The Situation in Darfur
Darfur, a region in western Sudan the size of Texas, is home to what the United Nations has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Since February 2003, an estimated 400,000 men, women and children have died while another 2.5 million innocent civilians have been forced to flee their homes. Many, particularly the women and children, have escaped death only to fall victim to repeated rape and beatings at the hands of the government-backed Janjaweed militias. Today, survivors face starvation and disease in overcrowded refugee camps and shattered villages.
These horrific events have unfolded in western Sudan even as a brutal 21-year civil war between the Muslim government in the north and Christian and Animist population in the south has been brought to a halt by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in January 2005. The peace agreement has done nothing for the people of villagers and refugees are still being killed, starvation is again on the rise, and international aid workers have become targets of attack.
The Rwandan genocide woke the world up to the true horrors of ethnic cleansing in Africa. Until we end the violence in Darfur, we must all live with the knowledge that we are allowing another genocide on our watch.
Take Action Now!
Whatever you choose to do, you will be making a difference in ending the violence in Darfur and reducing the suffering of your neighbors, even though they may live thousands of miles away.
The Million Voices for Darfur campaign (www.savedarfur.org) helps individuals contact President Bush and demand that he do more to protect the civilians of Darfur. For information on how the ELCA is taking action in this situation, check out www.elca.org/disaster.
If we all play even a small part, together we will make a very big difference.