That so many Americans of all races and religious backgrounds came together in an effort to help end the suffering in Sudan was encouraging and uplifting. We should celebrate the signing this month of a peace deal between Darfur’s largest rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Army, and the government of Sudan. We must also be wary: Khartoum’s government is one of the world’s most intransigent.
I am mindful, too, that after the lights dim and the politicians go home, there will be food to be provided, hearts to mend and work to do for those who have been tirelessly engaged over the years.
The local south Sudanese community, including the “Lost Boys,” has been an important part of the struggle for Darfur in America, engaging in demonstrations, conferences, raising funds and awareness for Darfur. This is remarkable, since in the four-decades conflict between the north and the Christian south (in which 2 million southerners were murdered), the foot soldiers responsible for most killings were Muslims from Darfur. They were fighting a jihad, Muslims against infidels. It’s been sobering to see black southerners go to the aid of their erstwhile Darfurian persecutors, reminding us that the highest human quality is forgiveness. They understand that what matters most is our common humanity rather than our different religions.
Christian groups involved in Sudan during the north-south conflict quickly became engaged in the Darfur conflict. Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopalian and evangelical groups have been instrumental in procurement and transportation of food, medicine and tents to refugee camps in Darfur.
The Episcopal Church has had a presence in south Sudan for more than a century. The Episcopal Diocese of Colorado, in conjunction with the Episcopal Church of Sudan, has engaged in mercy projects to Darfur. Several delegations have been sent to refugee camps in Chad.
The largest local conference on the Darfur genocide prior to the signing of the recent accord was held at the University of Colorado at Boulder in November 2005. Congregation Har HaShem – with its dynamic leader, Rabbi Deborah Bronstein – was a leading sponsor of the three-day conference in which Samuel Deng, a former slave, spoke of what Sudan Arabs had done to him and his family and what they were doing to Darfurian blacks.
Jewish groups in synagogues all across America have taken the call “Never again!” to heart, working energetically to bring justice to Darfur by raising funds and gathering food and other supplies. Money has been raised to aid children orphaned by janjaweed atrocities, and to set up clinics and feeding stations for refugees. Our common humanity is at the center of their efforts.
The conflict in Darfur is unique in that it pits black Muslims against a well-armed Arab government with its janjaweed militias. Despite the rapes, pillaging and killings, it’s truly remarkable that Darfur’s Muslims have received little aid or support from other Muslim groups or nations.
Much has been written all across America about the Sudanese government’s cruelty and the misery of its displaced people. We are reminded that a genocide is taking place in the 21st century. It’s led to high-level negotiations and calls for aid to the seemingly deaf Khartoum government.
In contrast, there has been absolute, unanimous silence from the Arab media on Darfur. Writers once so loud and vociferous about Serbian rapes of Muslim Bosnian women seem paralyzed when it comes to Arab-on-black rape and genocide.
The Bush administration was instrumental in the north-south peace accord signed in 2005. It also played a key role in the Abuja accord. Compared to other administrations that passively watched the slaughter of nearly a million Rwandans, I’m grateful the U.S. was part of the solution.
Local and national groups must persist in lobbying our government not to slacken on the pressure it applies over Sudan’s rulers. And even though Khartoum has exonerated murderers of Darfurians, the international community must pursue them and bring them to justice. To do less makes a mockery of international justice.
Pius Kamau of Aurora is a thoracic and general surgeon. He was born and raised in Kenya and immigrated to the U.S. in 1971.
