I’m asking myself this question:
Why am I complaining about winter and worrying about other superficial things when I am living in a war-free country, while there could be a woman, just like me, wondering if she will breathe her last breath within the next five minutes, in somewhere like Darfur.
By asking myself this question, I am ashamed that I sometimes worry about the stupidest little things; but at the same time, I’m asking myself what can I do about it?
First of all, when I turn on my television scroll through my Facebook feed or some news outlet app, why aren’t the atrocities that are happening all over the world the first things I see?
In Montreal, I don’t hear much about the fact that hundreds of people are losing their homes, not in a hurricane, but because of their government and its greediness.
But instead of focusing on why, I said I have a platform to talk about it. Not as an expert, because I’m not, but as a human being who hopes to one day live in a peaceful world where everyone is equal. (I hear you guys saying keep dreaming girl!)
When two journalists have been assaulted a few weeks ago, they did mention it on the news, for what? 10 seconds? There weren’t any follow ups or more questions asked by the news reporter. I wasn’t mad, but I was disappointed.
Are we so obsessed with this man, representing America and his rallies, that we are oblivious to the suffering of human beings in a vulnerable place?
I guess we must ask ourselves this question and be honest with ourselves.
When you are not an expert on a subject, the right thing to do is to reach out to an organization that wants to point out the atrocity and clears it up.
The Enough Project is my go-to resource.
I am reading more about what is going on through John Prendergast’s essay, I am still not an expert on the subject, but I feel better informed.
It is a foundation whose main focus is to end genocide and crimes against humanity in conflicted areas of Africa.
John Prendergast is the driving force behind this beautiful project he co-founded with Gayle Smith in 2007.
Enough Project has several active campaigns to raise awareness of the violence and injustice going on in the countries that the News outlets here do not spend much time on.
https://enoughproject.org/op-eds/u-s-news-world-report-op-ed-dont-remove-sudan-terrorism-list
I still won’t be the most politics-savvy person on this planet, but I do think if we talk about it, point out the bad guys and what they are doing, and continue hoping that kindness may one day conquer the world, maybe we can start something.
Maybe we don’t need the big news outlets such as CNN, BBC, RDI, CNBC, Fox News (oh lord, don’t get me started about Fox News!) and others to get the word out.
Maybe we will be the ones that will get the word out that Enough is enough!
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/central-african-republic/2018-03-14/key-making-peace-africa
Written by Sabine Demosthenes