Voices for Darfur

by Felicia Williams

March 30, 2006

Isn't there anything else to eat?" My daughter complained as she picked the cheese from her lasagna.

"Ugh," I sighed. "No, where do you think you are, in a restaurant? There's no menu here. You're going to eat what I prepared and I don't want to hear any more complaints."

This is a common conversation in my house and in houses all across America. How blessed we are to be able to have conversations like this.

Now zoom many miles away to the 'household' of a woman in Darfur located in the western region of Sudan. There are no such dinner conversations. In Darfur, a mother's frustration over a child's meal is replaced by terror, shock, horror and distress by having to witness her daughter being raped in front of her entire family by Janja Weed militia whose sole self-proclaimed purpose is to exterminate her and her people. Unfortunately, rape is used as a weapon of war.

Her husband and/or sons are unable to come to her defense because they are either dead or unrecognizably maimed. Their friends and and relatives have been viciously and savagely murdered or mutilated.

Does this sound like a scene from a movie? Well unfortunately, it's not. This is what is happening right now in Darfur. Here are some disturbing statistics according to the website Stop Genocide Now:

  • 500 people die each day, 15,000 each month

  • More than 2.5 million people have been driven from their homes

  • As many as 1 million civilians could die in Darfur from lack of food and from disease within coming months

  • 80% of the children under five years old are suffering from severe malnutrition and many are dying each day

    Stats from www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/resources.php

Are we making progress against this atrocity?

Progress: On Tuesday, April 25, 2006, the UN slapped sanctions on four men involved in the Darfur conflict. Hmmm, I guess that's progress.

What can we do?

  1. Write to your elected officials. Did you know that purportedly, when assuming office, President Bush wrote in the margin of a briefing memo on the Rwandan genocide, "Not on my watch." Well, let's remind him of that promise. Send a postcard (postcards can be downloaded directly from the Million Voices for Darfur website .

  2. Lobby Congressional members: More than a year ago the House and Senate voted to condemn the genocide in Darfur. That's a start. Now let's keep pushing to end the genocide.

  3. Make people aware: I'm ashamed to say, that if my sister-in-law hand not sent an e-mail yesterday I would have been blissfully unaware of this sad situation. I did a little research and saw the faces of the children. Their sad eyes haunted me in my sleep. I had to do my part to let people know what is going on. Hopefully you will too. Post flyers and posters around your community. Talk to people. Spur them to action (flyers from www.savedarfur.org").

  4. Remember: Don't forget the Darfur people. Wear a wristband as a reminder and pray for them.

Where can I get more information?:

I suggest you do a google search with Darfur as the topic. In the meanwhile, here are a few web sites that I found.

Please use this as a brief introduction to the problem in Darfur. The situation is complicated and will not be resolved over night. Please do your part. Tell someone, write someone, pray for someone.

All downloadable .pdf files and savedarfur.org images are not owned by Tidbits and Stuff. Documents may be accessed directly from the various sites mentioned on this page.

Felicia A. WilliamsABOUT THE AUTHOR: Felicia A. Williams is a freelance writer and webmaster of this website, Visit Hudson Valley.com and No Job for Mom.com. She is also the Insurance Feature Writer for Suite 101.com

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