This post is based after reading this article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6362597.stm
We all know that fighting has been occuring in Chad's neighbor, Darfur. Now Oxfam is saying that Chad is poised to become the next Darfur, with violence continually escalating. According to the article 120,000+ people have been displaced from their homes because of inter-ethnic fighting. Chad already has thousands of refugees from neighboring country Sudan. It cannot sustain all these refugees and violence within its own country. The UN security coucil is considering sending in a peace keeping force, which the Chadian president whole heartedly is in favor of.
What I don't understand is the "considering" aspect. I don't see why there is a need to consider, what must be done is immediate action. People are dying, being forced from their homes, villages are beng burned down. When lives are being threatened, there is no need for deliberation. I remember when the crisis in Darfur was occuring the US and the UN were wasting time on technicalities like whether or not it was a "genocide". I don't even know if they ever got that settled, but that wasn't the pressing matter. The pressing matter was that thousands of people were dying, and still are dying and that needs to be stopped. How are the poor and the people in this country ever supposed to improve their economy if they can't even have a stable place to live. How is Africa, one of the most povery stricken regions in the world, suppose to take itself out of extreme poverty (which is one of the MDGs) if there is no stability. Countries need to stop spending so much time saying we're "thinking" about sending aid, we're "going" to send aid, we're "defining" the situation and just quickly and efficiently do it.
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4 comments:
Very true. Fie on politics and bureaucracy. I think we need to stop depending on governments and rely instead on grassroots movements and other NGOs to provide aid. Maybe by uniting these NGOs, we can also create a greater collective voice to perhaps demand accountability and action from governments.
Thanks for sharing this article. One point that I found interesting was that the number of people reliant on outside help is continually increasing... almost half a million and counting. The longer we stall providing a long-term transition out of complete reliance on outside assistance, the worse the health outcomes and the situation becomes more difficult to address.
To some extent, I agree that NGOs provide some assistance... but are currently in no position to address the issue as a whole.
One thing is for sure - internally displaced camps are no service to those inside and no service to society.
jen,
have you seen blood diamond. watch it.
Jennifer this article is heartrending but TRUE. I always thought genocide happened decades ago, because of uncivilized cultures in undeveloped nations.
You are right about that countries need to stop saying we are “THINKING”….
I believe the word “WE” starts from US as individuals. If we begin today and encourage others in sending supports to underprivileged and under attack people of the world, we don’t have to see so many people are suffering from horrible incidences that should not be happening in the 21st century.
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