Report

Genocide in Darfur

For the past three years the people of Darfur have had to endure the harsh conditions that their very own government has created for them. These innocent civilians of this region of Sudan have been deserted by the world and chastised primarily based on their race. What once started as a conflict has now escalated into genocide against the African people in Darfur and with everyday that passes more men are being murdered, women are being raped, and many others are being forced from their homes and into refugee camps. This issue should not have had the opportunity to escalate into a violent genocide, it should have been controlled and handled by other countries that had the ability to help but not enough is being done to end it. Why; even after the Holocaust and the Genocide in Rwanda, is our country still allowing ethnic cleansing to occur in Sudan?
According to researchers there have been more than 400,000 deaths in Darfur and with everyday that passes 5,000 more people will be killed. There are millions that have been forced from their homes and displaced in refugee camps in neighboring Chad and there are millions more that are in need of aid. Fighting broke out in early 2003 between government forces and rebels of the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). These two rebel groups believed that the Sudanese government wasn’t recognizing or providing for the Darfur region because majority of their people are non-Arab. Another militia group that became very involved as the conflict escalated was the Janjaweed, which in Arabic translates to “evil horsemen,” who have a goal to rid Sudan of all non-Arabs. The Janjaweed are financed and supported by the Sudanese government and are the people who are burning down villages, murdering, raping, and stripping these people of anything valuable. If some are lucky enough to not be killed by the Janjaweed they are either forced into neighboring Chad where they take shelter in refugee camps or are left with no food, water, or aid. Millions of people are dying from starvation and malnutrition because the Janjaweed destroy their crops and pilfer their livestock. Our government and many other nations are aware of how serious this genocide has become but for the past three years the people haven’t seen much compassion from the world and it’s important that all nations give effort and fight against this genocide.
Now is the time for governments all over the world to act and realize that this genocide against Africans can not continue. Agreements and ideas are constructed and applied but often times not enforced well enough to be successful. It wasn’t until April of 2003 that the United Nations planned to create camps outside of Darfur in Chad in order to provide a more safe shelter for these refugees to reside. The United Nations has been persistent in creating peace in Darfur but it’s been difficult to give many people aid because access into Darfur is forbidden. Since there were an increasing number of refugees in Chad the United Nations has concentrated more on aiding them then attacking the source of this problem. In 2004 as this problem was becoming more obvious organizations such as the World Food Program UN Children’s Fund, and UNICEF have sent money and food into Darfur, but it’s hard to decipher how much food is actually going to the people in need of it and not stolen by the militia. Although money is being thrown at the situation what the people of Darfur need is a peace deal that didn’t come until May 2006. In September of 2004 the Senior UN humanitarian officials organized meetings with the leaders of these rebel groups to discuss alternative methods in creating peace. Finally a peace agreement between the government and Sudan was signed on May 5th stating that the Sudanese government must disarm the Janjaweed by October of 2006. However deadlines weren’t met, restrictions were ignored by the Sudanese government, the Janjaweed still remain very active today, and the peace deal failed soon after it was signed. Not only should this issue be an obligation for other countries but it should be a priority to the United States as well.
On April 18, 2007 President Bush stated "Ending the violence in Darfur requires better security for the people of Darfur; it requires progress toward political reconciliation. … No one who sees these pictures can doubt that genocide is the only word for what is happening in Darfur -- and that we have a moral obligation to stop it. The United States is helping to lead this effort." If the Bush Administration is leading this effort they have been doing a far less than mediocre job and making very little progress. All that has been done is Congress passing the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act in 2006 that simply prohibited Visas for any Sudanese official that is believed to be responsible for the genocide. The United States need to stop waiting for another peace resolution that will just be broken and useless again and start taking action. A possible plan that has emerged from the United States that will help stop these killings is to block Port Sudan with our Navy that would disrupt trade of their oil. The Bush Administration did promise to take action in this situation and the people of Darfur just keep waiting. It’s not just our government that should it addressing this problem, its individuals in our very own country that need to be stepping up and contributing.
It is important that this issue gains a higher status and it can be done by getting schools, campuses, communities, and even just an individual involved in activities that are against this genocide. At high school and college campuses the organization Student Anti Genocide Coalition (STAND) is forming in order to get students involved and this organization is now present in over 600 schools. As and individual it is possible to write letters to the President regarding Darfur and your opinions or even sign a petition, no effort is too little. It is important to also remember the many people that are in need of food and aid and donations are always needed. As a group we can create a protest and make our voices heard to the people in our community and push them to realize the massacre that is occurring and the burden that is put upon the innocent civilians of Darfur.
The genocide in Rwanda wasn’t handled with and brought to an end until 900,0000 lives were taken, it would be a shame and inhumane to let such a disaster occur again when there are open opportunities to stop it. The Bush Administration is beginning to take more action but it should not have taken this long in the first place and each day more and more people are realizing how serious this genocide is becoming. More action should be taken by our schools, communities, and individuals in this country in hopes that someday soon Darfur and the Sudanese government will be at peace and genocide can be a thing of the past.

A New Sudan

This is a petition that demands justice and peace in Sudan and I also thought it would be appropriate it to post the link so whoever would like to sign it can!! PLEASE SIGN IT!!
http://www.darfurgenocide.org/newsudan.php

Email the President

I was wondering around online and found an organization with a link that lets you send a message to the President on Darfur and I put my name in and did it so I thought it would be useful to post in case anyone else would like to do it too.
http://act.darfurgenocide.org/dg/MessageActionReturn.cfm

Website

hstrial-kCampofelice.homestead.com
I began creating my own website that anyone can check out! Its a work in progress and there are alot of things still missing but I thought I would provide the URL if anyone was curious.

Youtube Video on what you can do to stop the Genocide in Darfur

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rGD6FhenyU

Decisions

I feel that lately all I have been doing is making decisions. Decisions about school, decisions about my sorority, and decisions about family. Since the beginning of Spring semester when I recieved my acceptance letter I have been trying so hard to decide whether or not to stay at St. John's or go back home and take classes at SUNY Buffalo. I have been driving myself insane making a "pros & cons" list and talking to my family and friends about what the best option is. Some of the "cons" of leaving St. John's were leaving my sorority and all the friends I made here and just getting an out of town experience for college. I can't imagine how much I would miss my sisters in my sorority and everything we have been through together, and I don't know how I am going to gather up enough courage to say goodbye to all 40 of them. But the good news is after months and months of debating this one question I have finally come to a decision and I've decided to leave St. John's and go to SUNY Buffalo. Although I love St. John's there are just too many reasons why choosing SUNY Buffalo is the best decision. At SUNY Buffalo I got accepted into their school of management and their M.B.A program which according to Forbes, is one of the Top 10 schools of business in the nation. I'm excited about starting somewhere new again and I would like to think of it as a new adventure and a new opportunity to meet new people but I am really really really going to miss St. John's.

First year of school

I can't believe that after our Easter break we have less than a month of school left and I couldn't be more excited. I don't know where the second semester of school went, but I feel that it flew by way too fast. The first semester of school was filled with getting to know new people and finding your niche so for me it went by very very very slow. But now that I have met and got to know all my good friends here I feel like I blinked and now its almost over! I'm beyond excited that soon all my classes and tests and deadlines will all be over and done with but I'm upset about not being able to see all my friends for about 4 months. Because I'm from Buffalo, which is way upstate I am barely going to see a lot of my friends here and I'm sure I'm going to be missing out on a lot of fun times. I have just been thinking a lot about how much fun my first year of college was and how excited I am for next year and the year after that and I decided to post it on my blog.