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A crisis in Africa
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Imagine living in a tent on the fringe of the Sahara desert with nothing but sand stretching for miles. In a place where there is very little food or water. The hot sun and harsh winds seem endless and physical violence and disease are constant threats.
As hard as it may be to imagine, this is the reality that millions of Sudanese citizens have been forced to face for the past several years.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Darfur in 2003, violent attacks from government forces and government backed militias, as well as rebel fighters and bandits, have taken the lives of more than 400,000 people and displaced more than two million.
After being forced from their homes, families are left with no choice but to make their way to refugee camps. In these camps, according to savedarfur.org, physical attacks are common and many people suffer from starvation and malnutrition.
The plight of these refugees is magnified by the fact that there is a huge shortage of humanitarian aid in the region. Savedarfur.org reported more than four million people are in desperate need of assistance. This is largely due to the fact that the Sudanese government has kept much of the humanitarian aid from entering the country through bureaucratic constraints and the harassment of aid workers.
One man willing to enter into this hostile situation in order to help ease the suffering of these people is Dr. Ashis Brahma. Brahma spent a year in Oure Cassoni refugee camp in Chad caring for about 27,000 refugees.
“The refugees are human beings like you and me,” Brahma said. “They have a remarkable sense of resilience, humor and dignity, and I don’t find that anywhere else in the world.”
During his time in Darfur, Brahma was robbed, held at gunpoint and beaten with a stick. Still he said he recognizes the fact that he made a choice to be there, the refugees did not.
“The hardest part of the work is the indifference and the toleration of genocide,” Brahma said. “I think that is the most horrific part of the work I do. Not so much the work itself, but the fact that we accept the conditions as such.”
Students will have the unique opportunity to hear Brahma speak about his experiences Tuesday at the SPEC center in the Student Union building.
“Dr. Brahma will describe his experiences and help educate students on the tragedies that are ongoing, and how we can do something,” Gabe Murphy said.
Murphy is the student responsible for organizing the event, and is interested in helping people get involved in local and global issues.
“While this issue and other human rights issues are happening 2,000 or 3,000 miles away students here can still proactively help to stop it,” Murphy explained. “We can get involved; we can proactively contribute here to the cause and other causes.”
Brahma has many reasons for doing the work that he does, one of which is the smiles on the children’s faces.
However, Brahma said, “Besides the joy of the children, the fact that I cannot handle injustice, and instead of being negative about it, all I can do is take many steps, and walk the walk not only talk the talk.”
Around the world many people have faced and will continue to face injustice and harsh treatment. The situation in Darfur is just one extreme example of the atrocities being carried out against our fellow human beings everyday. It is important for everyone to take notice of these situations whether they are happening in our own neighborhood or halfway around the world.
Attending the lecture Tuesday, Feb, 24 can be the first step to finding out what we as individuals can do to help change the course of the events taking place in Darfur, and other situations around the globe.
TRAVIS MURPHY
Arbiter Journalist
