Temple Emanuel - Worcester, MA

Words of Tikkun Olam

(Repairing the World):

“Do Not Stand Idly By…”

By Yael Savage

Over the last two years genocide has been going on in Darfur, Sudan. During that time the Sudanese government and their henchmen known as the, “Janjaweed,” have murdered approximately 400,000 people. The United States and the rest of the world have known about the situation but – as they did during the Rwandan genocide - have chosen to sit by and let it happen. I became aware of the situation about a year ago and wanted to get involved after I saw news reports showing dead bodies, burned and decimated villages, women who were raped and children who were dying of disease and malnutrition simply because of who they were. And I thought this couldn’t be happening again. After the holocaust the world promised never again, but it was happening again. In spite of my best intentions, I didn’t know how to begin, other than make financial contributions to humanitarian agencies working in Darfur. Then last fall after the Jewish holidays, I walked into the Rabbi’s study and there was an easel with information of Darfur. I asked Rabbi Millstein about it and he said that he had just given a sermon on the topic on Yom Kippur and had collected signatures on a petition asking Congress and the President to take action to stop the genocide. He said that he planned to present the petition to Congressman McGovern in the near future. I offered to help in any way I could. Several weeks later, Rabbi Millstein asked me to participate in a sixth and seventh grade program during which we presented the signed petitions to Representative McGovern. Rabbi Millstein asked me to say a few words about why I was interested in this issue. When I was called upon to speak to the group, I told them that I saw a parallel between what was happening in Darfur and what happened during the Holocaust. I said that I was sure that there were some well meaning Americans who were aware of what was happening to the Jews at the time, but that they felt that they did not know what to do about the situation and that whatever action they took would not make a difference. And thus six million Jews died. I said that I hoped that if we spoke up and took action now, maybe a child in Darfur would have the opportunity to know her grandparents, an opportunity that I did not get. And then I started to cry. I did not plan to cry; I did not know I would cry. It just happened.

The presentation was a success, and Mr. McGovern took our signatures back to Washington and promised to continue to work on getting congress to act to stop the genocide. But I knew that much more needed to be done. Because I spoke in front of a group and because I cried, I knew that I needed to take a more active role in the fight to stop the genocide — otherwise my tears would feel insincere. Still, I had to fight my insecurities, my feelings of inadequacy and inertia.

As I fought those feelings and continued to think about a goal, I found that there were things I could do even when I didn’t think I knew what to do. I read articles in newspapers and magazines related to Darfur, and believe it or not there were many articles written about the situation. I registered on the “Save Darfur” website (www.savedarfur.org), which provides weekly updates on the situation and has mechanisms to help people write letters to senators and congressmen about Darfur-related issues pending before Congress. I made financial contributions and bought “Save Darfur” wristbands, which I wear on a regular basis. The wristband is a good way to spread the word. Our youth group, WESTY, recently had them available for sale. And I overcame my reluctance to bother my friends and family and notified them of pending legislation and asked them to write their congressmen in support of the legislation. While I am pleased with these activities I am not satisfied with progress to date. I am still amazed at how few people know about Darfur, given the fact that in the last two years approximately 400,000 people have died and over two million people have been displaced from their homes and are living in refugee camps. And I am outraged at how little our government has actually done to stop this horrific crime from continuing.

Currently, there are bills in both the Senate and the House titled the Darfur Accountability Act of 2005 (S.495 and H.R.1424). Introduced by Senators Jon Corzine (D-NJ) and Sam Brownback (R-KS), the Senate version of the bill advocates for, among other items, passage of a new United Nations Security Council resolution that includes:

• Imposing targeted sanctions (requiring member states to freeze property and assets, deny visas to and deny entry to specified individuals, sanctions against the government of Sudan and their businessinterests, specifically the petroleum sector);

• Establishing a military no-fly zone over Darfur;

• Supporting a larger and stronger African Union force and urges member states to provide assistance to the AU;

• Extending the current arms embargo to apply to the Government of Sudan;

• Insuring prompt prosecution of those responsible for the genocide in an international court; and

• Appointment of a Presidential Envoy to Sudan

The bill emphasizes the key role that the United States must play in the international community to ensure that those who commit crimes against humanity are held accountable. The U.S. should not provide assistance to Sudan except for that which is necessary to implement the North-South Peace Agreement or for humanitarian purposes. The House version (H.R.1424), introduced by Representative Payne (D-NJ), also states the above but further calls for:

• Deployment of 10,000 UN or NATO troops to Darfur to augment the AU mission;

• Authorization of the use of U.S. armed forces to stop the Genocide if deemed necessary by the President, consistent with the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

• Use of U.S. military assets to enforce a no-fly zone.

Now, some of you, who follow the issue closely, may think that the Senate version of this bill passed recently. It did, but in the classic way that our government often DOESN”T work, it really didn’t. Specifically, the Senate voted “yes” to attaching the Darfur Accountability Act to the Iraq-Afghanistan Supplemental Appropriations Bill. So, that was a good thing – the Senate went on record as being in favor of stronger actions in Darfur. But, the House didn’t have this amendment in their version of the Iraq-Afghanistan Supplemental Appropriations Bill. So, it went to a House-Senate Conference. The Bush Administration then leaned on the conference committee to delete the references to Darfur from the bill!

The upshot is, nothing has happened. Meanwhile the two Darfur Accountability Act Bills (H.R. 1424 and S. 495) are still sitting there and COULD be voted into law. It is clear that these bills, however, are not really much of a priority for Congress or the President – despite all the posturing to the contrary.

I can do more to end the genocide by continuing and increasing my activities, but it also requires involvement from more people – you. It doesn’t really take all that much time and effort. You can go on the Darfur site www.savedarfur.org where you will find all kinds of suggestions on actions you can take. You can write your congressman and senators and encourage them to take an active role in passing the Darfur accountability act. You can write to president Bush and point out to him that he promised in his inaugural address that he would support freedom and democracy and oppose tyranny in the world but is not keeping his promise to the people of Darfur. And you can spread the word about the genocide and encourage more people to become active in this fight. If each one of us does his or her part we will make a difference and then we can say that we stopped it from happening again.