Commentary - Rev. Heber Brown III: Local governments aid fight against genocide in Darfur

“Hotel Rwanda” in February 2005, I learned that genocide was once again happening — this time in the Darfur region of Sudan in East Africa. The movie spurred me to do everything I could to aid the 2.5 million Darfurians displaced from their homes and seek justice for the families of the approximately 400,000 human beings killed by the Janjaweed, the government-sponsored proxy militia used to eradicate an entire ethnic group by means of murder, rape and other torture.

After over 500 e-mails, countless speeches and radio interviews, a folder full of articles, a month’s worth of sermons, a file cabinet full of research, a handful of rallies, almost two years’ worth of blog entries and an endless amount of prayers, I began to wonder if my activism was making a difference. Issue fatigue is what some call it — when you pour your energy into a good cause and after a period of time you don’t see any tangible results that validate the expense of your energy. That’s partly what activism on genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan in East Africa has been for me.

However, there have been encouraging moments suggesting that a brighter day is on the way for Darfur. President George W. Bush showed promise on this issue when he called the evil that was taking place in Sudan by its rightful name — genocide. His pronouncement came at a time when other world leaders and even the United Nations were backing away from such a strong characterization because it is a term that binds the international community to action. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights ratified in 1968 by the United Nations General Assembly makes this obligation clear:

“This convention bans acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. It declares genocide a crime under international law whether committed during war or peacetime, and binds all signators of the convention to take measures to prevent and punish any acts of genocide committed within their jurisdiction.”

Unfortunately, it has been more than three years since Bush called the violence in Darfur genocide. Although we’ve seen world movement some would call “little victories,” I’m confident the 2.5 million Darfurians currently living in Internally Displaced Camps in Sudan and hovering around the border of Chad care little about our grand resolutions, our pious posturing and our pleads for more time to do what we know to be right on this issue.

Despite the willful impotence of the United Nations and the slow wheels of progress that turn on the federal level, I am encouraged by the recent actions of the Maryland General Assembly, and the city councils of Washington and Baltimore City. They have joined more than 90 other institutions, states and cities that have decided to divest financial holdings from companies doing business with Sudan in an attempt to pressure the government in Khartoum to protect civilians, bring criminals to justice and provide support for rebuilding Darfur communities.

This is a welcome boost for those needing reassurance that their labor is not in vain. It is also an invitation to those who have not been involved to join this noble cause. History is writing the chapter that will tell of our actions concerning genocide in Darfur. It is my prayer that future generations will one day read with pride about how the human family responded to this great crisis in our global village with the faithful fortitude to help usher in peace. For more information on how you can help, visit: africa

action.org.

Rev. Heber Brown III is first vice president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, founder of Young Clergy for Social Change and a blogger who writes at FaithInActionOnline.com.