Emily's Worldview

I am feeling hopeless about Darfur. An article in Sunday's NY Times (which provided the picture above) looks at a corner of the region where an internal displacement camp continues to receive new arrivals, although there is no water and no health care, and only a little food from the World Food Program. The African Union peacekeepers, ineffective as everyone knows they were, may leave, and government supported slaughter of the people in the camp is sure to follow. A UN peacekeeping force has been proposed, but the Sudanese government and citizens are rejecting it. An "invasion" by a European force could spark resistance, more bloodshed and then a premature pull-out. And then who will protect these displaced peasants already on the brink of survival?

I joined a local group that is advocating around the issue, because I was sick of doing nothing. The thing is, I don't even know what the US could do. It's the same way I felt about Iraq during the last election, or about the basketcase that is Zimbabwe. It's the most horrible thing I can imagine, and the only ones who could stop it are the same ones who are perpetuating violence. Destruction prevails again over human life, and all we can do is sit back and watch.