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This book gives a lot of information on how to become more active in the fight against Darfur. The beginning of the book sets the stage on how Don Cheadle became an activist for Darfur after the filming of Hotel Rwanda, which is the movie about the Rwandan Holocaust. Somewhere in his journey, Don is introduced to John Prendergast, who is as long time activist for Africa. Together they travelled to Sudan, met with refugees, talked with U.N. members, joined ralleys, and fought genocide in Darfur.
This book gives a very detailed history on the wars in Sudan and how it became genocide. In fact, there was so much information in this book, it was almost too many facts to take in. Aside from that, there is a big push for people to do their part.
Here are some of the reasons the government isn't doing anything about Darfur.
A Journey to Darfur is a DVD documentary done by George Clooney and his father, Nick. Back in April of 2006 they took a trip to the Darfur region to shine a light on the genocide happening there. They spent a little time on the documentary talking about struggles with the U.N. with just getting aid over there. What they wanteed from the U.N. was to provide troops or personnel to protect the displaced men, women and children from further harm. Even that kind of aid isn't being given.
Countless women and even young girls are brutally raped by the Janjaweed, these are groups of nomadic Arabs that are basically doing all the killing for the Sudanese government. It is so bad that the women can't even hunt for firewood without the threat of being raped. Sometimes unwanted pregnancies are the result. An interviewed professor (I'm sorry I don't recall his name) said that rape is considered a war crime, and is often used in war to cause humiliation and dispel any feelings of hope within a group of victims. Other things the Janjaweed will do is burn all the crops, food storage, huts and poison the water supply to discourage people from coming back to their homes.
Other parts of the documentary showed George interviewing some of the refugees. Many had sad tales and all had lost many members of their families. One interview happened when a little girl about 8 years old asked when they (the Americans) would be coming back with help. George answered, "Soon", to which she replied, "that's what they all say."
Upon returning home, the Clooney's attended a Save Darfur rally in Washington D.C., and also met with members of the U.N. Part of the problem is the U.N. is willing to get in help in the form of soldiers only if the Sudanese government invites them in. Of course, Sudan just isn't going to do that. At this point in time, our government and those of other nations are unwilling to go in without an invitation. They claim they don't want to start another holy war, because that is what Sudan says will happen if American troops come into their nation. The Clooney's want the government, individuals and groups to stand up and say, "Not on our watch".
The Translator: A Tribesman's Memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari
My review
rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Translator is written by Daoud Hari, who is a man from Darfur whose village was attacked by the Sudanese government. He escaped into Chad, and worked with various reporters as a translator and a guide. He took them into Sudan to interview the people. Many times he almost lost his life, and miraculously was spared. A few of those times he was actually saved by the reporter who he was translating for.
A big part of the book goes into detail about the last time he was taken as a prisoner. Many times throughout this one experience he thought he would die. With each day, or transfer or change in personnel, he thought it was the end. Fortunately for him, he had a good gift of befriending people, and ultimately help from the American government. Now he lives in America, as it is too dangerous for him to remain in Africa.
What I learned from this book is that the Sudanese government has pitted the Arab people against the non-Arab people. Basically by supplying the Arabs with weapons, and demanding the removal of weapons from the non-Arabs. The Arabs were formerly the minority, but with the genocide going on, it is obvious they are trying to create and Arab majority. Here is a simple statement from the book, "The non-Arab traditional Africans of Darfur are being systematically murdered and displaced by Bashir's government of Sudan as a part of a program to remove political dissent, remove challenges to power, make way for unobstructed resource development, and turn an Arab minority into and Arab majority."
The political dissent is talking about resistant groups and rebel uprisings of non-Arabs. The resource development is talking about oil, and apparently there is an abundant water source under Darfur, but the non-Arabs are not allowed to pump it. The government wants control of all the land and its resources and peoples.
Daoud wants people to know that Darfur is not a simple genocide, it is a complicated genocide. His message is we have to stop genocide. If it continues to work, more people will believe they can solve all their problems by killing everyone in their way.
View all my reviews.
