The Call to End American Apathy Towards Africa

In the early months of 1994, between 800,000 and 1 million innocent people were murdered in 2 months. Mutilated bodies lined the streets as the world watched the murderers dance with glee. The UN proved to be useless in a conflict that was deemed "tribal" and "ancient". Why would the world, especially the United States, ever allow genocide of this proportion to continue without abatement for over 60 days? Could it be because the victims and perpetrators were all black, and the conflict was taking place in Rwanda, a tiny nation on a continent that has increasingly come to be known as a lost cause?

After the Rwandan genocide, Americans again renewed our commitment to the promise to "Never Again" allow genocide to take place anywhere in the world. However, just a few short years later, a new genocide is occurring-again in a small African nation. In Darfur, Sudan, millions of people have fled their homes, and thousands have been murdered in a conflict that has an ethical basis. Arab Sudanese have targeted the black region of Darfur in an attempt to drive these Sudanese from the country and create a completely Arabic nation. Americans turn on their television every night to images of innocent refugees fleeing the only homes they have ever known in order to avoid being murdered, raped, and robbed. Why is the United States again refusing to lead the world in demanding that this full-scale genocide be stopped? The American Holocaust Museum itself has called the conflict a "genocidal emergency" and has called for American intervention. What is the response of the American government?

According to BBC News Online, Americans have so far called for sanctions against the Sudanese government, and have encouraged increased involvement by the under-funded and often-ridiculed African Union. The nations surrounding the Sudan have called for UN involvement, but the Sudanese government is resisting UN involvement (one only has to wonder exactly whose side the Sudanese government is on during this conflict. After just a moment, the answer becomes very clear.). In American politics, it has become very vogue to mention Darfur, and even to be seen with celebrities like George Clooney and Mia Farrow who have become spokespersons for Darfur in the United States. Both the Democratic and Republican debates have touched on the genocide, with a few candidates honestly calling for real U.S. intervention. So, why have American troops landed in Darfur? Or, at the very least, why have Americans not led the way in demanding that the United Nations begin a major peacekeeping effort in Darfur?

The answer to these pressing questions is clear, concise, and cynical. Americans simply do not have enough economic and social interests in Africa to risk American lives to save black Africans. We may feel the pull of sadness when we see black African corpses on the television, or feel compassion when we hear a young black Sudanese girl describe her rape by an Arab Sudanese soldier; but we cannot see the logical trade-off between an American soldier's life and the well-being of an African (think back to the American response to the incident in Mogadishu that inspired the movie Black Hawk Down). Our foreign policy has always been to intervene in conflicts in regions of the world that can give us resources, such as oil or labor; and to remotely watch people die and suffer in regions of the world that seem disconnected from our economic and political interests. In other words, what could a little black African community like Darfur ever give us in return for sending our soldiers to die on its soil? The answer is: nothing of economic or political worth, but perhaps everything we need as we search to discover America's place in the world once more.

If America is ever to regain our status as a nation that extends freedom and security to all peoples of the world, we should not, and cannot, shirk away from our responsibility to contribute to the ending of the genocide in Darfur. Once again, a poor, powerless community of people desperately needs our help to survive; and once again, those people have black skin. If we are to rebuild our credibility as a compassionate nation of peacemakers-and not simply a nation whose military assures our continued economic and political prowess-we must lead the call for ending the genocide in Darfur. Our national conscience is crying out for us to assist this group of beautiful, intelligent people; how can we again turn our heads away and pretend it is not happening? The words of Pastor Niemoller's poem (by substituting a few other groups) speak to our moral obligation most eloquently:

First They Came for the Jews

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.

Pastor Martin Niemöller