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NEWS & LETTERS, October-November 2006Rally in solidarity with DarfurNew York—"Save Darfur now," "It’s about time," ‘Never again—again," and "Not on our watch" were some of the chants raised by 30,000 people at a rally in Central Park Sept. 17. New York was among some 40 cities around the world holding demonstrations the same day in an attempt to cause world leaders and the UN to take action to stop the killing in Darfur, western Sudan. The Sudanese government has for the past three years sanctioned and aided in the slaughter, rape, maiming and destruction of towns in Darfur by ethnic based militia. It recently refused to allow in more UN peacekeepers and it resumed aerial bombing. The slogans about time refer to the fact that two years ago, Pres. Bush and UN Secretary General Annan promised to act—by then about 50,000 people had been slaughtered. Now, more than 200,000 have been killed and 2.5 million left homeless. The slogans about "never again" refer to the recurrence of genocide, which was supposed to have ended after World War II. The signs and speakers made many references to genocide in Rwanda and some to Bosnia. The sponsoring coalition includes Amnesty International, unions, the NAACP and many religious-based organizations of various religions; see its website at www. savedarfur.org. The rally was made up principally of young people; I talked with college and high school students from New York city, Long Island, New Jersey, upstate New York and Maine. Many Jewish organizations were present, including youth organizations. Some students came because a teacher had gotten them concerned about Darfur, while others had learned about it from religious organizations. Many Africans from the area were also present, workers as well as students. The rally included music and talks by famous people. Some blamed the U.S. failure to act on Sudan’s being an ally in Bush’s "war on terror." Speakers urged continuing calls and text messaging to Bush, Congress and the U.N. But people I talked with asked how we can expect such pressure to work, when it has done nothing so far. This led to discussions of the need for profoundly revolutionary change. —Anne Jaclard |
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