The ‘Black Slave’ Genocide

The “Black Slave” Genocide

UPDATE: Watch a new video politictv has put together on the genocide.

STOP
THE GENOCIDE – SIGN THE PETITION TO BUSH

When I heard that phrase this morning a chill ran down my spine.
Nicholas
Kristof has been sounding the alarm for months and months and months. Finally,
the first sanctions
have been adopted against four Sudanese by the U.N. Security Council,
with China, Russia and Qatar, the only Arab nation in the 15- nation council,
abstaining. But what a pathetic showing after over 100,000 dead and 2 million
homeless, with no end in sight. Today on MSNBC, Ann Curry talked about the situation
in Darfur, among other things,
speaking specifically about the genocide. It is being fomented by Arabs against
blacks whom they are calling “black slaves,” according to Curry, right
before they are shot, often with their children watching on.

The situation also seems to be escalating. Reports show that the
Sudanese
government is mounting a new offensive that could lead to the massacre
of thousands more.

In the midst of it all the Kansas-based evangelical group, Sudan
Sunrise, is trying to convert Darfurians in the midst of the genocidal wave.
Self-interest seems to always win the day with these types of “Christians,”
which is infuriating. Priorities, people, there's a genocidal war going on.

Organizers rushed this week to invite two Darfurians to address the rally after Sudanese immigrants objected that the original list of speakers included eight Western Christians, seven Jews, four politicians and assorted celebrities — but no Muslims and no one from Darfur. Some Darfur activists also have complained about the involvement in the rally of a Kansas-based evangelical group, Sudan Sunrise. Last week, after an inquiry from The Washington Post, Sudan Sunrise changed its Web site to eliminate references to efforts to convert the people of Darfur. Previously, it said it was engaged in “one on one, lifestyle evangelism to Darfurian Muslims living in refugee camps in eastern Chad” and appealed for money to “bring the kingdom of God to an area of Sudan where the light of Jesus rarely shines.” Although it is not formally part of the Save Darfur Coalition, Sudan Sunrise helped arrange buses and speakers, and it is co-hosting a dinner for 600 people on the rally's eve. The group's executive director, the Rev. Tom Prichard, said the material on the Web site was written in error “by an employee who was not fully informed.” He added: “We've been very, very careful not to do anything that's going to alienate the Muslims.” Sudan Sunrise and an allied group, the Sudan Council of Churches-USA, also have angered Darfurians by saying that the “victims in western Darfur are the people who persecuted the Christian southern Sudanese” during the civil war. Prichard, an Episcopal priest, said his group encourages Christians from southern Sudan to come to the aid of their “former persecutors.” Mohamed Ibrahim, co-chairman of the Darfur Alert Coalition, an umbrella for 22 Sudanese and American organizations, is highly critical of that approach. Sudan Sunrise “says it is looking for reconciliation, and they are actually creating a conflict by spreading the false claim that the perpetrators of the violence in southern Sudan were from Darfur,” he said. Groups Plan Rally on Mall To Protest Darfur Violence Bush Administration Is Urged to Intervene in Sudan

This weekend there is a march bringing together over 164 humanitarian
groups and the likes of George Clooney
and Olympic speed skating gold medallist Joey Cheek, who surprised many by donating
his $25,000 Olympic gold medal money to the cause of Darfur. Please do what
you can to raise the consciousness of what's happening in Darfur. I've only
written about this issue a couple of times. It's a situation
that just makes you feel so helpless, especially with all that's happening in Iraq, but today something inside me just cracked
when I heard Ann Curry say the words “black slave.” Talk to and email
your families, friends and people with whom you work. “NEVER
AGAIN” has turned into it's happening right now.