Darfr Genocide In Darfur

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the term genocide is considered to be the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial or cultural group (Merriam-Webster). There have been numerous occasions that have claimed the notorious title of genocide, but one of the most controversial can be found in the case of Darfur. The “Darfur Genocide”, as known by many people in the world, denotes the mass raping and killing of the women, men, and even children in the western region of Sudan. This slaughter started in 2003 and continues to play a significant role throughout the world today.

The atrocities in Darfur are being conducted by an assembly of government funded and heavily armed militants who are known as the Janjaweed. These groups of Arab radicals destroy the people of Darfur by pillaging and burning their villages, robbing them of their economic assets, contaminating their water supplies by dumping dead bodies into the wells, slaughtering, raping, and tormenting them. The attacks on the villages range from a variety of approaches but the most typical start with bombings from the Sudanese Air Force, followed by the raids of the Janjaweed. A recent estimate by UNICEF has the death toll in Darfur at an astonishing 300,000. Out of the total population of 6.2 million people, 4.7 million are affected by the conflict. Half of the directly affected people are children; of these children, almost 700,000 have lived their entire life knowing nothing more than the violent lifestyle that has overtaken the region (Sudan: Darfur Overview).

There are many problems that arise within this conflict but a big question that ascends all others comes about when dealing with the international community intervening in the situati...

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...lp and protect the persecuted people. When there are people groups that are being slaughtered without the protection from anyone, there must be a moral and legal obligation for foreign countries to step in and take control of the situation. The technical terms that are given to these events can be and are handled very meticulously, but if there is any question that genocidal events are taking place, there needs to be immediate intervention to discontinue the warfare that ensues. The people of Darfur have been suffering for far too long because of unmoral and halfhearted leaders in the world. There has to come a time where the world steps up together and puts an end to even the idea of genocide. With the cooperation of world powers and the building of international institutions that prevent and protect, genocide will fade away and never become a problem again.