reflection by christine

To me, what is currently going on in the Darfur region of Sudan is really shocking. This tells me that the Universal declaration of Human Rights is not really being followed. The Darfur citizens did nothing wrong and they're being murdered just as the Jews were being murdered during the Holocaust. Honestly, I can't believe that genocide is occurring to this day and that nothing drastic is really being done about it. Learning from past mistakes of the Holocaust, we should know better and have a way to stop it without going to war. It is so surprising that the Sudatans, knowing what had happened to the Nazi leaders, would start genocide like this all over again. Every person has rights; the right to live and for justice to be available to them.

The principle that all individuals matter is denied by what is going on in Darfur. The two principle rights of life and liberty is being ignored as thousands are being murdered. They have not committed any crime and are being killed and raped for just being a different "shade" of color. The Janjaweed and Sudanese government don't care at all about the non-Arabs at all. That is the same thing as the Holocaust where the Jews and gypsies were practically illegal aliens. If these people are not being given even the most basic human rights, then what do they have left to live for? They are not just animals that don't have any feelings or a brain.

The events happening in Africa have really opened my eyes to how "uncivilized" people really are. I can't believe that although the days of slavery and the Holocaust are over, that this horrible crime is still going on. I feel sorrow for the victims of this genocide and really wish I could do something to help out. Because the days here in the US are so great without much prejudice or racism, I thought that it was like that everywhere else too no matter how poor people are or how bad the living conditions are. We are so busy and greedy with our privileges that we think the world is at peace and that rumors we hear about mass killings are just rumors and nothing more. We pay too much attention to the events that are going on when the news of Darfur should be spreading around and making people want to help. The actions of the state is not justified even if they are denying that they have anything to do with this genocide. In reality though, even if they were not responsible, they should've done something by now to prevent this and maintain peace throughout their land.

I am amazed that this hasn't ended yet. I thought that the UN would've done something by now to get to the bottom of this and stop everything. Pressure on Sudan or any type of non-violent effort could've worked but it seems like they haven't been doing anything. More than half of the countries of this world are against this and therefore they should have a great amount of power to stop everything. They are the ones that issued the Declaration of Human Rights, yet they aren't inforcing it strongly enough. To me, I am starting to see some similarities between the UN and the League of Nations back during the World Wars. Just as the League did nothing to really try and prevent the Germans from taking over land, the UN is not using it's power to the fullest to stop this crime.

Honestly, I don't think it would really make a difference because everyone is being treated as their own individual and race and backgrounds are not getting in the way. We have gotten rid of slavery and are following all the laws, giving everyone their rights that they deserve. Even with all this, it would only be acceptable for the UN to step into our sovereignty if we were doing something wrong because right now, the citizens in the US have freedom and we are all content with who we are. We aren't afraid to become friends with different colors and to share materials with them anymore. However, if the UN were to step in and start to control our country and have every other country under one rule - somewhat as a large empire - then that would not be acceptable for everyone is different. Everyone has their own culture and beliefs so nothing could be enforced by one rule. We all have our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and that should not be taken away.