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I want to turn the attention to China for a moment:
China has strong ties to the government in Sudan that is carrying out this violence.
http://savedarfur.org/page/content/china_sudan_darfur
Here are the highlights from the eye-opening website cited above:
Arms sales: Over the past decade and more, China has been the leading supplier of weapons and weapons technology to Sudan. Beijing defends its military sales to Khartoum as legal. UN and human rights organizations have reported sightings of Chinese-made small arms weapons, military trucks, and other war materiel being used by Sudanese government forces, and their janjaweed militia, in Darfur.
Oil: China is the world’s largest player in Sudan’s oil industry, with major roles in the development, extraction, and acquisition of Sudan’s oil. Oil accounts for 70% of Sudan’s total global exports ($5.25 billion in 2006). Reports suggest that a substantial majority of Sudan’s oil profits may go to the military.
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Something important to consider is the fact that we, the United States, trades a lot with China. It is one thing for our country’s commerce being used to grow the economy of a nation that requires forced abortions, persecutes the Church, makes and sells weapons to our enemies (including Al-Qaeda, Iran, Venezuala in connection with Russia, etc…), and who is specifically allowing and supporting the government in The Sudan that is committing these atrocities. However, it is another thing when we consider that our trade policies with China give them an economic advantage. They tax goods going into their nation, and we don’t tax goods coming into the United States, and as a result we have a HUGE trade deficit that is threatening our economy and giving China extra money to buy weapons that are sold to the Sudanese government to persecute the people of Darfur.
Our elected officials seem scared to stand up to the Chinese. Even our media is influenced by China… since they make their money off of their sponsors, and their sponsors make their money in China right now. That is why you rarely hear about Darfur in the mainstream news.
It’s just something to chew on. This is not a simple issue, it is not simply a mater of making the global community aware of the problem, it is not an issue of just sending food to Darfur… it is a complicated geopolitical issue based upon the evil of certain governments and their leaders (primarily the Sudanese government, and the Chinese government) and the fear or apathy of other nations.
When we learn about what happened in places like Nazi Germany (the holocaust), we sometimes say things like ‘never again’. We believe that we will never again allow something so terrible to occur. The events in Darfur is the only place in the world where a genocide has been declared by the US government while the events are taking place…and we are doing essentially nothing.
What will you do?
Visit www.savedarfur.org for some ideas and lots more information.
The most important, most foundational thing that you can do however… is to pray. Pray alone. Pray with your family. Pray with friends. Pray with strangers. Pray in the dark, or in a well-lit room. Pray in a crowded street or in your closet. Pray indoors or outside. But whatever you do, pray. Pray for the people of Darfur. Pray that we will find ways to be the hands and feet of Jesus and the justice he represents. Pray that our leaders will think of what is right, instead of appeasing an evil regime. Pray even for our enemies, those who are carrying out these atrocities, that they will see the errors of their ways and repent. Simply pray.
Remember that God made men equal. The men and women being terrorized in Darfur are fellow human beings. They are our people, because we are all people. Let us join together and pray and fight for freedom for our people. I want freedom for my people. And maybe, maybe one day soon, we can look across the Atlantic ocean, join our hearts together with our brothers and sisters in Darfur and exclaim,
‘Free at last! Glory to God hallelujah, free at last!’
But it starts with you. Now.
