Genocide in Darfur

Darfur is an area in West Sudan (about the size of Texas) that, in the past seven years, has been a victim of genocide. Since this genocide began, more than two and a half million people have been forced from their homes into “refugee camps”, which are really no place of refuge at all. This conflict was initiated as a result of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) groups of Darfur accusing the Sudanese government of tyrannizing and oppressing black Africans in favor of Arabs. The oppressors are composed of the Sudanese military and police, along with the Janjaweed (a Sudanese militia group made up of camel-herding, horse-riding nomads). The Sudanese government claims to not support the Janjaweed, but there have been direct connections regarding the Sudanese government actually funding the Janjaweed and aiding them in joint attacks that target civilians.
Since this genocide began in 2003, the estimated human casualty rate is in the hundreds of thousands. People in Darfur either die from direct combat, starvation, or disease caused by the conflict. More than 2.5 million people have been forced out of their homes into “refugee camps” which has consequently created a humanitarian crisis. Because of the fighting between the SLM/A and the JEM against the Sudanese government, civilians have become the target of ethnic cleansing. Villages are being burned, civilians are being killed and displaced, and mass graves have been discovered. Although the United States has recognized this as a genocide, the United Nations says “that while there were mass murders and rapes of Darfurian civilians, they could not label the atrocities as "genocide" because "genocidal intent appears to be missing”.”
After the Holocaust, people of the world vowed to never turn their back on such a violent and gruesome atrocity as genocide ever again. Well, look what’s happened now. Although the United States has acknowledged that the events occurring in Darfur ARE genocide, we have taken little to none effective action. The part that is so frustrating for people who know about this conflict and want to help is the fact that the people who are committing this genocide are nomads who herd camels and ride horses. The Janjaweed is said to consist of roughly a few thousand men. Keeping in mind that they ride horses and their firearms are far from advanced; our military could invade with an equal number of men and women and fix this situation. But the fact that we have simply acknowledged this genocide and not taken any steps towards stopping it, is breaking the promise that we, and many other countries, made to the world after the Holocaust.
The camps of displaced Darfuri people mainly consist of women and children. Sexual violence is a massive part of this genocide. In Darfur, rape is an epidemic. The Janjaweed and Sudanese government continue to conduct this civilian campaign of sexual violence. The refugee camps are not safe for women and children, either. For when they leave to gather firewood and water, they are most often attacked.
The hope of the Darfuri people are slowly vanishing. President Obama has done nothing to help the people of Darfur since he began his term. President Omar al-Bashir is the president of Sudan, and “the orchestrator of their [Darfuri peoples’] suffering.” For seven years since the conflict began, the Darfuri people have been hoping for protection and peace. They hoped that when President Obama was elected, “Yes We Can” meant “yes” for them, too. For more than seven years, two American presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama have recognized what is happening in Darfur as a genocide; but neither one has done virtually anything to put a stop to it.
The American people have the power to put a stop to this. We need to urge the Obama administration to accept the moral obligation of helping the Darfuri people who are a victim of genocide. President Obama must lead a “diplomatic offensive” to convince the world to isolate President Omar al-Bashir as a renegade of justice. We, as a nation who have recognized this horrible act as a genocide, must take the necessary steps in order to put a stop to it.
　
　
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The Suez Canal and Civilians in Egypt

