A Look at the Crisis in Darfur

This past week, my high school's STAND (Students take action now: Darfur) group held a meeting to the public in which U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Rich Williamson spoke. I went to the presentation because I am learning about genocide in my social studies class, and I wanted to see our government thinks they are actually doing. Other than just being a boring speaker, he presented the idea that the U.S. has been trying to do a lot in Darfur, but can't really get anything accomplished. He said that the "situation in Darfur is very complicated," which for some reason means that we can't do anything. I know that there is a civil war going on between the north and the south, and there are about 500 ethnic groups in the country, but if we call a situation a "genocide" as Bush did, it is the obligation of our country to do something to help stop it.

At the presentation, Williamson also referred to a Chinese diplomat that he recently conferred with an "SOB," which didn't look good seeing how he is supposed to be impartial in his international affairs. Williamson also said that both Obama and McCain have plans for Darfur which well be more than has been done in the past 8 years, so that something to be aware of once the election has taken place.

Other than the speech given by Williamson, we heard from a Darfurian man who is now a leader in the Lost Boys of Sudan organization in Illinois. What he talked about as well as some of the stories Mr. Williamson told really hit the heart, which is what the point of the entire meeting was: raising awareness about the genocide in Darfur. To see more of about what is going on in Darfur, watch the video below. Also, if you want to find out what you specifically can do to help, click here.


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