“Again and Again,” the title of genocide scholar Samantha Powers’ book, echoes a sentiment so widespread that it has come to represent one of America and the world’s most shameful mantras. Sixty years ago Jews could not believe that Europe would turn on its own citizens or that America could refuse boatloads of refugees. Ten years ago, the world stood by as armed United Nations troops shuffled Rwanda’s last expatriates aboard transport planes and flew away as eight hundred thousand Rwandans were slaughtered.
About two years ago another slaughter began, which set off a new round of calls for action. Armed militiamen-the Janjaweed-began systematically decimating communities across the Darfur region of Sudan. Numerous reports indicate that the government colluded with the ethnic cleansers. *To this day, sufficient action has not been taken.*
The West promised money and praised progress in the south of Sudan, where an at-least-temporary peace agreement has ended a more clear-cut civil war and its newly installed vice president has promised action for Darfur in the West. Yet we continue to treat the crisis as the passing problem of a distant relative.
The West’s history of colonialism and imperialism throughout the African continent has left many countries to seek a solution from within, even while leaders have too few resources and a history of corruption. Nevertheless, the current regime has completely failed to fulfill its Responsibility to Protect (R2P). The R2P doctrine, soon to be enscribed in the upcoming U.N. reform document, affirms that a state voids its right to sovereignty if it fails to protect its own citizens and, furthermore, that the international community is obligated to intervene in such cases. There are few situations in the world that more clearly necessitate action.
A fledgling African Union (AU) force has begun to make change on the ground in Darfur, but their numbers are too small and their logistical support meager. The US has not delivered on its promises of transportation and communication infrastructure. In many senses we are already too late. Any force must now deal with protecting millions of Internally Displaced Persons who remain homeless after two years’ of government-sponsored _Janjaweed_ attacks. There are now constant raids on aid convoys and the most recent foreign-backed AU commitments won’t meet the internationally agreed-upon troop requirements for another year.
At a recent session of the Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Representatives, I witnessed members of Congress voice near unanimous support for action on Darfur. Indeed mid-summer polls commissioned by the International Crisis Group have reinforced Congress’s belief that at least 80% of this country wants the US to take action, but the administration’s track record does not reflect the consensus.
The mainstream media’s attention is essential and has been inconsistent and insufficient. Despite the Be A Witness campaign, and newspaper articles’ attempts to highlight the media’s shortcomings, the major networks continue their trend of running 50 times as many stories on Michael Jackson (June 2005) as they run about Darfur.
Groups are mobilizing to effect change. Student organizations, faith-based coalitions, humanitarian organizations, and blogs are proliferating. In schools, students and teachers are attempting to coerce political action through rallies, letter writing, and divestment campaigns. Organizations such as Students for Action on Darfur Now (STAND) have chapters at colleges around the country.
Despite these emerging networks, though, a recent Georgetown University conference on Darfur demonstrated that there is at least as much dissent in the campaign as there is solidarity. For this movement to truly succeed it must become a mass movement, engaging the American and international communities in its struggle and it must form a united front. Transcending its current state of confusion requires stepping up educational campaigns and using the Internet to its fullest capacity. With a coherent and powerful message and with more effective levers for political change, the Save Darfur movements could improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of Sudanese.
The buck has now stopped with the Bush administration, and despite Deputy Secretary of State Zoelick’s stated intention, much more action must be taken. The US must intervene in Darfur. There exists a situation in which human lives-not to mention democracy-are under attack. The plight of more than two million displaced persons – the frequent victims of raids and rape by the Sudanese government’s unofficial allies – necessitates an end to international apathy.