During world war two, Egypt was a very valuable commodity to be in control of. The Suez Canal was a major thing to be in control of during the war, because whoever was in control of the Suez Canal, had access to all the oil in Egypt, and you need oil to make your tanks run, and your planes fly. The Suez Canal was also important, strategically, because whoever had access to it, had the quickest route between the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans. The Canal’s importance was also proven in the first World War, when Britain and France closed the Canal to all non-Allied shipping.
Amongst all the other territories being fought over during the war, the Suez Canal was especially important to Germany and Britain. Both countries seemed to fight the hardest for it, and after the war, Britain was the one who gained, and held, control of it.
Something especially interesting about all of this, is the fact that Egypt was technically “neutral” during the war, but soon enough, Cairo became an important military base for the British. The British were allowed to station themselves in Cairo because in 1936, they signed a treaty that stated that the United Kingdom has the right to station troops on Egyptian soil in order to protect the Suez Canal.
On September 13, 1940, Italy invaded Egypt in hopes of taking control of the Suez Canal. To be in control of the Suez Canal during World War II was an extreme advantage, because of the need for oil. The second World War was different from the first because of the new technology that was being used (tanks, planes, etc.); and almost all of that new technology required fuel. Italy invaded in hopes of gaining control of the Canal, but they had to face the British who were already stationed there.
The unfortunate part of all of this, is that many Egyptians got killed because of the fighting between the Italians and the British. Even though there were many worse civilian incidences during World War II, that does not degrade the importance of this one. The fighting going on between the troops was obviously part of war, but when the fighting begins to endanger the lives of innocent civilians, that is when it is crossing the line. War IS fighting, but civilians did not sign up to be in the military. They are normal people trying to live their lives, and they should not be targets of violence (intentional or accidental). War is supposed to be one country’s military fighting against another country’s military. No where in that description does it say that killing innocent civilians is okay. Yes, it’s hard to see who you’re shooting at in the heat of the moment of battle, but Italy and Britain should have accepted the moral obligation of not fighting near a bunch of civilians.
War is an extremely chaotic time, and most of us cannot imagine how hard it must be to keep everything straight, and focus on what you are supposed to be focused on. But when you join the military, you are held to a certain moral standard. You also have moral and ethical obligations, one of them being not endangering anyone’s life if it can be avoided; and that just goes to show that many of the lives of these civilians could have been spared.

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The International Red Cross: Lending a Helping Hand or Turning a Blind Eye?

Throughout WWII, the International Red Cross (IRC) basically looked the other way when it came to Nazis persecuting Jews. From Septermber 1939 until June 22, 1941, while the International Red Cross was supposed to be delivering aid (such as food packages) to those who were under control of the Nazis, the Germans convinced the International Red Cross that the people in the ghettos and camps “constituted a threat to the security of the Reich, and therefore, were not allowed to receive aid from the International Red Cross.” From June 22, 1941 until the summer of 1944, Jewish organizations pleaded to the International Red Cross for help, but the International Red Cross still declined their request for help. The International Red Cross refused to intervene. Had the International Red Cross spoken out again the Nazis and brought aid to those in camps, they would have been marked “detrimental” to society, and most likely, would have been shut down by the Nazis. However, in the International Red Cross’s defense, they did try and send secret food packages to those being persecuted by the Nazis, whose addresses they did have. Also, some camps and ghettos, such as Ghetto Thereseinstadt, even went through all the trouble of setting up decoys to try and get the International Red Cross to believe that everything there was fine. They set up playgrounds, music rooms, and many other things. When the International Red Cross came to inspect the camps and check around, the Nazi soldiers told them that everything was fine and showed them the kids playing on playgrounds and how they just built a music room for enjoyment; when, in reality, the Nazis were slaughtering the people in this camp by hundreds.
In order to make the “beautification” seem convincing, the Nazis built cafés, banks, playgrounds, and second-hand clothing stores. The Nazis worked extremely hard to make sure that every detail of their racist annihilation of the Jews was covered up with something pleasant and humane for when the members of the International Red Cross came to inspect the ghetto. The Nazis thought they did such an outstanding job, however, they even made a movie about it. They called it, “Der Führer schenkt den Juden eine Stadt,” or “The Leader give the Jews a town as a gift.” This just shows the sheer audacity of the Nazis and how confident they were that they would never be found out for the mass killing of the Jews. The last step of the “beautification” of Thereseinstadt was to get rid of the overcrowding in that ghetto so that the International Red Cross wouldn’t realize that there actually were inhumane and horrible for the Jews. So, in order to have a smaller population of inmates, the Nazis sent seven transports of Jews, or 17,517, to be put to death at Auschwitz. From these seven transports, the Czech Jews were sent to a “family camp” at Auschwitz II, called Birkenau. Birkenau was different from Auschwitz because the prisoners were allowed to wear normal clothes, live with their families, and send letters back to the prisoners at Thereseinstadt. The inmates at Auschwitz, however, had to wear blue and grey striped prison uniforms, they lived alone in fenced off areas, and they were treated extremely horribly. During the inspection at Thereseinstadt, the Nazis had an orchestra play classical music for the International Red Cross inspectors, while at the very same moment on a different side of the ghetto, prisoners were being marched into the gas chambers.
Although Thereseinstadt passed the inspection of the International Red Cross due to the foolery and disguising done by the Nazi guards, the International Red Cross does not have an excuse for passing inspection on any other camp they investigated. No other camp even tried to hide the cruel and grotesque things they did to the Jews. One of the most infamous concentration camps, Buchenwald, made lamp shades out of the skin of its prisoners. This is one of many reasons why the International Red Cross should take partial, if not full, responsibility for letting the concentration camps get away with what they did. The International Red Cross may have been fooled at Thereseinstadt, but there is no reason for why they let the dozens of other camps get away with the dehumanization, exploitation, and pure annihilation of the Jews in the concentration camps.

