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Crisis in Darfur: A guide to
how you can educate yourself, then help
By Jordan Olsen
February 27, 2008 | You may have heard mention of a
place called Darfur. It may have been from a 15-second
news clip or maybe when you accidentally switched your
radio to NPR for a few seconds and heard of a genocide
happening there.
After the Holocaust the phrase "never again" became
popular with the idea that as a human race we would
never again allow such an atrocity to occur without
stepping in and stopping it.
That being said, it's sad that many of us are not aware
of the same atrocities happening today not only in Darfur
but other regions of the world as well. You may be asking
how this affects you or how you could possibly make
a difference. One of the reasons that these genocides
continue is because too many of us are complaisant with
doing nothing thinking that there is nothing that can
be done.
Some, however, aren't content with that answer. If
you believe that there really is something that can
be done then there are a lot of resources available
to you.
Savedarfur.org
is an excellent website that not only provides a history
and an overview of what is going on in Darfur but it
also gives many ways that you can become involved by
writing letters to local and national officials, donating
money, holding bake sales or concerts to raise money
and a plethora of other ideas. It also contains a blog
with updated information about the ongoing struggle.
Genocideintervention.net
is another very informative website providing history
and current situations mainly happening in Africa. Students
at Swarthmore College started it in the fall of 2004.
The founders have set up a program with the African
Union, a peacekeeping force in Darfur, to allow average
Americans the opportunity of helping through donations
that go directly to those in need, specifically helping
women and girls who are in refugee camps in Northern
Darfur. Another very useful tool to become involved
is an events map that marks locations of where events
are taking place across the country.
Thedarfurblog.blogspot.com
is a blog created by Orikinla Osinachi, a self-proclaimed
Christian Pacifist. The blog includes several videos
from BBC that provide a different look at the genocide
in Darfur. The latest entry talks about Steven Spielberg
and eight Nobel Peace laureates who are threatening
to boycott the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to protest
against the role of China in Darfur. There is an average
of one new post per month, which isn't a lot. I would
recommend looking at the blog on savedarfur.org. It
is kept more up to date.
There are many ways of educating yourself and becoming
involved. All it takes is one person to start a positive
revolution. Don't wait for someone else to do it.
MS
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