Cabin Window: Darfur

If you're not busy, or even if you are, cancel your plans in order to attend the Voices from Darfur national speaking tour that is coming to Hendrix College's Staples Auditorium tonight.

The speaking tour is comprised of refugees from Darfur, located in the western region of Sudan, who have escaped the war-torn region. Last year the tour visited 44 cities, reaching more that 10,000 people.

The situation in Darfur is worsening. Until recently few American politicians were willing to attach the word "genocide" to the atrocities being committed on a daily basis by the conflict between the Sudanese government and it's believed accomplices, the janjaweed, with rebel groups.

Amidst all of the war and destruction, more than 200,000 Darfuris are believed to have been murdered and more than 2 million Darfuris displaced to conservation camps reminiscent of the World War II treatment of Jews.

According to Web sites advocating action to the injustices in Darfur, murder, rape, bombings, forced displacement and ethnic cleansing take place daily throughout Darfur.

A Darfur Peace Agreement was signed in 2006, but little has changed, and pressure on Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is increasing. According to advocacy group Save Darfur, al-Bashir has continued to thwart international efforts to calm violence in the torn region. The UNAMID peacekeeping mission, which was authorized by the U.N. Security Council, called for an end to the conflict and for security for Darfuris. Most continue to claim that still isn't happening.

Stories like these are difficult to hear. In America we're accustomed to a certain way of life, rarely thinking about the atrocities being committed outside of this great nation. Speakers from the Voices from Darfur tour aim to change that. Armed with stories and memories about events that has changed their lives forever, their goal is to raise awareness about something that is personal to them. These speakers could have easily shut themselves off from the world, leaving it upon themselves to carry the tremendous weight that had been placed upon their conscience, intending never to tell their stories again. Instead, they are traveling the country, telling their stories to any one who will listen hoping they will build the forces necessary to demand an end to the genocide taking place.

Awareness of Darfur is increasing in the United States, but the current administration has let the situation fall to the bottom of its list of priorities. Without American influence, the conflict could easily go on for years. The U.S. government has a diplomatic responsibility to confront the Sudanese government in an attempt to peacefully end the conflict.

The event is sponsored by the Save Darfur Coalition, a group of more than 180 faith-based, advocacy and human rights organizations.

Show up, listen to what these individuals have to say, then examine this thought: Are we doing enough to help those in Darfur?