The Observer, September 15, 2006
Volume XXXIX, Issue 3
Candleligh vigil on Sunday to be held for victims of Sudan
For many Americans, this week brings to mind the terrible tragedies that occurred five years ago in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. But for others, this week also offers an opportunity to take action against a shocking tragedy that began two years later and continues to this day.
This continuing tragedy has come to be known as the crisis in Darfur, and on Sunday, tens of thousands of concerned citizens throughout the world will gather together in an attempt to alleviate the problem.
The situation in Darfur is dire, and in an attempt to achieve swifter government and United Nations action, a global Day for Darfur was organized by a group of organizations including Amnesty International, the International Crisis Group, and Human Rights Watch.
Goals of the Day for Darfur include expediting the placement of UN peacekeepers in Darfur, increasing humanitarian aid and accessibility, and the implementation of a lasting peace agreement for the region. Organizers of Day for Darfur plan to stage large-scale demonstrations in New York, San Francisco, and in other major cities across the globe.
Brandon Evans, a master's student in computer science, spoke about the UN General Assembly going on in New York this week.
"Hopefully Day for Darfur will show decision makers that people really care about the crisis," said Evans.
Such is the hope of groups like Save Darfur, which have been orchestrating awareness campaigns. Those who wish to become involved with Save Darfur can do so at www.savedarfur.org.
For those who want to get involved but lack the means or desire to spend the day in New York, there will be a candlelight vigil on Sunday night right here on campus.
"The situation in Darfur has a long political history, but it still deserves the attention of as many people as possible before it turns into an even larger genocide and violation of human rights…[everyone] should support their fellow human beings in crisis," said Jeannette DeGuire, second-year student and co-organizer of the vigil.
The vigil will be held outside of Clarke Tower on Northside at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The crisis in Darfur began in 2003, when political tension between the Sudanese government and African Darfuri Rebels in the Justice and Equality Movement and Sudanese Liberation Movement sparked into violent guerilla warfare.
The Sudanese government armed Bedouin Arab herdsmen, who had a history of land rivalries with the African Darfuris, and had formed as a result guerrilla groups called janjaweed militias.
The janjaweed, equipped with better weaponry than the rebels, were quickly able to dominate the conflict. By the spring of 2004, the janjaweed had killed thousands of non-Arab people, even non-combatants, including children and infants. At least a million more non-Arab Darfuris had been internally displaced.
As the warfare continued, the humanitarian crisis worsened. Not only were the displaced Darfuris largely without shelter and basic supplies, they remained in an area cut off from aid.
By May 2004, the International Crisis Group was already warning that up to 350,000 of the displaced people could die as a result of starvation and disease. Despite tentative peace agreements, the fighting has continued and currently, an estimated 2.5 million people have been displaced and 400,000 people have been killed.
Even with UN approval of Resolution 1706 at the end of August, which would send 20,000 UN peacekeepers into Darfur, new atrocities are occurring. The Sudanese government is highly opposed to Resolution 1706 and on Sept. 1 launched a new offensive in Darfur, killing 20 and displacing yet another 1,000 people.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said on Sept. 8, "Humanitarian agencies are already struggling to cope with the enormous needs of some two million internally displaced people inside Darfur, plus more than 200,000 refugees …across the border in Chad. An already bad situation is worsening by the day."
This week is a time for rememberance; it has been five years since the devastating September 11 attacks on the United States. But the organizers of Day for Darfur hope this can also be a time to recommit to preventing and alleviating atrocities throughout the world.
