GENOCIDES GO ON BECAUSE WE THINK IT COSTS US NOTHING BUT WE ARE WRONG

Today is an anniversary, that you may hear nothing about. Even though it took place in Rwanda, it is an anniversary for the world. All genocides are.

The very small country of Rwanda is working on healing from the genocide that started April 6, 1994, 14 years ago today. We have no control over hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes, volcanoes, earthquakes, and rain that causes flooding. But as for the other nature ~ human, nature's beings ~ theoretically anyway, we are at the controls of.

Yet, genocide is not only a behavior we have had in the past, but it is happening today in our collective present and with our blessing. With our blessing in that we don't reject it in any way that has stopped the genocide in its 6th year in Darfur.

I spent the day at the death camp at Dachau, Germany November 22, 2005. It was opened March 20, 1933 and the victims were liberated by American forces April 29, 1945. That is over 12 years. The holocaust went on for 12 years. How long will we allow ourselves, our nations, our will to be defined by the acceptance of genocide?

We are defined by our lack of will. We are defined by the human beings we elect. We are defined by our apathy and ignoring the world outside our paychecks, our bank accounts.

Where there is a will there is always a way
and where there is no will there is no way.

We could find a way to stop genocide if we wanted to.

Rwanda's Genocide
Rwandan Genocide Will Be Commemorated At Historic Massacre Site

Hirondelle News Agency (Lausanne)

NEWS
April 3,2008
Posted to the web 4 April 2008
Nyamata, Rwanda

This year's commemoration of the Rwandan genocide in Nyamata, Bugesera district, eastern Rwanda, will be distinctive because of the history of the area and the extent of massacres which occurred there, reports Hirondelle Agency.

Gaspard Musonera, Mayor of Bugesera, said: "The 14th commemoration of the 1994 genocide will have a historical character for the survivors as it takes place in an area which was a field for extermination of Tutsis since the 1960's".

According to him, Nyamata was an inhospitable ground when ethnic Tutsis were exiled there to succumb to the tsetse flies and deadly wild animals in 1960. Their massacres in 1963, 1964, 1967, 1973, and 1992, he adds, were an experiment for the genocide by the Rwandan state in preparation for the final phase in 1994. "Bugesera is the embodiment of history of the genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda," he stated. The commemoration will reach its climax on 7 April.

The former commune of Kanzenze was estimated to have lost nearly 65, 000 ethnic Tutsis during the bloody April-July slaughter. Some 39, 876 of them are buried in the memorial site in Nyamata. " More than 20, 000 are still in mass graves," said Andre Kamana, incharge of the memorial site in the district. He said that a lot of victims' remains are deteriorating because of lack of adequate preservation.

Several thousand Tutsis were massacred in the church of Nyamata, the current memorial site.

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From the Amnesty International Website:

5 Years of Conflict is a Lifetime for a Child

After five years of conflict in Darfur, children are reaching school age having experienced nothing but armed conflict. Some one million Darfuri children have grown up displaced, living in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, many without opportunities for education, without knowing the meaning of home...

...On the Global Day for Darfur on April 13th, 2008, tens of thousands of citizens around the world will call on their governments and the United Nations to act decisively to get the joint UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) on the ground more fully and more quickly so that the children of Darfur - and the millions of civilians affected by five years of brutal violence and displacement - can live in peace...

On this Global Day for Darfur, Amnesty International is mobilizing members and activists to:

• Press President Bush to live up to his promises on Darfur.
• Urge Secretary of State Rice to use all available diplomatic means to intensive diplomatic press Sudan's closest allies to encourage them to use their influence to stop the Government of Sudan from erecting obstacles to UNAMID deployment.
• Urge Secretary of State Rice to provide U.S. funding and use all available diplomatic means to press donor countries to ensure that UNAMID has the land and air transport equipment it needs to protect civilians, including helicopters.
• Emphasize that a generation of children is growing up in IDP and refugee camps and settlements. More information

From the Save Darfur website:

TENTS OF HOPE
April 13, 2008 a Day of Action

On Sunday, April 13, Darfur activists around the world will speak out together for the children of Darfur. Activists will participate in Tents of Hope, a project that unites the global Darfur movement on a single day to show support for children suffering through genocide.

Tents of Hope asks communities to respond to the crisis in Darfur by building a tent and making it their own work of art – a simple symbol hope for the millions of Darfurians driven from their homes.

On April 13, communities will hold events around their Tents of Hope to remind world leaders that the children of Darfur have suffered for far too long.

Five years of suffering

Thousands of Darfuri children will reach their fifth birthdays this year without ever knowing peace. Their entire lives, their government has tried to massacre them and the world has failed to protect them.

Inside refugee and displaced persons' camps, these children struggle with the trauma of the atrocities they have witnessed. Basic necessities are scarce, domestic violence is rampant, and a lack of education threatens children's future even if they escape the violence.

Outside the camps, children live in fear of attacks on their villages. Their homes and schools are routinely destroyed and several children are captured and drafted into armies of child soldiers. Children didn’t initiate the violence—they just suffer from it.

Be a Part of the Pressure

Join activists around the globe and urge world leaders to help bring peace to Darfur.

Hold a Tents of Hope event on April 13 with your congregation, school or community.

• Learn about the campaign and how you can get involved

• Find a Tents of Hope event in your area.

• Host your own Tents of Hope event. Click here to register your event and get the word out to others in your community.

For more information about the Tents of Hope campaign and the April 13 action, visit www.tentsofhope.org or contact community@savedarfur.org for more information.

Mia Farrow standing up and standing out for Darfuri people