Darfur

I must agree with the fact that there are many social issues going on in the world that many of us know nothing about. It wasn't until my senior year in High School that I became aware of the genocide going on in Darfur. Darfur is a region of Western Sudan, a country in Africa. Since February of 2003, there has been a tribal conflict in this region. Due to many years of drought and oppression, two rebel groups, the SLA/M and the JEM, challenged the president of Sudan. President Omar al- Bashir's retaliation was nothing less than brutal. The president increased arms and began giving money to a militant group which became known as the Janjaweed. The Janjaweed is composed of Arab balck African Muslims. With the help from the Sudanese government, they have used methods such as rape, displacement, organized starvation and brutal massacres to wipe out entire villages. According to the United Nations, as of right now, the highest form of death is due to organized starvation; because villages have been destroyed, people have been mal-nutritioned and therefore die. The UN estimates that 450,000 have been killed from violence and disease, 2.5 million have been displaced, and on an average, 5,000 Darfurian men, women and children die per month. Although the UN has placed sanctions on Darfur and has sent peaceful orginizations to Darfur, this is not enough; the genocide continues. Some may question, "What can I, a collge student, do to help Darfur?" I think the best we can do is bring awareness to other college students who may not know about this issue. Last year, in my High School, a group of senior students formed a club called "Revolution." This was centered around bringing awareness about social issues going on in the world. One main issue they concentrated on was the genocide in Darfur. In many creative ways, they brought awareness to students like me that knew nothing about the situation in Darfur. I must say, what gets me the most out of this whole situation is seeing picture of small, innocent children with looks of hunger, confusion, and sadness in their eyes. It is for this reason that i want to bring awareness of this issue to my community.