Jesse Owens: Target of Racism or Just Another Runner?

In the summer of 1936, dozens of atheletes from all around the world gathered in Berlin, Germany to compete in the summer olympics. James Cleaveland “Jesse” Owens, was representing the United States in the 100 meter dash, the 200 meter dash, the long jump, and the 4x100 relay.
In forty five minutes, Owens set three world records, and tied one more. Berlin’s Olympic Stadium was filled with hundreds of thousands of cheering fans as Owens won gold medal after gold medal. The splash that Owens created in the athletic world spilled over into the political world.
At this time, Germany was teeming with Nazi pride and propoganda. Everywhere one looked, there red and black flags with swastikas; or Brown Shirts goose-stepping while Hitler basked in the cheers and adoration of the people as Nazi anthem “Deutschland Uber Alles” played. The controversy of Jesse Owens participating in these olympics in these times was what nations, other than Germany, tended to focus on. Because Owens was an African-American, people feared that he would be discriminated against and looked down upon, as an inferior, once in Germany.
To many countries’ surprise, Owens was praised just as all of the other Olympic atheletes were. Before races, in between races, after races; fans in the stadium croweded around him hoping to get an autograph or a photo with the runner. He couldn’t even walk the streets of Berlin, or go out to lunch at a café, without being hounded by fans. What other countries didn’t realize is that not all Germans reguarded African-Americans in the same way that Hitler did. Most Germans didn’t care about Owens’ race: they still saw him as a tremendous athelete. However, from an American’s point of view, it was an amazing triumph. President Bush reffered to Owens’ victories as, “an unrivaled athletic triumph, but more than that, a triumph for all humanity."
Although some may reguard Owens’ victories in Berlin as “triumphs for all humanity” and some may simply view him as a phenomenal athelete who overcame adversity, one thing is agreed upon: Jesse Owens remains a legend in the world of athletics for setting three world records and tying one more in only forty five minutes. Four years after his death in 1980, a street in Berlin was named after Owens in his honor. He also received the Medal of Freedom from President Ford, which is the highest honor the United States can confer upon a civilian.
Despite the fact that most Americans think that the Germans thought it was as big of a deal as we did, they really didn’t. The Germans, for the most part, didn’t view Jesse Owens’ victories as anything more than that: a victory. Americans thought that because Jesse Owens beat German Olympians, there would be a huge political uproar. But that really wasn’t the case; the Germans only thought it was one athlete beating another. Jesse Owens was an astounding Olympic athlete, and a legend in the world of track and field, but in the case of the 1936 Olympic Games, Owens was just another athlete claiming the gold.

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