While the students of Carmichaels Area High School are dreading tomorrow’s chemistry test and obsessing over their most recent crush, residents of Darfur are struggling simply to stay alive. With their own government seemingly trying to get rid of them, who can the victims of Darfur turn to for help?

Darfur, located in the westernmost region of Sudan, has fallen victim to many political and regional setbacks, causing a number of present conflicts. Sudan’s United Nations representative, Ban Ki-moon, blames global warming, to a certain degree, for the horrors absorbing Darfur on a daily basis; these horrors being genocide, although this is denied by Sudan’s government. If the crisis was initially caused, at least, by natural troubles such as drought, then why has Sudan’s government yet to assist the inhabitants of Darfur? Seemingly, the government is one of the main causes of the slaughter taking place. When a UN peacekeeping force suggested entry into Darfur, Sudan’s military was in place claiming their entry would be foreign, and by no means welcome. The unsurpassable amounts of crime, rape and murder are considered merely “war crimes”, according to the Sudanese government. The ‘war’ is based largely on ethnic and tribal circumstances, and has been consuming the nation since 2003.

The horrors in Darfur have not only taken an estimated 400,000 lives, but have left about 2 million people homeless. The fighting is also beginning to spread to other African countries, such as Chad, Sudan’s neighbor.  Left helpless, there is not much the residents of Darfur can do to prevent the genocide. However, to find out how you can assist them in their time of need, visit www.savedarfur.org. 

~ Taylor Nichols