The Illusive, "Never Again"

Darfur is a western region of Sudan, and the centre of one of today’s biggest African conflicts. Beginning in 2003, the conflict between the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the Sudanese government has been an ongoing fight. The war in Darfur parallels the Rwandan Genocide on many levels, beginning with years of oppression and unequal treatment. In Rwanda, the Hutus were not favoured because of their lack of Caucasian features, and were subjected to inferior treatment by the Tutsis. After years of frustration, the Hutus revolted and killed roughly 800 000 Tutsis in a mere 100 days. This was led largely by the Hutu militia group, the Interahamwe, who were supported by the Hutu government at the time. Similarly, the people of Darfur, who are a mix of Arab and Black Africans but who all share the Muslim religion, were largely ignored by the British who colonized Sudan, and later by the central government. When Sudan achieved independence in 1956, it continued to be neglected. On April 25, 2003, the SPLA and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) entered al-Fashir and attacked the sleeping garrison. The Government of Sudan then sought revenge, and have been supplying the Janjaweed, a militia group, who have since been attacking Darfur and have killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians. The Janjaweed, infamous for massacre, rape, and torture, parallel the Interahamwe of Rwanda and the Nazi of Germany, who all have mercilessly targeted a specific group of people and brutally decimated them. During the Rwandan Genocide, the world watched as thousands of innocent civilians were targeted and killed. However, few countries stepped in to help and no country made a lasting difference. Before this, the Holocaust took the lives of six million. It was universally agreed afterwards that never again could an event like this occur, yet the Rwandan Genocide did occur after the Holocaust, and the war in Darfur is occurring presently. The United Nations and the African Union have done little to prevent the war in Darfur or to resolve the conflict. As a nation, the world has failed to uphold the promise that “never again” should events like the Holocaust or the Rwandan Genocide occur. The United Nations should have done more to have prevented the conflict in Darfur, especially since it showed similarities in patterns from previous wars. One can only hope that the phrase, “never again,” isn’t recycled too many times in the future.