Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Darfur

Ok, it's not my intention to simply focus on every cause celebre that is out there. However, today (well, technically yesterday, October 17. It's still "today" on the West Coast, so there) was supposed to be Spotlight on Darfur day, and I just didn't get around to blogging until late in the evening.

"Never again" was said in response to the Shoah, and has become so trite and commonplace, that the phrase seems quite shorn of any effectiveness or power. The ongoing genocide in eastern Sudan, Darfur, is a shameful tragedy, and another reminder of just how hard it is to get serious international response to such humanitarian crises.

Crash Course on Darfur at the New Republic.
Lots of info at Coaltion for Darfur.

First Things has a great article, The Shame of Darfur, on the conservative Christian involvement in Sudan, how that lobby successfully helped pus the US to broker a peace deal in the south, even as the genocide in the Darfur started and unfolded, and continues more or less unabated.

Tomorrow (Tuesday), do try and call your representatives. It's National Call-In Day for Darfur.

And if you do nothing else, watch this video.

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