Genocide Update: Sudanese Forces Arrest Hundreds Of War Refugees!

[DistressedAmerican]

Leave it the the BBC to keep up INTERESTED AND CARING Americans up to date!

They should get themselves some oil fields! Them we'd give a shit!

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4574919.stm

Sudan forces surround southerners

Rumours of forced resettlement prompted clashes last week
Sudanese security forces have arrested 250 people after surrounding an illegal shanty town full of southerners displaced by two decades of civil war.


Rumours of forced resettlement prompted clashes last week

Machine guns mounted on pick-up vehicles pointed at the ramshackle houses in Soba Aradi which is in a suburb of the capital, Khartoum.

Several lorry loads of men and women were beaten with sticks and then taken away to a local police station.

Last week, 14 policemen died during an attempt to resettle residents.

-More At The Link-

[DistressedAmerican]

1. ...

[chiffon]

19. Updates about Darfur elude us all...

This unfortunage region is in the crossroads of a battle of 'natural resources'.

Unlike more prominent enterprises that export civic news, the situationn in Darfur has and will continue to be smothered while the power play looms.

Global expansion has its cost. The marginalization of this tug-of-war is vitually complete. I say this because: although this situation has been broadcast, it resonates minute heartstrings within the American populace, even after "Hotel Rowanda" enlightened many to the goings-on in remote or sprawling areas in Africa as they once again, broach modernity.

Modernity. Was it colonial powers that bestowed such a philosophical interpretation of self and group-think?

I think not!

The marginalization of Africa and Africans provided the distant, but ever so antithesis of the reverse mirror, the silouette of "the other".

Face it! The myriad of distractions, connects and divides us all.

Darfur! I am a piss-poor American and I'm sorry. My government really does not listen or hear me.


Yet.

[DistressedAmerican]

2. Sad! Still Kicking!

[DistressedAmerican]

3. Still Kicking For Compassion!

[DistressedAmerican]

4. Well If There Isn't Any Interest Among Liberals I Guess I Shouldn't

Be concerned by Right Wing apathy!

[Telly Savalas]

7. I've got this thread bookmarked and ready to kick if it slips.

Part of the problem with attracting interest is that it's not clear what exactly can be done to alleviate the situation. Even if we successfully pressured Congress and the White House to address this issue, Bush and his GOP buddies would just fuck it all up.

Although, you're right in that we can't just ignore it.

[DistressedAmerican]

8. Thanks!!!

[Telly Savalas]

13. You're quite welcome.

I'd first started hearing about Darfur back in April of last year when there were quite a few op-ed pieces on the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. A lot of those articles drew some parallels between the two conflicts. It's really sad that the lessons of Rwanda have already been mostly forgotten and that the crisis in the Sudan is still largely being ignored.

:kick:

[Coexist]

5. sorry - I read it and didn't kick it

here you go.

[DistressedAmerican]

6. Thank! Good To Know It Is Getting Read!

[savannahana]

9. kick, with link to related thread of info, resources, & DU allies

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3692135

initiative from DUer Nothing Without Hope; please see in this thread NWH's post #76 of today, recapping what is needed to organize and advance effective action on behalf of the people of Darfur and the Sudan.

we are trying to link up related threads of concern here at DU; i think there are 2 or 3 other recent ones here -- awareness is growing!

thank you so much for this thread, DistressedAmerican.

ana :hi:

[DistressedAmerican]

10. Thanks So Much For The Link! It Is Great To See Folks Getting Busy!

[savannahana]

11. another kick, & yes, DA - action tends to follow awareness

one by one, we can each do something.

the single small actions are cumulative and powerful!

awareness first; info-sharing; networking, online & on the ground...

signing petitions; writing letters; making a donation, however small...

support of existing protests and the organized initiatives already in place;
and messages sent in support and encouragement of those who are organizing
and coordinating those actions -- this matters, too.

the gathering of voices and minds and resources
leading to new, more effective, more focused initiatives...

we can each do something: action follows awareness :-)

thank you again, and

:kick:

[Vladimir]

12. Kick, although this has nothing to do with Darfur

so I am not sure why you called the thread genocide update. on the other hand it does demonstrate that Sudan has much wider problems than just the conflict in Darfur...

[DistressedAmerican]

16. You See No Connection??? Thanks For The Kick Just The Same!

[Vladimir]

20. Not really no

in fact I think it will be problematic if a connection develops. At the moment, the peace treaty in the south has been one of the few good bits of news in the region...

[hector459]

14. This is so tragic. When will we be punished for ignoring this genocide?

eom

[DistressedAmerican]

15. When Will We Be Punished For Ignoring Rawanda?

Look for the Darfur Movie in about 10 years...

[SmileyBoy]

17. Not to sound snarky, but...

Why should we be punished for merely ignoring it?? Why can't the people actually COMMITTING the atrocity be held accountable and punished instead?? I mean, everyone ignored the Holocaust (not that I'm saying that was good at all, of course it wasn't), but nobody was punished for ignoring it. I'm not saying that it's OK to ignore this atrocity, but how about focusing your attention on the people ACTUALLY perpetrating this atrocity instead of focusing on the ones ignoring it??

[DistressedAmerican]

18. The Holocaust HAPPENED Exactly Because It WAS IGNORED.

It can hardly serve as a counter argument against our complicity if we knowingly ignore the suffering of others.

If someone that had been beaten and needed medical attention came to your door and asked you to help and you slammed the door in their face, would you not be culpible if that person then died?

We as a nation have done it before. To hundreds of thoudsands. We are doing it again. That is why we bear guilt...

Although you are quite correct, those committing the actual violence MUST be punuished.

That is what we could be doing if we weren't slamming the door!