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Tuesday, 01 May 2007 17:57 |
Can you imagine a life that suddenly is no longer safe for you or your loved ones? A life in which your common, everyday world is no longer predictable and there is no place to hide and feel safe?
All of your food supply is continuously threatened and destroyed and your family and friends are killed, raped or forced to flee for safety. The cries for help that you and your loved ones are screaming go unheard and are drowned out by the apathy and bureaucracy of the rest of the world. All you can do is flee to the outer edges of your country and live in a tent for an unknown time while you hope for the day that your desperation is seen and heard. Even there you face hunger and death.
This reality might be so unimaginable for us here in the United States,
but unfortunately, it is a reality that is happening to others in
different places throughout the world.
The one that is the most in need of immediate attention and help is the genocide that is happening in Darfur.
Darfur has been turned upside down for African Muslims since 2003. The
conflict originally was started by Arab Muslims known as the Janjaweed
and it was a fight over grazing and property rights.
Since the Janjaweed began this nightmare in 2003, almost two million
men, women, and children have fled their homes and villages out of fear
and are now living in refugee camps. The Janjaweed daily are
terrorizing anyone who has stayed. Women are being raped and held as
sex slaves, and very few, if any, are unaffected by this horrible
genocide.
The government of Sudan has turned its back on this and has been
accused of supporting the Janjaweed. Hundreds of thousands of people
have died from murder or starvation, and every day brings more horror
to those who have already lost everything.
Many in the refugee camps are dying of starvation and disease due to
unsanitary conditions. They are waiting and hoping for this nightmare
to end.
There are some who are trying to help, but the severity of the crisis has prevented them from having a lasting effect.
According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, ìIn April 2006, the
U.N. Security Council passed a resolution imposing sanctions against
four Sudanese nationals accused of war crimes in Darfur that include
two rebel leaders, a former air force chief and a Janjaweed militia
leader.î
Amnesty International is one of many groups that are trying to help.
They have created a very short film called ìDarfur Field Journalî that
explains what is going on there and what can be done to help.
This film will be shown here in Asheville on May 8 at 7 p.m., at 227
Edgewood Rd. After the short film, we will have discussion and
activity.
If you are interested in knowing more about the details of this showing, please contact amnestyasheville-at-gmail.com.
Because we are not living in this daily nightmare, we have the power to
make a difference for those who are.
Remember that the gift of our
voices together can be heard all around the world and together we can
help those who are suffering so much. Chief Seattle said ìHuman action
has not woven the web of life: we are but a thread in it. Whatever we
do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All
things connect.î So what is happening in Darfur is affecting each of us
one way or another, sooner or later. Stand up and make a difference.
ï
Janese Johnson has been doing intuitive counseling nationally for more
than 20 years. She may be contacted at janesej-at-buncombe.main.nc.us.
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