By The Editors
In 1994 the United States – and the world – was in a very different place. Persian Gulf War I was well behind us. Other than a gruesome failure in Mogadishu, Somalia when 18 U.S. Marines were killed, things weren’t too bad. The economy was in its pre-dawn hours of the dot com boom.
Even Israel and Palestine were experiencing relative calm.
But in a far off place where the West has traditionally had little interest, life was very different. Africa, arguably the neglected continent, has consistently found itself far behind the rest of world. Still suffering from the ramifications of Western colonization, disease, political instability and genocide have devastated African populations for decades. Unlike the Middle East, Africa’s issues have not stood the West in the face and interfered with ways of life.
Rwanda’s genocide in 1994 should have been the straw that broke the international community’s conscience on intervention. There are strong parallels to be drawn between the killings in Rwanda and Sudan, which have already resulted in the deaths of 300,000 Darfurians.
This paper has run several articles and columns on the genocide both in Africa and in Sudan in an effort to raise awareness about an issue that deserves much more attention. This series has been an attempt to raise awareness and, more importantly, to invoke humanity and encourage this campus’ students to became passionate about the cause.
When Paul Rusesabagina, who was the inspiration for the movie “Hotel Rwanda” was one person who, alone, saved the lives of over 1,200 people. The United States and people all over the world have the ability and the moral responsibility to work together to stop the violence in Sudan, which has the potential to become Rwanda all over again.
Speaking on April 7, 2004, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan told the world “We must never forget our collective failure to protect at least 800,000 defenseless men, women and children who perished in Rwanda 10 years ago.
Too bad we already have. Yet again, the world is passive if not complacent to an unfolding genocide in the Sudan. Darfurians are being massacred by the janjaweed militia and still no effective intervention has taken place
Media has failed to bring the issue to the world’s attention.
It is imperative that the United States and its allies do not repeat their catastrophic failure to intervene.
It’s letters to senators and an outspoken public that ultimately has the power to shame this country into action.
The Editorial Reflects the Opinion of No Less Than 75 Percent of the Editorial Board