2008 Woodie Awards
Genocide in Darfur
Nitzan Beck
Issue date: 4/21/08 Section: Features
Africa's largest country, Sudan, approximately five times the size of France, has been undergoing crisis since 2003. There is currently a genocide in Darfur, the poorest region of Africa and home to 6 million inhabitants.
The genocide is caused by a lack of governmentally sponsored regional development and competition for natural resources.
Oil, Sudan's major economic resource, is being developed to finance the country's military rather than benefit the people of Sudan. Furthermore, the oil resource is developed for the benefit of a few privileged individuals in Sudan's government and society.
The conflict began when two rebel groups challenged the Sudanese President, Oman Al-Bashir. The two groups who represent non-Arab black African Muslims and agrarian farmers from many different tribes are the Sudanese Liberation Army/Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement. Al-Bashir's response to the two rebel groups was to increase government weapons and give support to the Janjaweed, Arab militiamen who travel by horseback.
The Janjaweed rape, kill and destroy food sources and property of the Darfurians. There have been an estimated 200,000 killed Darfurians and 2 million rapes as of 2007.
Besides the rapes and killings, conditions are anything but bearable. Darfurians are scared to leave their homes to obtain water or wood for fear the Janjaweed will catch them.
If it is necessary to leave the home, woman and children are usually picked because unlike men they will be raped and not killed. There have been reports of men being chained together and thrown into burning huts. More than a million Darfurians homeless due to the Janjaweed.
President Bush, the United States Congress and Secretary of State Colin Powell called the crisis in Darfur a genocide in 2004. Some of the most important proposals to end the genocide were the Darfur Peace Agreement which caused more violence after signed on May 5, 2006, the UN Security Council Resolution 1706 and delegations by the UN Human Rights Council.
The UN Security Council Resolution 1706 is one of 16 resolutions passed by the UN. It calls for 22,500 troops to protect the Darfurians, however, less than 200 UN advisors have been actually deployed. Furthermore, the delegations by the UN Human Rights Council pose a bit of a problem simply because Sudan does not cooperate very much.
Lately, many activists have been urging China to take advantage of its relations with Sudan to stop the genocide. China invests heavily in Sudan's oil, buying 400,000 barrels a day.
The genocide is caused by a lack of governmentally sponsored regional development and competition for natural resources.
Oil, Sudan's major economic resource, is being developed to finance the country's military rather than benefit the people of Sudan. Furthermore, the oil resource is developed for the benefit of a few privileged individuals in Sudan's government and society.
The conflict began when two rebel groups challenged the Sudanese President, Oman Al-Bashir. The two groups who represent non-Arab black African Muslims and agrarian farmers from many different tribes are the Sudanese Liberation Army/Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement. Al-Bashir's response to the two rebel groups was to increase government weapons and give support to the Janjaweed, Arab militiamen who travel by horseback.
The Janjaweed rape, kill and destroy food sources and property of the Darfurians. There have been an estimated 200,000 killed Darfurians and 2 million rapes as of 2007.
Besides the rapes and killings, conditions are anything but bearable. Darfurians are scared to leave their homes to obtain water or wood for fear the Janjaweed will catch them.
If it is necessary to leave the home, woman and children are usually picked because unlike men they will be raped and not killed. There have been reports of men being chained together and thrown into burning huts. More than a million Darfurians homeless due to the Janjaweed.
President Bush, the United States Congress and Secretary of State Colin Powell called the crisis in Darfur a genocide in 2004. Some of the most important proposals to end the genocide were the Darfur Peace Agreement which caused more violence after signed on May 5, 2006, the UN Security Council Resolution 1706 and delegations by the UN Human Rights Council.
The UN Security Council Resolution 1706 is one of 16 resolutions passed by the UN. It calls for 22,500 troops to protect the Darfurians, however, less than 200 UN advisors have been actually deployed. Furthermore, the delegations by the UN Human Rights Council pose a bit of a problem simply because Sudan does not cooperate very much.
Lately, many activists have been urging China to take advantage of its relations with Sudan to stop the genocide. China invests heavily in Sudan's oil, buying 400,000 barrels a day.
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