Today, on the first Monday of 2010, The Tennessean (the second largest newspaper in Tennessee) printed a Letter to the Editor by14-year old Jessica Goldstein from Brentwood, TN entitled Let’s reaffirm our Darfur commitment. Take a look:
When we enter a new year, we tend to reflect on our gains and our losses from the previous year. In 2009, we accomplished much, but many factors have caused us to forget one very important issue that our country has passed by for many years now: Darfur. After almost seven years, genocide still continues to threaten the very existence of those in Darfur and all of Sudan.
Since 2003, an estimated 300,000 have perished in this violence and 2.7 million have been displaced or forced to leave their homes. This genocide is seen as the most atrocious humanitarian crisis occurring today. The U.S. called this murder, rape and torture genocide in 2004, yet our country hasn’t learned that actions speak louder than words.
As Holocaust survivor and novelist Elie Wiesel stated, “I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” And Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
With the upcoming election in Sudan, there is little time to wait. We all need to begin this new year and the new decade fighting for the rights of those only allowed to whisper. With our strong words and strong actions, our voices scream. Let us honestly be able to say, “Never again.”
Thanks, Jessica! It is advocates like you that keep Darfur and Sudan in the media and on the minds of newsmakers and policy leaders.
