The Washington Post's Travis Fox does. His multimedia package is amazing.
The wise say pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. I would agree this applies to most cases, but the situation in Darfur is an exception.
For those who don't know what's up, the conflict in Darfur began in 2003 when Arab tribes began to brutally attack African tribes in Darfur and Chad.
The wise say pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. I would agree this applies to most cases, but the situation in Darfur is an exception.
For those who don't know what's up, the conflict in Darfur began in 2003 when Arab tribes began to brutally attack African tribes in Darfur and Chad.
It has been nearly four years and the killing hasn't stopped. I am astonished that this reality is not making headlines, as often as it should.
For some reason, this brought to mind my visit to Dachau, one of the first concentration camps in Nazi Germany minutes away from Munich.
I will never forget taking the picture of the door with a sign that said something about finding freedom in work. I will never forget walking through the museum, and learning that the neighbors of this concentration camp had no idea that there were hundreds dying only half a block away, or that there were a few of their Catholic priests being held at the camp. They had no idea that genocide was their next door neighbor.
I was so angry when I left that place, and will never forget the experience.
So today, it is just upsetting to hear a woman say:
"We couldn't recognize their bodies, because they threw the children in the burning houses," said Amina Abakr, a refugee from Sudan. She lost some of her children and her husband.
Another man, also a refugee, who survived miraculously, said he heard phrases I thought were part of our African Diaspora history books.
They said, "You blacks are slaves we will finish you off."
The fact that these words are being said in 2007 is just unbelievable to me.
I am always touched by the suffering of children. Please promise you will at least watch the video called: "Feeding Baby Izzedine."
Sadiya Ali Mahmoud, a girl also feautured in the video, touched my heart.
"They beat me and took off my clothes, and my watch. There were ten of them. They raped me. They raped me... one right after the other," she said, while covering her face. "It would have been better if they had killed me."
When is any one going to stop the Janjaweed? How many more Sadiyas have to be savagely raped? How many more Aminas have to see their towns destroyed and family killed? How long do little Izzedines have to continue to suffer?
There is hope: There are people, who are trying to make their voices heard, and are collecting aid to help the many refugees, who have survived and are now living in horrible conditions.
A few months ago, I wrote a story about kids from a private Jewish school in North Miami Beach raising funds for SavingDarfur.org
They were selling green bands, and organized a walkathon. Dude, those teens are pretty amazing. They organized a walkathon. About 100 white upper-class Jewish walkers showed. There was only one African-American man, who showed, and that is a shame.
