Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Film & Music

Media Credit: cache.viewimages.com Don Cheadle: actor and activist

I might have been trying to rouse some sort of typical student activist passion when I walked into the Darfur Now screening on Thursday, but I left feeling relatively no more affected than when I came in.

The documentary plays from the perspectives of six individuals who are deeply committed to stop the crisis in Darfur: a local woman who has joined a group of rebel fighters to battle the Janjaweed militia after enduring the cruel murder of her child; a Sudanese aid worker who was forced to flee his home for Hamadea, a camp for internally displaced Darfurians, and a UCLA student taking on the role of a political activist in working to get a bill passed that will keep California's State funds out of Sudan. It also highlights the journeys of a chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court responsible for charging Sudanese political figures for crimes against humanity. Actors Don Cheadle and George Clooney pressure government officials and world leaders to act, using their celebrity status to increase awareness for the issue. Lastly, it follows the leader of the World Food Program team in West Darfur in dealing with problems of frequent banditry and threat of destruction as he mobilizes massive convoys to deliver food to the suffering civilians of the region.

So being a member of STAND (Students Taking Action Now: Darfur), I guess seeing the movie must follow that I should wholeheartedly endorse both the film and its message. But the documentary was a little off the "inspiring" mark, though it was still a fresh and less cynical look at the crises. I strongly felt that if the aim was to convert audiences to the cause, the producers should have focused more on the personal stories of people directly affected by this terrible humanitarian catastrophe.

The focus of the movie is very much on the efforts to deal with the problems in Darfur than the problems themselves; therefore rather than educating the great number of people unaware of the issues, it plays best to those who are already experts on the Darfur situation. Though the general consciousness of the Western world is increasing, there are still many who have only briefly heard the name captioned in the news or seen it half-hidden in the blinding mosaic of posters lining the streets. I will digress for all those who need a quick info session on what is actually going on.

Darfur is a fairly large and drought-prone western region of the African country Sudan, harboring a population which generally falls into two ethnic groups. Tribal societies, such as the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa, are part of the sedentary farming groups who are now typically considered "non-Arab," pastoral nomadic groups, such as the Riziegat, Miseriya, and Beni Halba, are considered "Arab."

Tensions over water and land scarcity in the mid-1980s led to an escalation of violence between these two groups, as well as the creation of government sanctioned Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed, that began attacking non-Arab communities. Those attacks eventually led to the creation of non-Arab rebel groups called the Sudanese Liberation Army/Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement. The conflict exploded into a humanitarian crisis which continues today as the homes and lives of the innocent are being destroyed in a supposed attempt to eradicate the influence and possibly existence of these 'rebel' and ethic groups on the Sudanese government's behalf.

Pre-conflict, Sudan was home to around six million people; though it is nearly impossible to accurately determine the number of deaths that have occurred, the United Nations estimates that the conflict has left as many as 450,000 dead from violence and as many as 2.5 million are thought to have been displaced as of last year October.

It seems that, in a world with so many prominent evils, it is hard for anyone to digest even a marginal group of issues and even harder to endure enthusiasts within organizations on the prowl for new recruits. Using the issue in Darfur as a catalyst, I want to encourage students to spend some time educating themselves on global events, and possibly warming up to an environmental, humanitarian or social justice issue. If the subject has spurred your interest, I definitely encourage sending an email to standuoft@standcanada.org, your campus chapter branching from the umbrella organization of STAND Canada, for more information about getting involved.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools