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Adam Resnick
To My Grandpa Abe
Six million Jews
were murdered in the Holocaust by Hitler's Nazi Germany during World War II. The United States knew about the genocide but
chose to keep silent and not act. Ten years ago, nearly one million people were murdered in Rwanda. Once again, the U.S
maintained a policy of inactivity and did not aggressively intervene. At this time, another genocide is happening in Darfur,
which is located in the western region of Sudan. Since 1955, over 3 million black Africans have been killed in the Sudan
leaving countless children orphaned and displaced.
Genocides are crimes against humanity that not only result in a
tremendous loss of human life but also lead to many dire and lasting consequences for all mankind. One would think that the
most powerful country in the world would enlist the aid of its allies and have the United Nations do what is right and take
proper steps to put an end to this horrible situation. Why have America and the world chosen to remain silent again?
America
has taken a lead role in stopping many atrocities that have previously occurred around the world. In many instances, there
are political, economic, or humanitarian issues that underlie the call to action. The U.S government is very powerful and
can use political, economic, and military pressure to achieve their goals as witnessed in Iraq. The American people are very
resourceful and giving people when situations that are well publicized are brought to their attention. For example, when
confronted with natural disasters, such as the tsunami and the multiple hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast, the American people
were willing and able to raise awareness and money to aid those that were in need. However, there seems to be a silent epidemic
of murder in Darfur that has not made its way to the media or captured the hearts of Americans. What should be done to help
the innocent who are suffering in Darfur?
Americans must publicize and politicize the Darfur genocide with a loud call
for an end to the atrocities. First, the American people have to become more aware of the situation and a strong appeal must
be made for the media to increase its daily coverage of the events. The television stations and the radio programs must report
the tragedy in a way that will stimulate the American people to react and get involved. Professional sports players and singers
can donate their time in public service messages or give concerts to raise awareness about Darfur. Schools must teach their
students about the problems in Darfur and encourage active participation. As an example, students and their families can
be encouraged to visit the internet and monitor the crisis in Darfur by entering sites such as www.genocideinterventionfund.org
or www.stopgenocidenow.org. Next, people must write letters to their political leaders stressing their desire to bring about
the action by the government to end the problem. These letters can recommend that Congress act by passing the Darfur Peace
and Accountability Act. The U.S can bring about change by putting political and economic pressure on Darfur or by getting
the United Nations to take an active role leading to a resolution of the crisis.
A new year is rapidly approaching
and a new year's resolution to bring about an end to the genocide in Darfur is achivable. All it takes is the will and the
determination to do what is right and to get involved in any capacity. Will the American people act responsibly with urgency
or turn the other way and ignore the crisis? Time is rapidly running out for those who are suffering needlessly and action
is their only hope.
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Stefan Weyrauch
Is the World Aware?
With at
least 190.000 innocent citizens killed and 2.5 million people driven from their homes, the Darfur crisis is one of the most
cruel incidents since the Holocaust on the Jews during the second World War.
The Genocide in the western Sudan area
is still being overseen by many international political
leaders and governments as well as by most western citizens.
China even repeatedly acted as Protector of the Sudanese regime in the United Nations. Primarily because China is Sudan's
largest customer for oil and one of its largest supplier for arms, the Chinese Government and its representatives forced the
U.S. and other members of the security council to weaken sanctions against the regime in Sudan several times.
For
this reason, convincing Chinese politicians and representatives in the UN security council seems to be one major step toward
peace in the suffering Darfur region. Several letters have been sent to American President Bush before his Asia trip by several
Evangelicals and Faith Groups all over the world to urge the Chinese President to take actions against the ongoing genocide
instead of supporting it.
The entire world must start to recognize what is going on in some spots of the globe. It
seems like too many people all over the world did not yet realize what is happening in those regions of crisis every single
day and what innocent people have to endure. For almost two years do people in Sudan live in fear and pain and some civilized
countries and their politicians just don't want to deal with it All of us, who life in better conditions than the Sudanese
people and those who are representing our countries have to take action and stop watching these horrible crimes against humanity
as soon as possible.
The cruelty is happening in front of our eyes and we should not make the same mistakes we made
other generations responsible for.
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Quincy Williams
BREEDING A WORLD OF TERRORISTS
It
is a public embarrassment to hear the Security General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, utter that genocide is not taking
place in the Darfur region today. I doubt that he knows the meaning of the world genocide. It should not matter to him if
genocide is taking place or not, but how should we prevent it from ever existing again. Racism is the reason why genocide
in the Darfur region matters today. It goes to show that as a world and people, we are still not mature enough to overcome
discrimination based on the color of another person’s skin, sexual preference, religious beliefs, or another person’s political
point of view. In many parts of the world, including free democratic societies, racism is being handed down from generation
to generation, as parents teach their children from the time of their birth to just hate others.
The color of a man
or a women’s skin should not dictate whether or not he or she should have the right to live and enjoy life peacefully. There
are many world leaders, and persons who confess to being born again in whatever religion they practice, who still believe
in discrimination and racial segregation. Some of these individuals encourage terrorist organizations and rebel groups and
people who support their views in the destruction of mankind and our communities.
It makes me wonder why we were so
slow in entering Rwanda where half a million to one million persons were massacred like animals in less than one year; and
why our leaders were so quick to enter Iraq? Is it because of the oil? The free world is not doing enough in the Darfur region
to ease the pain and affliction of a nation in terror. We are too caught up in other people’s personal afflictions rather
than the real issues affecting society today.
If we continue to teach our children how to hate, we are no better than
Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin-Laden, Slobodan Milosevic, Fidel Castro, and many others who kill and terrorize innocent
people. We are breeding a world of terrorists with no peace in sight. Do you want to live in a world where genocide is taking
place every day, where males are forced to rape or kill their mother, sisters, grandmothers and other family members just
to save their own lives? I know I won’t, but we are still letting this happen. Hatred and violence must be stopped before
acceptance of hate becomes mainstream, and democracy becomes a thing of the past in free democratic societies.
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