Raising awareness of genocide in Darfur, Chad
“Janjaweed” is a word I didn’t know two years ago. Many people I’ve spoken to still haven’t heard of it. Simply put, it translates as “men on horseback.” Say the word to the people of Darfur, and now Chad, and it invokes abject fear.
The janjaweed militias, with the encouragement of the Sudanese government, began their genocide against the black African tribes of Darfur, a province in western Sudan a couple of years ago. Janjaweed are Arabs bent on destroying everyone and everything in their path by raping and murdering women and children, shooting the men and burning their fields and homes. Several hundred thousand Darfurians have been tortured and murdered in Darfur. Now, those left have crossed the border into neighboring Chad. The janjaweed militia have followed, annihilating tribes and villages both Chadian and Darfurian as they gallop through.
Recently, President Bush has given these Sudan-sponsored attacks a name: genocide. He knows the Sudanese government is guilty of ethnic cleansing. The African Union sent troops to monitor. The European Union is asleep, the United Nations has not sent a peacekeeping force, and a small Chadian army, when faced with a larger number of janjaweed troops, ran away to hide.
Is anyone listening? Does anyone care? Yes. At www.millionvoicesfordarfur.org and www.genocideintervention.net, there is a list of things you can do.
Rachel Pollack, Denver
State and federal food-safety laws
The National Uniformity for Food Act threatens to wipe out more than 200 food-labeling laws in all 50 states. This bill would effectively dissolve critical food safety protections that are not identical to federal standards.
Right now states can enact laws to protect their residents when the federal government fails to do so. Some states require warnings that alert people to irradiated food, chemical additives that can cause cancer, and fish with excessively high levels of mercury. States can pass laws protecting the public from contaminated shellfish or eggs. Many of these laws are more stringent than federal laws.
States and local governments can help consumers by addressing the gaps in federal standards. This ensures safer food and provides important label information.
HR 4167 would wipe out laws in at least 30 states. These laws empower consumers with essential information about what is in our food. As a consumer, I want to know about genetically engineered foods. I certainly want to know if there is mercury, toxic chemicals or potential allergens in my food.
We need to call on Congress to defeat this bill because it will strip state and local governments of the ability to make future laws that impose stricter requirements for food safety and food packaging than current federal standards.
Ruth A. Remple, Longmont
Exemplary teacher
Re: “Teen uprooted by Katrina lays out pain through poetry,” April 3 news story.
It was refreshing to read Annette Espinoza’s article on Darren Sanders, the uprooted Katrina kid from South Middle School in Aurora. Of course, his teacher Sandy Abu-Baker should be highly commended for her efforts in bringing out this child’s genius. Espinoza’s article came in a timely manner, while the failed public school system in our fair state is being discussed at so many levels. Does this mean the public schools need to find more teachers of Abu-Baker’s caliber? The rescue by this kind of teacher at every level of our children’s education in our public schools is desperately needed. I would like to congratulate Abu-Baker for a tremendous job in helping Darren Sanders bring his best in writing that poem.
Wahab Baouchi, Louisville
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