United States intervention in Darfur long overdue

This generation, obviously, could not have stopped the Nazi slaughter of more than six million humans. Now it grapples with the world’s seeming complicity during that atrocious, paradigmatic genocide – and their subsequent redemptive, yet empty, promise: “Never again.” The only way to honor victims and survivors of previous genocides is to save those still alive in Darfur and fulfill that pledge made long before many of those in power were born.

Regardless of sex, race or political affiliation, whoever replaces President George W. Bush must aggressively halt the unspeakable and unending crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan. These crimes have displaced millions of survivors and claimed nearly half a million lives – including the razing and murder of innocent children, disabled elderly and entire families and villages. The next president of the United States will also inherit the responsibility for disallowing the escalation of budding atrocities (e.g. Kenya, Chad, or Burma): the conscience of our country – of modernity – depends upon it. The next time some full-fledged grown-up relegates you as merely a leader of some proverbial tomorrow, find your voice and inform the elders that they are hereby superseded.

International “leaders” continue to fail Darfur’s citizens and refugees, and while delinquent world powers postpone any significant intervention, suffering Darfuris who survive attacks are dispossessed, displaced and defiled daily. In the wake of Bush’s tour of Africa last week, I find myself compelled to beg fellow USF students to try to ameliorate the travesties devastating our African brethren. A civil war – which began five years ago Tuesday – has spawned an utterly vicious attack against the “black” Muslims of Darfur – led not by rebels, but by Chinese-backed Arab Muslim Sudanese authorities who, like Nazis and other spineless misanthropes, conceal their horrific crimes from outsiders by manipulating media, generating propaganda and all but prohibiting visitors from entering their country.

By learning about historical and contemporary genocides, today’s youth can make a significant difference in the lives of people a world away. If enough constituents pressure Bush’s successor to extinguish the emergencies in Darfur, America’s representative will exert even more pressure on other countries and organizations to seek the restoration of humane treatment for all humans. Join me in representing humanity’s unified, unambiguous abhorrence of the crimes in Sudan.

The more hopeless I feel, the more I am prodded toward action.

American students once raged against intolerable injustices such as segregation and the Vietnam War. Join me in the contemporary anti-genocide movement, and become a part of living history. By regularly reading various sources of world news, checking in with Web sites like savedarfur.org, and discussing genocide with friends and family, you’ll likely discover your niche within the revolution. Register to vote, monitor candidates’ platforms on genocide and, when November rolls around, appreciate the freedom and democracy Americans enjoy by using your privilege to vote.

Have faith in global governments, but always remember Margaret Mead’s sage and timeless advice: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Chrissy Auger is a doctoral candidate in English.