This is just a documentary on the Sudan that was done by some staff over at Vice magazine. In conjuntion with Maw Book's Blogging for Darfur, I watched it and decided to blog about it.
Many of you may know, or maybe you don't, about the genocide in Darfur. What I gathered is that Darfur is a state within the country of Sudan. If I'm wrong, please feel free to comment. While I am not completely familiar with what is happening over there, I do occasionally hear little tidbits about it. Hmm, George Clooney made a video about it, and genocide. So that much I knew in a nutshell. Pretty bad huh.
Now maybe parties in power are just trying to pull the wool over our eyes, but I'd assumed that what was happening over there was similar with the genocide that happened in Rwanda. That was where one tribe decided it was superior over another tribe and wanted to eliminate them.
Maybe that was an excuse for the Sudanese government to kick the people out of Darfur, but Vice believes it is all about the discovery of oil.
It is very dangerous in Sudan to be yielding a camera. The staff at Vice were almost throw in jail a couple of times, and were lucky to get out of there with their cameras in tact. They (I don't know if this includes the government, oil companies, or both) just don't want the world to know what is going on. At least, that is how I interpreted it.
The oil companies come from China, India, and Indonesia (probably other countries) literally take all the profit. Another state (or city) where oil is being drilled is very impoverished. They don't see hardly any profit (if at all) from the oil that is being drilled. What is happening in Darfur is similar to what happened in another Sudanese state. Oil was discovered and a military group came in and forced all the people out.
Now I wouldn't call myself an expert after one documentary, so I am going to try to get some books at the library. Keep a look out for future posts about Darfur. Oh, and go check out Vice's Documentary. The link is above.
Please feel free to visit Maw Books and post a comment on any of Natasha's posts throughout the month of September. Every time you do, she will donate money for Darfur. The button is on my sidebar.
Repeat post from my family blog.
You all should know I love reading. What's not to love? I get to snuggle in bed, or on the couch, or relax in the tub with a good book and escape into a fantasy world. Then I get to imagine myself in that fantasy world. That is just the best.
What is not cool? When people "kill the buzz" as Bella says in Stephenie Meyer's "Breaking Dawn". Second known fact: I am a Twilight enthusiast. Some would call me obsessed, but I would say, "Not to an unhealthy degree, which is o.k. by me." So when some unknown person posted the whole of an unfinished manuscript of "Midnight Sun" (Twilight from Edward's perspective) on the internet without the permission of the author, I was determined not to actively seek the spoiler. What happened instead? Stephenie Meyer was so upset that she decided to indefinitely put "Midnight Sun" on hold. This means we may not ever get to see the book in completion. Ms. Meyer also offered up the unfinished story on her website. I am still determined that I won't read it, with hopes that Stephenie will one day decide to finish the story.
I have to admit that as a fan I felt robbed and even betrayed. Not by Stephenie, but by the thoughtless person who decided to leak the story. I feel nothing but sorrow for S.M. right now. As an author it must be bad enough to give your finished work to the public to be scrutinized, but to have something that is in it's rawest form be given over without your permission, it must be equally terrifying to know the world is judging you. I mean just look at what happened with "Breaking Dawn". I would say about half (or more) of readers didn't like it, and blamed Stephenie for "ruining the book" and even going so far as calling it bad fan fiction. How cruel can people be? I enjoyed the book, and can accept Stephenie's vision for HER story.
That brings me to this point. I was reading over on Shannon Hale's blog (author of "Princess Academy" and "Goose Girl"), and she wrote an amazing post on liking or disliking books. She made some good points. Overall message? Find books that you enjoy reading. It is not fair to blame an author if you don't like a book. If you don't like a book, put it down and figure out why you didn't. Then proceed to find one you will like. Please go check out the article here, and let me know what you think.
You may have noticed a banner I am displaying on my blog. It is in support of Stephenie Meyer after what happened with "Midnight Sun". As fans, it is our duty to let Stephenie know we still care about her writing and show our support. Please show your support by refusing to read the unfinished manuscript of "Midnight Sun". Stephenie deserves that respect. Don't you think?
