How Many Times Can We Say, NEVER AGAIN?
By webreporter on Aug 6, 2008 in INSIGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS
Darfur, Croatia, Bosnia and Myanmar
How many times can we say, NEVER AGAIN?
How many times can we curse poverty, disease and genocide, promising that "Never Again" will we let this happen on our watch only to read about it over and over again in our newspapers daily?
There is always much talk about THE Holocaust. You know, the one where over 12 million Jews, Gypsies and other designated undesireables
were mass murdered by Adolf Hitler and friends.
The survivors of that well documented event have sworn to themselves and their posterity that such a thing would "Never Again" be allowed to happen while the world's citizens did nothing.
So why is it happening now....as you read these words?
One year ago today, the UN announced that a peacekeeping force would finally be sent into Darfur to protect civilians and aid workers.
While not solving the crisis, the move was hailed as a ray of hope for the people of Darfur. At 26,000 strong, this force was planned to be the largest peacekeeping operation in the world.
However, a full year after its creation, the force has only 9,000 troops and is struggling to do its job.
The world has failed to provide the troops and equipment that were promised. And the violence in Darfur continues.
We are asking the Air America community to help bring relief to those caught in the middle of this conflict by taking action with our friends at Oxfam America.
The troops now on the ground come largely from an existing African Union force that was unable to provide protection on its own. It’s not a recipe for success.
Worse, the troops lack proper equipment—from much-needed helicopters down to basics such as food, boots, and helmets.
Some troops have resorted to putting blue plastic bags over their old helmets in order to make the helmets regulation UN blue.
Not surprisingly, many Darfur is say the force is unable to make a difference in their lives. The UN-African Union Mission UNAMID alone cannot solve the Darfur crisis—the world must pressure the parties to the conflict to immediately cease hostilities and return to negotiations. But a full force of 26,000 could significantly improve the situation in Darfur by providing real protection for civilians.
The people of Darfur have waited too long for protection. Thank you for taking action on this urgent issue.
AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE:
Beijing bars US gold medalist for Darfur activism - The Cheek episode focuses attention on China's role in what many human rights observers call a holocaust. The New America Foundation said China has been an arms "supplier of last resort" to not only the brutal Sudanese government, ...
Why Arabs Support or disregard Darfur’s Killers - Al-Jazeera recently ran a piece about the alleged failure of Arab journalists to cover the killing in Sudan’s embattled Darfur region. It attacked the Middle East Media Research Institute (Memri) which stated that the violence in Darfur ...
Abusing “Genocide”: Why Comparisons with the Holocaust Mislead - Posted on behalf of Pieter Tesch. EARLIER this year in the run up to the release of the anti Islam ‘film’ Fitna by the Dutch maverick right-wing politician Geert Wilders the leading Dutch political scientist Job van Amerongen warned the ...
Spielberg given honor for Holocaust, Darfur work - (AP Photo/Francois Mori, file)In this May 18, 2008 file photo, director Steven Spielberg is seen at the "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" press conference during the 61st Internatio...
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