According to the article Darfur Rebels Kill 10 in Peace Force, by Jeffery Gettleman (New York Times, October 1st, 2007.), things in Darfur, although hard to believe, have just gotten worse. Over the weekend ten rebels violently raided a peace camp in the town of Haskanita. It was reported that the rebels stole all camp supplies, weapons, killed at least seven soldiers, and 50 people are still missing. Officials are still not sure who is responsible for the destruction as the fighting has spread to numerous groups. The two main rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, are now not only fighting against the government but each other. Although some have linked the attack to the Justice and Equality Movement group they denied it blaming it on the government, while the government said they would not interfere with the peacekeepers because they are just trying to help the people of Darfur. It is true that about 7,000 peacekeepers are trying to bring help to the people through food and medicine, but their job is becoming more and more difficult. Many have abandoned areas such as Haskanita, where the fighting is perhaps the worst, because the fighting has become too intense. Every day peacekeepers are robbed and killed for their efforts. There are so many groups in Darfur fighting against each other it is hard to say if peace will ever come.
Owing to the recent surge of fighting, African peacekeepers are hoping that the Union Nations will still send troops that are due later this year to help stop the fighting. However they know that many are skeptical and worried because the fighting is no longer rebel groups versus the government. Darfur has taken over 200,000 lives and left over 2.5 million people homeless. I’m not sure how the United Nations cannot be willing to give the people of Darfur help. This is a serious problem of our generation that has been completely overlooked and I worry what will happen if the U.N. does not get involved. It is hard to see this genocide happening while the rest of the world sits by to watch it happen. Will things in Darfur change and why are we not getting involved to help them change?
3 comments:
In regards to the raid by rebel groups in Darfur, one can only infer that peacemaking between citizen groups in Africa has been insufficient. Peack keepers have successfully started to tame the violence and fighting between government and rebel, but what to do about the rebel vs. rebel situation?
The raid on Haskanita, the largest and deadliest attack since peace making started three years ago, repels any international peace making help that may have come through the U.N. Peacekeepers have since become discouraged by the on-going fighting that seems endless in the Darfur area. Rebels continue to turn everything against the government, thus prolonging the conflict between rebel and government. As long as rebels fight against one another and blame everything on the government, there wil be no improvement in living condidtions or civility.
Like most situations of wartime or civilian hostility, the question always remains, what can we as a global community do to stop such events from happening? The world today has become much more dangerous. Politics determine everything. The actions of a government could severly hinder the progress of an entire country or even a small city. In terms of Darfur, civilian unity should be the first and foremost topic of discussion among government officials. They need to consult with peacekeeping officials to insure the reconciliation of their citizens, thus introducing a new concept: peace.
The problems in Darfur are very sad. The fact that rebels can take over the enforcers and the ones that are protecting the innocent, is a scary thought. All the fighting by the rebels, including the raid on the peace camp in Haskanita, makes me wonder why more is not done to help out these innocent people that cannot live peacefully because of the fear that their homes may be invaded by rebels. Many countries could intervene and give a hand but it seems that they are afraid that the rebel groups are too violent. Someone needs to step in and make a change.
It is so surprising that rebel groups can be so negative to Africa and there is not more done to try to stop them. The problems in this situation remind me of the movie "Blood Diamond", and how hard it was for the people to survive and live peacefully with all the rebel groups that were causing problems. Since we see there are problems in parts of Africa, on movies and through the newspaper, why are we not helping? We fight in the war in Iraq and seem to get nothing accomplished. Maybe the omnipotent America should prove to people that we are more than just trying to prove that we are a powerful country, but we can help too. The UN needs to figure something out to help before Africa is swallowed by the rebels.
The rebal wars in Africa continue to be a huge problem. The have been peace making efforts with the rebal and government relationship but now the rebal groups are fighing each other. The attacks keep getting worse and worse, more people are dying each day and so many people are without homes. The rebels are taking over the law enforsments and essentialy running the country. The death toll is becoming far to great and someone needs to step in and help Africa. This fighting has gone on way too long and it is time for outside forces to step in and stop the genocide that is happening in Africa.
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