STAND: United for Sudan
Linda Vongkhamchanh
Issue date: 11/30/05 Section: editor's picks
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Versus Magazine Online [Image Edition]
The corpse of a young boy lies naked in the copper dirt under the scorching sun. Next to him lies his older brother, whose clothes are torn off, revealing a castrated body and a face unrecognizable after being bashed in by the end of rifle. Nearby, the mother of the two boys lies dead in the dirt after being raped and set on fire while still alive. These horrendous images illustrate the everyday occurrences in Darfur, a province in Western Sudan. How is it possible that at this very moment someone is dying from the brutality and inhumanity of their government and no one is there to help them?
The genocide in Darfur began in 2003, after peace agreements ended the civil war in Southern Sudan, another separate conflict in itself. The Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement attacked military installations to create mass warfare in Darfur. Following the outbreak of the war, Sudanese rebels formed the Janjaweed militia, supported by the government to kill civilians considered disloyal to the Sudanese government. As a result, the militia attacks have led to a large number of human rights violations, such as mass rapes and murders, and human torture. The conflict has led to the international condemnation of the Sudanese government and the displacement of millions of Sudanese people to escape the genocide in their homeland.
Today, two years into the conflict, the political situation continues to deteriorate, while the humanitarian conditions worsen. The threat of famine is present in addition to the already existing plague of disease and malnutrition. Tragically, there appears to be an absence of aid, internationally, to protect civilians and to influence the Sudanese government.
At Vanderbilt, students are taking action, promoting awareness about the crisis in Darfur by assembling the student organization Students Taking Action Now Darfur. STAND President Jonathan White, a senior in the College of Arts and Science, explained that the club was modeled after the organization at Georgetown University and created last semester. The club currently has approximately 60 members, students aware of the situation who want to get the word out about the genocide in order to evoke a greater change.
The corpse of a young boy lies naked in the copper dirt under the scorching sun. Next to him lies his older brother, whose clothes are torn off, revealing a castrated body and a face unrecognizable after being bashed in by the end of rifle. Nearby, the mother of the two boys lies dead in the dirt after being raped and set on fire while still alive. These horrendous images illustrate the everyday occurrences in Darfur, a province in Western Sudan. How is it possible that at this very moment someone is dying from the brutality and inhumanity of their government and no one is there to help them?
The genocide in Darfur began in 2003, after peace agreements ended the civil war in Southern Sudan, another separate conflict in itself. The Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement attacked military installations to create mass warfare in Darfur. Following the outbreak of the war, Sudanese rebels formed the Janjaweed militia, supported by the government to kill civilians considered disloyal to the Sudanese government. As a result, the militia attacks have led to a large number of human rights violations, such as mass rapes and murders, and human torture. The conflict has led to the international condemnation of the Sudanese government and the displacement of millions of Sudanese people to escape the genocide in their homeland.
Today, two years into the conflict, the political situation continues to deteriorate, while the humanitarian conditions worsen. The threat of famine is present in addition to the already existing plague of disease and malnutrition. Tragically, there appears to be an absence of aid, internationally, to protect civilians and to influence the Sudanese government.
At Vanderbilt, students are taking action, promoting awareness about the crisis in Darfur by assembling the student organization Students Taking Action Now Darfur. STAND President Jonathan White, a senior in the College of Arts and Science, explained that the club was modeled after the organization at Georgetown University and created last semester. The club currently has approximately 60 members, students aware of the situation who want to get the word out about the genocide in order to evoke a greater change.