On April 30, 2006, my 13-year-old daughter and I arrived too late for the cherry blossoms, but right on time to join thousands of people who came to urge the U.S. government to help end the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. A cadre of celebrities including Elie Wiesel, then-Sen. Barack Obama and headliner George Clooney led the crowds in chants of “Not on our watch,” as they bemoaned what many considered to be the first genocide of the 21st century.
Since 2003, the Sudanese government, led by President Omar Al-Bashir and his thugs had killed, raped, burned and pillaged this section of Western Sudan inhabited mainly by black African farmers, murdering close to 200,000 people.
Eighteen months after the D.C. rally, the Darfur Action Group, launched at Congregation B’nai Israel in Northampton, held a concert to raise funds for humanitarian assistance for Darfuri victims of the conflict. A standing-room-only crowd filled Weinstein Auditorium on the campus of Smith College on Oct. 15, 2007, for a program of a capella music, featuring Evelyn Harris, formerly of Sweet Honey and the Rock. The afternoon performance raised close to $15,000, for The Sudan Aid Fund, begun by Prof. Eric Reeves, an English Professor at Smith, and an internationally recognized activist and expert on Darfur.
“Darfur fever,” spread across the Valley, where “Save Darfur” banners flanked the walls of faith-based communities. A group of local activists held weekly morning vigils, at the intersection of Northampton’s Main and King streets.
However, like many global conflicts that capture the public’s attention, activism gave way to apathy generated by a seemingly endless war and an apathetic U.S. government. The banners came down and people like me shrugged our shoulders, convincing ourselves we had done what we could. We found new causes to rally around; for me it was the plight of the victims of Syria’s brutal war. Others joined the Black Lives Matter or environmental movements. Darfur became a distant memory.
Some did not give up. Today, 13 bloody years since Al-Bashir launched his genocidal war against Darfur, the violence continues. According to the U.N., 2.6 million people have been internally displaced. It’s estimated that tens of thousands of women and girls have been brutally raped, and famine has left millions on the brink of starvation. Water is in short supply and villages lie in ruins. Estimates of fatalities are hard to come by. According to Prof. Reeves, the last time the U.N. reported mortality figures for Darfur was 2008, when 300,000 Darfuris were reported dead.
Astoundingly, this is the figure that mainstream media, including the New York Times, still use. In 2010, Reeves concluded that 500,000 Darfuris had died. The majority of the dead are from non-Arab, African tribal groups.
Reeves has remained steadfast in his determination to save Darfur. He is the voice of the suffering, writing, researching and delivering impassioned pleas for world governments, including the United States, to stop Al-Bashir’s brutality. I heard Reeves implore a local audience last fall not to forget. Behind me were rows of beautiful hand-turned wooden decorative objects. All proceeds from their sales go to the Sudan Aid Fund.
Several weeks ago, I met with a group from Congregation B’nai Israel, the remnants of the original Darfur Action Group. For more than nine years Cleo Gorman, Doris Cohen, Nancy Felton, Henry Rosenberg and Tiertza-Leah Schwartz have continued their weekly vigils. They are tired. They feel helpless. Understandably, some have had enough. Tears were shed as one person said, ‘We can’t let these people down.’ As we sipped our coffee, some new ideas rose to the surface: educating local religious organizations, organizing meetings with our congressional delegation. A date was set to continue the conversation.
U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern hasn’t given up either. This April, in remembrance of Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month, he organized a bipartisan letter from members of Congress to President Obama, imploring him “to re-prioritize peace, accountability and protection of civilians in Sudan during his final year in office.” A long list of NGOs, including the Massachusetts Coalition to Save Darfur, are contacting their representatives who haven’t signed on to encourage them to make Darfur a priority.
I’m composing this column on a crowded Lufthansa jet, flying home from Israel and the West Bank, another hotbed of human suffering. In a few days, Jews everywhere will re-tell the Passover story of the Jewish people’s journey from slavery to freedom.
For me, the Passover narrative of bondage and liberation is universal, imploring us to act to end tyranny and oppression, wherever it occurs.
Like Moses, Eric Reeves, the Darfur Action Group, and Jim McGovern may not live to see peace in Darfur, but their leadership inspires me not to turn away from suffering and injustice, even when it seems hopeless.
Sara Weinberger of Northampton is a professor emerita of social work and writes a monthly column.