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Such power could be easily abused, so there are policies in place to keep such abuse from happening (imagine China convincing the security council that democracy is really bad so the UN should invade democratic countries in the name of keeping the peace...far-fetched, but not something anyone wants to happen).

Except that the difference between this situation and the one you described is that democracy isn't out to strip away human rights. There are basic human rights that if they are being violated gives the U.N. the right to take action. And this is another one of those things that make me mad. If its beaurocracy that is keeping the world from helping others, then thats the saddest and most pathetic thing I have ever heard. If the human race is smart enough to be able to create an atom bomb (of course its kinda stupid at the same time but thats a different story) then maybe we should be spending more of our time and focus on how to help people who are being murdered, raped, and tortured by their own "sovereign" governments. Hitler was pretty much running his own sovereign government. Should no one have done anything? And what is the use of protecting this sovereign country if that means its own people are going to be wiped out? The government is supposed to be for the people, am I right?

And I know this situation seems hopeless and I'm seeing alot of people resort to negativity. "Spreading the word isn't going to stop all of this"... Well, it may seem like that, but could you imagine only the world leaders knowing about this? No public pressure, no media attention, no one demanding something be done. Every little bit helps, especially when little can be done.

Personally, I wouldn't be all too upset if the UN just got lost. But what I'm trying to say is that there's nothing we CAN do. As clpo has pointed out, there's nothing that can be done. It is not safe for relief efforts, and it's not okay for political image for any nation to stand against the Jangaweed. I'm sorry, it sounds horrible, but the US, or the UK, or any country at all cannot go there without upsetting most every other nation on the globe. The US might have quite a bit of political weight, but not THAT much. I'm sorry.

Also, the reason that the US has not done even more is because the Jangaweed have an EXTREME amount of information about Al Qaeda. It's horrible in thought and in truth, but the preamble of the Declaration of Independence clarifies that one of the purposes is to "provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity." The US's is to protect her people. If the US can help others, that's good, but the government's first job is to protect the American people. And the best way to do that is to find and destroy Al Qaeda. The Jangaweed does not present a threat to the US at the current moment.

Remember Bosnia? Somalia? Korea? Vietnam? Iraq? What do you want the US to do? These are all examples of situations. All of them are times when the US DID send help, and people hated it. What do you want?

Being informed is all well and good, but it doesn't do anything practical. Yes, the more people know, the bigger the outcry will be, but the Sudanese government has been getting flak about this for a long time, and I get the feeling they don't much care.

As for influencing government, I think our government is too concerned with other conflicts (of our own creation, no less) to deal with this.

But that's just me being a downer. I've nothing against letting people know what's going on, but I don't think it will actually accomplish much in the way of stopping people from dying.

It's true, there are a lot of regulations, but what else if the UN good for? nothing. sometimes they basically seem like the league of nations and i hate that the Sudanese gvt can just be like, yyyeeeeeah, we dont really want you to come in...no thanks.
and we listen to that? wtf?
but i just got an email today saying something about a ceasefire among other things. check it out www.savedarfur.org <sign up for the mailing list, it's sweet.

And i think spreading the word is vital cause ive only known about Darfur's issues since late 05' and I went and told people in my high school-most adults i talked to had no idea what Darfur even was. people need to be informed so they can care. just like i was. SPREAD IT!

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It's that Sudan, whether we like it or not, is still a sovereign nation. We can't simply barge in there, no matter what's going on.

As much as I would want for things not to be that way, because of the urgency of the situation, I am going to have to agree with you Clpo. And it's so frustrating to see so many innocent people suffer but there is really no easy answer or solution. I must say that all your points are valid, and I agree. *sigh* I wish for all of this to end but I know it will take far more than raising awareness.

It's not that the UN is beating around the bush. It's that Sudan, whether we like it or not, is still a sovereign nation. We can't simply barge in there, no matter what's going on. As horrible as the genocide is, the UN can't do anything immediately. Such power could be easily abused, so there are policies in place to keep such abuse from happening (imagine China convincing the security council that democracy is really bad so the UN should invade democratic countries in the name of keeping the peace...far-fetched, but not something anyone wants to happen). Yes, this makes for a lot of bureaucracy and increases the suffering of non-Muslim Sudanese, but it still protects the sovereignty of a country.

Someone's got to play devil's advocate here, so it had might as well be me.

Hubb, I completely agree with you. The UN needs to get more involved and stop beating around the bush with this issue. I am very glad to hear that some schools have taken the initiative to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur. That gives me hope that yet more young people will get involved. I think I will talk to the schools around my area so that they do the same thing.

This week was "project darfur" week at my school. We wrote letters to our representative and congressmen (actually, congresswomen). But really, the US has declared it a genocide and has said that they will send help, if allowed by the UN. The UN has said they will authorize said help if the Sudanese government says okay. Like they're going to? They're the ones funding and helping the Jangaweed. Not cool.

We also had a whole movie with pictures and refugee videotaped stories and students reading refugee letters. It was sort of sad. But I still say, there's little we can do about the whole outrage. The UN HAD BETTER STOP BEING SO THICK HEADED. It's Rawanda all over again.

You are welcome.

thanks youthvoice!

Welcome to YN LauJunca. I'm glad to hear that you and your school have taken an interest in this issue. I wish there was more schools that did.

the other day i was talking with someone and they had no idea about the genocide... i practically yelled at them, and asked "have u been living in a hole???"

the more the word is spread, the better. my school is constantly having fundraisers, and awareness weeks.

we need to get the government to help. if anyone needs help, it's these people. write a letter, make a sign, i dunno, hop on a plane and show up at the u.n., grab a delegate and make them make darfur their number 1 priority. i dunno. we just need to help.

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I encourage everyone to join the effort at SaveDarfur.org

I second the motion.

I joined that site some time ago. More people should check it out, there's very good information there concerning this issue.

Thank you for bringing it up Vertical.

I encourage everyone to join the effort at SaveDarfur.org

I'm currently taking a class on genocide and naturally Darfur is a huge topic of discussion. This effort has only begun, and we don't yet have nearly enough turned heads. Spread the word, join the effort, Save Darfur!

I am only doing what I can to raise awareness FML, there's really nothing to thank me for. And yes it seems that the U.N peace keepers have arrived and that gives me hope. I'm glad that you are also aware of what is going on and wish to do something about. We need more people that care to do something to stop this. Actually, thank YOU. I mean that.

Thank you for posting this Youthvoice. We can be somewhat consoled that the Sudanese government seems to be accepting U.N. demands. If they don't we are going to restrict their airspacr over Darfur. Everything to raise awareness helps. Thanks again. -FML

Yeah, I know. But sometimes hoping and praying isn't good enough. Sadly, there's not much we can do other than that. Hmm...

I know. It really is sad. These are human beings we're talking about. They shouldn't have to be suffering through this, and people shouldn't just pretend it isn't happening. They need to take a stand, and do something. I just don't see how people can't care...

Oh, I remember you telling me that before. I think that you have done well. It's sad to see that some people just don't care. I don't understand how some people can learn on what is happening and just turn their back on it. It makes no sense to me.

I've told people. They really don't care. I printed out fliers from some website and put them up at school and at places around the city. Again, people didn't seem to care.