Whatever Happened to Darfur?

Just a topic that’s been on my mind. Simply because it’s no longer in the popular media doesn’t mean the problem is gone. Sure the U.S. has its own problems but on the grand scale of things, our domestic issues pale in comparison to the immense problems often faced by citizens of other countries abroad.

There are some particular areas where the U.S. government must take a stand whether it occurs on our own soil or across the Atlantic. One of those areas is genocide. When I think about the genocide in Darfur, and how the American government has stepped in, in the past, in countries where there was a genocide going on, I can’t fathom why there has been such a lack of response to this human massacre. This is a violation of not only intentional law but it’s also a violation of morality and the laws of common human decency. The U.S. sent troops to Bosnia, but when it came to Darfur, the U.S. didn’t even want to call the situation a genocide so that they wouldn’t feel obligated to take some sort of action. Is it that the U.S. government feels that they have nothing to gain financially or politically from saving the people in Darfur? I guess they don’t have any oil or political clout. They are also Africans…the same thing happened in Rwanda. No one stepped in until it was too late.

It makes me wonder what makes Darfur and the people there worth less. Not worthless but worth LESS. And it infuriates me think that some lives are just not as important as others. And what can I, a lowly law student, do about a genocide that no one wants to recognize? That's what I'm trying to figure out...

-- StephanieOduro - 17 May 2010