Democratic Republic of Congo

Taken next door to Rwanda: Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Both countries have a history of genocide--and THE USA HAS A HISTORY OF FAILING TO PREVENT GENOCIDE AND FAILING TO ACT WHEN GENOCIDE IS HAPPENING.

 

Taken June, 2005.

 

This makes me think of DARFUR AND GENOCIDE TODAY. As citizens of the good ol' USA, what can we do to encourage our political representatives to act humanely in Darfur by protecting humanity? Here's one idea, and if you'd like to add your idea/observation, please post a comment. Feel free to cut and paste this form letter, and to make appropriate revisions as you see fit.

 

Dear [official's name]:

 

 

As one of your constituents, I am writing to express my

concern over the inaction of U.S. government officials regarding the

currently occurring genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. Since

February 2003, the Sudanese government has been carrying out a

systematic campaign to eliminate all members of various non-Arab

African tribes in Darfur. It has accomplished much of this by

providing arms and encouragement to militias such as the Janjaweed.

Members of these militias commit horrible atrocities against

villagers in Darfur: villages and crops are burned, and women and

girls are commonly raped. Worst of all, completely innocent men,

women, and children are often burned alive, hacked to death, or

killed in other unimaginably horrible ways. President Bush has

declared the atrocities in Darfur to be acts of genocide, but up to

this point the U.S. government has hardly done anything to end this

carnage.

 

Something must be done about this. The U.S. government

has the power to intervene and try to end this genocide. This may not

even require the use of U.S. ground force. It may simply be a matter

of actively pressuring the Sudanese government to stop the genocide,

and of providing African Union peacekeepers logistical, financial,

and other necessary forms of support. It is not my place to say

exactly what should be done; these are simply commonly circulated

ideas. However, the United States government is aware of what is

happening, just as it was aware of the genocide that was occurring in

Rwanda in the 1990s. After hundreds of thousands perished in the

Rwanda genocide as the result of U.S. inaction, our leaders promised

us to never allow this to happen again. I respectfully urge you to

work to ensure to the best of your ability that the U.S. government

intervenes in Darfur with the firm purpose of ending the genocide. I

also ask you to always be an advocate of U.S. intervention to end

genocide whenever and wherever it occurs in the future. There are

several other genocides occurring in the world right now, for example

in Ethiopia. These, of course, should not be ignored. Finally, I urge

you to ask your colleagues to also speak up, because action will be

taken when there are many influential voices speaking in favor of it.

I know that you are very busy, and I thank you wholeheartedly for

taking the time to read this letter. If possible, please contact me

and let me know what action you plan to take in order to address this

crucial issue.

 

Yours truly,

 

[your name]

 

 

 

 

Done