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May 20, 2005
Honoring a long-ago promise
Local groups and government take action to tackle Sudanese crisis.
DANA BOOKMAN
Two generations ago, when the Holocaust ended, Jews around the
world made the promise, "Never again." It was supposed
to be a guarantee that such an indescribable, inhumane tragedy would
be prevented in the future. But it has happened again. And it is
still happening today in western Sudan – in what the United
Nations has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
It began more than two years ago, following an insurgency by two
rebel groups. The government dispatched an Arab militia group –
the Janjaweed – in retaliation, with members recruited from
local tribes attacking African civilians. Now, "People are
being raped, attacked, killed and driven from [their] homes into
neighboring countries," said Mira Robin, part of a group of
young Jews trying to raise awareness about the issue.
"Innocent civilians were living everyday lives and all of a
sudden they've been uprooted, stricken by violence," said Robin,
adding that this tragedy is reminiscent of the Holocaust. So far,
300,000 people in Darfur are thought to have been killed and more
than two million others have been displaced. According to the UN,
millions of people in Sudan could still face food shortages in the
next 18 months.
Robin and a committee of concerned citizens, along with Canadian
Jewish Congress (CJC), Pacific Region, and the Liu Institute for
Global Issues, are hoping to raise the profile of the crisis in
Darfur with Never Again: A Call for Action in Sudan.
Key speakers at the May 24 event will include Robbie Waisman, a
survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp and co-founder of
the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre.
"The Holocaust was supposed to teach the world compassion and
understanding and that it should never happen again," said
Waisman. "When I see things around the world, like what's happening
in Darfur, I and other survivors get outraged, because the world
hasn't learned its lesson yet."
Robert Sebufirira, another speaker at the event, hopes to encourage
people to do something to help the survivors of the crisis –
which the UN has stopped short of calling a genocide.
"After the Holocaust, people said the promise of 'Never again'
was not brought into action, because of the Rwandan genocide,"
said Sebufirira. "As Africans, and as people, this is the time
to be aware. We have to contribute to stop [the] killing in Sudan
and this is the right opportunity to call on individuals to do something."
Sebufirira – once editor of Rwanda's only independent newspaper,
Umuseso – survived the 1994 genocide in his home country.
He says he feels obligated to help with anything related to awareness
of genocide. "After what happened to me in Rwanda," he
said, "I wouldn't want to see it happen to anyone else."
There have been some positive steps to help the victims in Sudan.
Last week, Canada became the first western country to begin to promise
to protect civilians there. The government committed $260 million
to aid efforts in Darfur. That pledge also includes an initial 100
Canadian forces military experts. They will support the more than
2,000 African Union soldiers already in Sudan to protect refugees
from the fighting. About 40 Canadian troops will also join a United
Nations observer force in the southern part of the East African
nation.
CJC Pacific Region chair Mark Weintraub said the Vancouver Jewish
community has been instrumental in pushing for Canada's involvement
in Sudan. He said the community "is playing on a stage much
larger than we usually do. Without exaggeration, I can say that
we have been a catalyst [for government action]."
Nouri Abdalla is a member of Vancouver's Darfurian community and
has family members in refugee camps in Darfur. Abdalla said he's
delighted about the government's contribution.
"Canada is sending a strong message to [the] world by sending
the first western troops into Darfur," he said. "It's
a positive step in [the] right direction and I hope [the] rest of
[the] world will follow."
Waisman also said Canada's pledge is a good start. "We're putting
pressure on the government and it's working," he said. "But
we have to keep up the pressure. We are our brothers' keepers."
Robin is hoping that this event will send a message to other international
political leaders to take the action needed to spare the people
of Darfur further suffering and misery.
"We want this event to empower individuals to put further pressure
on the government and international community," she said.
Sen. Mobina Jaffer, who is being sent to Sudan as a special envoy
by Prime Minister Paul Martin, will be the keynote speaker at the
event, which will also feature a photo exhibit and a question and
answer period.
Although there is reason to be cautiously optimistic about a resolution
to the horror in Darfur, Waisman warned, "There is still evil
in the world and we have to use lessons from the Holocaust to teach
compassion. As long as I am healthy and can do this, and bring this
to the attention of governments and people, I have no choice: I
have to do it."
Never Again: A Call for Action in Sudan is a free event. It's being
held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24, in the Wosk Auditorium at
the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.
Dana Bookman is a Vancouver writer.
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