On the Edge

The two articles I read: UN Reports New Bombing in Darfur and China Pressures Sudan over Peacekeepers were mainly about the how the pressure on China is finally making them take action. What China has done was make a rare call on it’s Sudanese ally to do more to allow foreign peace keepers to deploy to the region.”Rolling out the hybrid peacekeeping operation and resolving the Darfur issue require the joint efforts of all sides,” Liu Guijin told China’s official Xinhua news agency mentioned. My opinions on this issue is that China is doing a great job by helping their allies, but what I don’t really like is how long it took to do so. I hope that this help will be the end to the genocide happenings, and Darfur will be able to live a good life. You can also help by joining us on March 6th, which is our International Save Darfur Day. It’s where we do a 48 hour blog to raise awareness. So please join us, and SAVE DARFUR!

My favorite writing I did in the past was “Scales for Wishes.” I believe that using blogs are better than using paper and pencil to write, because it’s faster and it helps me to write more in depth. I’ve noticed that I’ve improved on my writing since, the day I started writing blogs. Before my writings were longer, but it had information that wasn’t needed and the paragraphs didn’t seem to flow. After all the article summarizing I’ve improved on summarizing my blogs, but still including important details. But I believe I still have many things to improve on. First I have to organize my thoughts into the blogs better, so it will sound right. This is the reflection of my writing.

1. Classification: This stage is developed to divide ethnic or racial divisions, which promotes the classifications that accept division. Can turn to dehumanization when a person is treated badly due to a discrimination towards that division.
2. Symbolization: A name given to classify, symbolize or distinguish members of a group. Can lead to dehumanization when the symbols are mixed with hatred. Or if the symbols mark a gang violence.
3. Dehumanization: One group denies the humanity of another group. This group no longer sees the victim group as humans, but as something lower.
4. Organization: When a special group is organized. Genocides are usually started with organization, by training armies, and plans to genocide killings.
5. Polarization: Rules that may divide the groups apart. Some laws might forbid social interaction with the other. This treating other people less then human.
6. Identification: The victims are now identified according to their ethnicity or religion. The members of the lower group are often forced to wear symbols to identify their group and are forced into the concentration camps, that’s when it leads to dehumanization.
7. Extermination: This is when the genocide begins. That’s when a mass killing of innocent people are killed, and not treated fully as humans. Sometimes they do this by digging a big holes to shoot the people in. It can only be stopped by highly skilled and armed intervention takes place.
8. Denial: This is the stage after genocide and is the last. The leaders of the mass killings go into denial about it, by burning and burying their victims in mass graves to hide the evidence. The denial is punished by an international tribunal or national courts.

Two senior students named Ben and Alex came to our classroom to talk to us about Darfur. They gave us facts, history, current news, and most importantly ideas on how we can help. The power point they created taught me more about the Genocide taking place today and has been going on since Febuary 2003 a month after the second Civil in Africa. This was said to be the first “on going” genocide ever. Up to this year on Febuary 2008, has been the 5th year anniversary of the Genocide in Darfur. As many as 400,000 dead and 2.5 million people lost their home, reported by the UN. The dead and the homeless is a result of the Janjaweed and the Sudanese Military helicopters. This hasn’t been stopped since Darfur is not talked about very much on the news. But our ultimate goal is a regional treaty and indictments on perpratrators. Ben and Alex also metioned that we could help by writing letters and doing call-ins. We are very thankful that Ben and Alex came in to spread awareness and I look forward to helping.

The Genocide that is taking place in Darfur is the first of this 21st century. 200,000 innocent people killed and 200 million taken away from their homes. The genocide started in Darfur in 2003, and is expanding today in 2008 to Chad. America and other nations tried to send reinforcement but none too successful. Global responsibility means you have responsibility to protect everyone around the world, and it’s our responsibility to help the people in Darfur. Many people have already spread awareness on Darfur, by making organizations. On May 2006, an organization made by Jewish people was created. Today many races are helping to the cause as well. America and many Countries planned for many years to send troops, but only China disagreed. So America has gone so far as to jeopardizing their relationship with China, just to save Darfur. China’s most proud possession in America is the Chinese Olympics, but America threatens to take it off, if they do not vote to send troops. As a result China had decided to send troops on July 21st 2007. Many people in Darfur will be saved, but not all because there is no further action to fight against the Janjaweed (the bandits killing the people in Darfur). We are doing the best we can to help the people in Darfur, since we know that it is our Global Responsibility to take action.