The Devil Came on Horseback

There are many crises in the world to worry about, and at times it's easy to become overwhelmed. I'm sure many Boundless readers have causes that they're deeply devoted to and support, so I'm not going to suggest you change where the Lord might lead you.

But let me suggest something to think about. The word genocide is thrown around too lightly these days, but a case can be made for a real genocide going on today in the Darfur region of Sudan. It's a slow-motion genocide, receiving limited attention in the press because of the logistical difficulties of reporting from one of the most desolate places on earth and because of the very real danger of death at the hands of the genocidal perpetrators -- the government of Sudan in Khartoum.

The roots of the Darfur tragedy are long and deep, but here is a good, succinct summary. For a more disturbing, firsthand look, though, I highly recommend you view the movie The Devil Came on Horseback and read the accompanying book by Brian Steidle. (The film and book take their title from the name of the government-sponsored Arab militias that terrorize the people of Darfur: the janjaweed. The word means "devil on horseback" in Arabic.) Warning: the film contains some very disturbing images and content, but I think we owe it to ourselves to look this evil square in the eye in order to understand it -- and confront it.

Nearly 10 years ago, when I reported on the war and slave-trading in southern Sudan, I became despondent that so few people in the world seemed to care. But I realized my vision was too narrow. Through the patient efforts of many people, a peace treaty was signed in 2004, and while the people of southern Sudan still live in tenuous circumstances, they at least are not having to dodge bombs and bullets.

I was mere days away from flying into Darfur back in 2006, but the situation deteriorated rapidly with the removal of African Union troops, and the janjaweed started targeting aid workers, so my trip was cancelled. But I'm able to keep up with developments and support the people of Darfur through the Save Darfur coalition.

Please check out the situation for yourself. And if the Lord so leads, please pray for and support the people of Darfur.

Comments

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1. k. said the following at 5:40 PM on May 12:

I can't go to Darfur (and would be of minimal use anyway), so I stick with writing my Senators and Representatives about it, and donating to Doctors Without Borders (aka Médecins Sans Frontières). They do a lot of really good work in Darfur, and other trouble-stricken areas as well.

2. Jethro said the following at 6:20 PM on May 12:

Thanks for bringing attention to this issue Tom. It is an important one.

For what it's worth, if we're going to get involved in war/intervention on humanitarian grounds (very controversial at international law), a situation like Dafur is more worthy of our attention than Iraq.

3. Andrew said the following at 8:25 PM on May 12:

Now I am currently going to grad school to become a physician assistant and as part of the education, we have to take a course called Medical Humanities. At one point in the course, we looked at the situation in Darfur. We even got to hear from one religions professor from Sudan and from John Prendergast himself, the one heading up much of Save Darfur.

Tom, I was wondering, what do you mean by "The word genocide is thrown around too lightly these days"? From what I have heard, this is the first instance where a genocide has been called just that while it is happening, all other times, it has been after the fact. Overall, I feel that this demonstrates just how grave the situation is.

I would definitely encourage though that before anybody judges the whole situation, make sure that you know all of the different facets, the Sudan government, the UN and veto power that China has, China's involvement.

But in looking for supporting organizations, I know that as you already said k., there are the Doctors Without Borders, and Tom mentioned Save Darfur. I would also like to add Blood:Water. And k., like you said, we may not be able to go over, but there are still ways to help, use your talents and passions for the greater good.

4. Iris said the following at 1:47 AM on May 13:

Thank you for mentioning the Dafur situation. Here in Holland it was in big news several years ago (a popular radio station devoted an entire week to raising funds for the region the week before Christmas), but since then you only hear of it once in a while. I know more about the situation because I know a couple who are missionaries in the region. Due to security issues I can't go into detail, but one thing I can share is that the local population is hungry for God and the response in the past few months is nothing short of miraculous....village elders who request them to return as soon as possible, children and teenagers who run after them wanting to hear more of what was told to the adults, etc. Praise the Lord for this and keep them and the population in your prayers.

5. Anastasia said the following at 12:19 PM on May 13:

Dear Jethro - can you really be serious?

In Iraq, you had a murdering fanatical dictator shredding, raping, torturing and murdering his own people, and trying to influence world events by supporting terrorists and their activities.

Please open your eyes and get a grip.

I'm not saying Darfur is insignificant. In fact, all these regions where murderous governments are in charge are significant.

But to pooh-pooh Iraq and its tragedy just because of probably your political convictions is at best silly, at worse ignorant.

6. Laura said the following at 1:30 PM on May 13:

Just to echo Tom's recommendation, I saw "The Devil Came on Horseback" at SXSW last year. It's definitely worth your time, and, yes, it's very disturbing, but it should be disturbing.

As a scholar of African politics, I do think Brian Steidle oversimplifies the solution a bit. The fact is, the U.S. isn't going to do anything in Darfur that will upset the Chinese, which takes 64% of Sudanese oil reserves. The U.S. is in debt to Chinese banks due to the War on Terror, and doesn't see Darfur as an issue that's worth disturbing our already-delicate relations with China. Unfortunately, this is a situation in which the cold hard reality of geopolitics is winning out over what we all know is the right thing to do.

7. Matthew said the following at 2:52 PM on May 13:

Anastasia #5,

I don't want to put words in Jethro's mouth, but the facts of the matter are thus: the number of people murdered in Darfur is hundreds, if not thousands, times greater than the people that Saddam Hussein butchered in the last ten years of his regime. What I think Jethro was trying to point out is that the human rights situation in Darfur is far more severe for far more people than it ever was for Iraq, and if the U.S. wants to be involved in promoting human rights around the world (which it claimed in the Iraq invasion) it had best have something to say about Darfur and then put its money where its mouth is.

8. Zach said the following at 9:00 PM on May 13:

If we really want to get into a numbers game, how many babies have been aborted since Roe v. Wade under the guise of 'convenience' or a 'choice'?

9. k. said the following at 9:03 PM on May 13:

Anastasia 5 - Yeah, just think of all the trouble we could have avoided by confiscating Saddam's shredder. Probably his Sharpies, too.

You're too harsh on Jethro, and you seem to have read more into his brief comment than was actually there. He has his opinion, you have yours. And telling him to "open his eyes and get a grip" probably isn't the best way to convince him of the merits of your stance.