Anyone who has seen the film Hotel Rwanda, will remember how those most shocking and unbelievable atrocities were ignored by the rest of the world, particularly the US, who reckoned it was not their problem.
They cannot blame ignorance any longer, nobody can. We cannot fail to act knowing that genocide continues to be a real threat, while Blair has previcated for more than two years.
Blair’s pledge to start talking now is too late, and naturally he is supporting his brother-in-war over this, rather than standing on his own two feet. Earlier this month, the Shadow 
International Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell called on Blair to intervene to avert imminent genocide in the stricken Sudanese region of Darfur. Perhaps he had too many domestic problems on his hands then.
Maybe he has since listened to George Clooney’s urgent warning (the US equivalent to our Bob Geldof), to the UN security council last week: “After September 30, you won’t need the UN. You will simply need men with shovels and bleached white linen.â€?
Desmond Tutu has pleaded for Blair to act in the face of further genocide and questions whether Sudan’s rich oil reserves is influencing how the UN deals with this desperate situation. China, France and Russia, all members of the UN security council, they do business with the government of Sudan and are reluctant to jeopardise their commercial relationships.
Archbishop Tutu says there is something we can all do, we can pray for Darfur today, as well as ask our elected representatives to call for a significant UN force with an effective mandate to protect the civilians in 
Darfur. I shall be writing off to my MP straight away, that’s something we can all do.
As a former active member of Amnesty International, I know that this organisation believes in the power of the pen, that we can all do something to make a difference for Darfur by bombarding our political leaders with letters of protest against injustice. As today is Global Day for Darfur, we must all do what we can to get the message across, however small it may seem.
You might be interested in this, Darfur is dying, a consciousness-raising game/simulation created by MTV of all people.
Croydonian, thanks, I tried it out and it was very informative, we don’t realise how lucky we are in this country to enjoy the freedom we have.
I totally agree with everything you say here, Ellee. We have no excuse this time. What a pity it takes a Hollywood actor to wake the politicians up.
I hope that this campaign does achieve something. Always so hard in Africa when there are no resources to fight over.
It would be a credit to the West to to save a muslim population to furhter our cause elsewhere.
Let’s hope it is not just the lead in the news today and forgotten tomorrow
The question I ask myself if why the world got so worked up about war in Lebanon ( especially many Muslim groups ) – but geneocide of Muslims by Muslims doesn’t get a peep out of them. I think this tells us a lot about their underlying nature. I’ve mentioned this in my blog a number of times – I half hoping to provoke or shame them into action. But I suspect the answer lies in a combination of underlying racism and the fact that dominion over another relgion isn’t an issue.
I know those words are harsh, and I really don’t say them lightly.
Your right also to credit our party’s efforts on this issue ( I’m sure I rember Dave Cameron mentioning this in PMQ ). I’ll try and look it up.
I’ll try and write also as you suggest – last time I wrote to my MP was about shelling of civilians in Sarajevo (Muslims) by the Serbs (Christians). I couldn’t believe that sort of thing was allowed to go on in modern Europe. So its time to do it again, I hope the reply will be better than last time.
Man in a Shed, Desmond Tutu raises the same point about Lebanon, his article is heart-rending, how can anyone ignore it, I really wish I could go there and do something myself. You may be interested in this quote of his:
“This summer, after 30 days of war between Israel and Hezbollah, and a thousand dead, the international community rightly intervened and dispatched UN peacekeepers. After 3½ years, and an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 dead in Darfur, it is still unclear if a United Nations force will be sent. We Africans conclude that double standards apply to our continent.”
So yes, do write that letter, please.
I feel inept. I feel a letter is, well insignificant against the enormaity of it all.
I feel there is nothing I can do.
I feel very small.
I try to imagine how they feel, and
I can’t.
Susan, it may seem very insignificant to write a letter, but it is what Desmond Tutu is urging us all to do, it is what Amnesty International does relentlessly, it shows we care, it shows we are urging our political leaders to act on this, we are not sitting back and doing nothing, we are doing what little we can, while at the same time feeling helpless and small, as you say, wishing we could do so much more.