Shameful Silence on Darfur

In Darfur over 450,000 people have been killed and 2 million people have been driven from their home. With such terrible killing occurring before the eyes of the world, where is the sense of outrage? I am afraid part of the explanation is that people are better motivated by hate and fear than love. In the case of Darfur, the genocide is being perpetuated in a obscure nation by a relatively unknown group. If the Nazis were perpetuating this horror, the Western democracies would all be demanding action to stop the current campaign of genocide taking place.

There have been a few organizations that have spoken out like the Human Right groups like Amnesty International, Washington Post and some Christian organizations. The most surprising silence in this crisis is from Muslim nations. Now their Muslim brothers and sisters are being slaughtered. Where is the Arab League? Where is the fatwahs against the Sudanese government? Where is the anger of the Arab street? The leading medal for hypocrisy must go to these same Muslim countries who constantly rail against the double standards and hypocrisy of the West in the Middle East but allow such a slaughter to be perpetuated by and within their own family with no criticism.

The Irish suffered a similar level of indifference during the Potato famine in the 1840s where 1 million died and 1 million emigrated. Similar to Darfur, in some Irish counties like Roscommon and Sligo (my family's ancestral home) over 70% of the population was displaced or died. Even today, the rubble of entire villages can be seen on some hillsides as a reminder to the suffering. In spite of the suffering and gloom around such a tragedy, there still were those who worked to help. Famine missionaries like the Quakers are remembered still today for their kindness and help in feeding the starving.

What can we do?

The Bible that peace can only be possible when justice exists. A land or world where there is no justice can never be a place of peace.

The way of peace they do not know;
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;
no one who walks in them will know peace.

So justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;
for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.

Isaiah (59:8-9)

There are currently few agencies able to work in Darfur so the ability to directly affect the humanitarian situation is very limited. The only real course is to pressure our elected representatives to strongly protest the policies of the current administration in Sudan.