Comments on: Save Darfur Rally

By: hope

hope — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 18:13:56 +0000

This is not just a nice read. These are people’s lives.
When you are a mother and you have to watch your own baby starve to death because someone stole all of your cattle, and you live under a tumbleweed hut filled in with mud and covered in plastic, maybe you will all stop reading and act! Look into the eyes of the people and think about what you would do if this was your family, and then start moving.
I suggest you look up what happens to a person when they starve to death. Their organs shut down one by one, and their brain starts to deteriorate. What happens to a woman who is raped by 6 or 7 men at the age of 9 or 10 years old and can no longer walk right. What happens in her tribe if she has a rape baby at the age of 10, and what happens to her if the men who raped her gives her HIV?
Rape is a form of torture.
The women are stolen and taken as sex slaves, and young boys as child soldiers. What happens to their innocent lives and souls? Is that a good read, too?
We must act. The UN peacekeepers have been authorized to enter Darfur but do not have all of the equiptment they need to accomplish their mission. We must ACT NOW! Give them what they need, if we have to raise the funds ourselves. This is an albatros around our necks! The hope is that the peacekeepers will save lives, and prevent any more bloodshed. It can not get any worse.

By: hope

hope — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 18:01:45 +0000

I think this man should get the Nobel Peace Prize for all of his work.

By: Nancy O Dell

Nancy O Dell — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 15:34:04 +0000

Nancy O Dell…

Thanks for the nice read, keep up the interesting posts…..

By: Pat

Pat — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:29:46 +0000

I apologize for cursing and being so angry about what is happening over there. I am sickened and hurt by it so much that. It almsot seems surreal to me but I know it is not. Thank-you for letting me vent. Yes I will write my congressman and send a letter to Joan Mower I promise.

By: Anti-War

Anti-War — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:25:49 +0000

Pat: the problem is that the situation in Darfur is a lot more complex than Arabs oppressing and killing Africans, even though that is how it is usually portrayed in the US media. In fact, there are as many as 15 factions in the civil war in Darfur, all of whom have dirty hands. There is no peace to keep, no well-defined sides to keep separated.

This NYTimes article, while pro-intervention, does talk about some of the problems. But this article from Reporters Without Borders suggests that armed intervention is likely to make things worse, not better. In these times, we need to be very wary of claims that we need to send soldiers to occupy another country, even in what seems like a good cause.

By: Pat

Pat — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 23:36:44 +0000

I had no idea that this rally was going on at the Statehouse or I would have been there. This genocide of Africans unfortunately has been going on for hundreds of years which makes it no less easier to deal with on any level. One tribe killing off the other for land, leadership or whatever. Part of it I see as a cultural issue, the other part is just damned disgusting. We as Americans and as foreigners look at it as pretty much this way, but what are we to do from here? That is the question of the day and any day. I as a woman would like to take up frikkin arms and go and play mercenary on those bastards that are raping, enslaving and killing women and children. Yet I sit here and type a letter to who? What did I just do that would change anything for them over there? I can and will send a letter to my congressman asking for them to wage a political war from here to the UN and also the Sudan Programs Officer, Joan Mower to push for “mercenary” peacekeepers to go in there and “try” to help the people of the Darfur Region. My other part is to pray like I have never prayed before that those who are inflicting these terrible hate crimes will be punished far worse than what they did to those who are inncocent. To think we as Americans and our noble elected politicians knew this was going on before 4 years ago but we have to be “careful” because of the Muslim religion and what they think of us. Please do we care? No, they are the ones killing these innocents in the name of religion, oil, land and just pure greed. Praise Allah.

By: Anti-War

Anti-War — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:04:40 +0000

Could it be that South Carolinians are unwilling to commit their young people to another indefinite intervention into a multi-sided civil war? Or is that giving “our dumb state” too much credit?

By: Brett

Brett — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 06:56:10 +0000

I’m working on an analysis of why this event, promoted to the max by the State newspaper, local TV and leading political figures didn’t turn out more people. I really expected 10 thousand, not 2000.

The Jena 6 rally a couple of weeks ago had NO media promotion -other than black radio - and drew a bigger crowd. Mostly black, as opposed to the mostly white crowd for the Darfur rally.

Could it be that mainstream support supresses turnout? It’s not cool if the Governor and football coach wants you to come?
Your thoughts on this are appreciated.

Brett

By: ben p.

ben p. — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 23:28:43 +0000

I was surprised by the racial makeup of the rally attendees. Why didn’t this turn out more African Americans? I thought that the Black churches would have made this an issue and turned out people. This makes no sense.

By: Sarah Gareau

Sarah Gareau — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 20:33:02 +0000

I was there. It really was a powerful event.