...Darfur

I am very passionate about the goings-on in the Darfur region of Sudan in east-Central Africa. There are many many people dying, and the rest are in extreme poverty and have been pushed from their homes and have a constant feeling of insecurity because of the violence between the different sanctions in the area. There are horrible acts happening to the women and children caught in this conflict, as well as many men who have been victimized, simply for being born in the wrong place at the wrong time. This conflict has been going on for too long for no one to step in and make it better. Recently, former President, Jimmy Carter, along with African statesmen (including Desmond Tutu, the former South African President Nelson Mandela's wife, Graca Machel amd billionaire businessman Richard Branson), toured Darfur. Wikipedia describes his visit there, "Sudanese security prevented him from visiting a Darfuri tribal leader, leading to a heated exchange." From reading an article on msnbc.com, I would describe it differently. President Carter was blocked from entering a Darfuri townto meet with refugees. The 83 year old Carter let a Sudanese Security officer named Omar have it, when Omar attempted to stop him on his way. The Secret Service detail and Carter's tour companions held Carter back and convinced him to get back into the vehicle they were traveling in. He agreed only to a compromise that the tribal representatives would be able to accompany Carter into a defferent refugee town later in the week. But he was stood up, the representative never showed up. The people of Darfur are too frightened to speak how they feel and about what they are going through, because of threats against their lives if they speak up. That makes us think that there is so much more going on there than we think, more atrocities that are inhuman and terrible acts from one member of the human race to another. It's just unheard of.