I have loved George Clooney since I first saw him on “ER”. Dr. Doug Ross…passionate, dedicated, good-looking – what was not to love? Since he left “ER”, I have also enjoyed many of his movies such as Oceans 11 and The Perfect Storm. I have not always agreed with his person political views, but I like that he is speaking out for Darfur.
I had never heard of Darfur until a couple of episodes of “ER” dealt with the situation there aired last season. I was shocked by what was going on there. How could this be happening and the U.S., self-anointed peacekeepers of the world, ignore the situation? Fortunately, since the “ER” episodes, Darfur has received more news coverage. Now, George Clooney is pleading for continued help there.
In 2003, the region saw a rebellion between the Sudanese government and two rebel groups – the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudanese Liberation Army. The two rebel groups accused the government, primarily Arab, of oppressing non-Arabs and neglecting Darfur. As a result, the government supported attacks by a militia group called Janjaweed. The human rights violations have been horrible – mass killings, burning of entire villages, and looting. It is estimated that at least 180,000 have been killed and over 2.5 million refugees displaced from their homes mostly settling in Darfur and Chad. But, the Janjaweed surrounds many refuge camps, making it hard for aid to reach those refugees. Sudan President Omar al-Bashir doesn’t want the UN peacekeepers, promising his army would fight any that were sent to Darfur.
The UN has African Union peacekeepers in the region right now, but that mandate expires on September 30th. Clooney pleaded before the UN Security Council to send additional forces to the region. He pointed out that if additional forces were not sent, that the aid workers would leave, and many of the 2.5 million refugees who are depending on them for support and help would be killed or die from attention. He likened the situation in Darfur to that of Rwanda in 1994, in which 800,000 were killed.
Now, before you go thinking this is just some celebrity with a cause, know that Clooney himself visited Darfur with his father in April to see the devastation first hand.
To learn more about the Darfur situation and how you can help, visit the Save Darfur web page.