McGovern urges student involvement in battle against genocideU.S. Rep. James McGovern talks about genocide in Dafur at Dean College in Franklin yesterday. (Rick Holland photo)FRANKLIN -- It is this generation’s Holocaust, according to U.S. Rep. James McGovern, but he says it remains a struggle to get the world to wake up to the genocide which has claimed the lives of an estimated 200,000 people in the Dafur region of Sudan -- Africa’s largest country.
"The only way things will change (in Darfur) is if we demand that things change," McGovern told a group of about 50 Dean College students and faculty yesterday. "This horror is not going to end on its own."
McGovern, D-3rd, has been an outspoken voice in drawing attention to the civil war between the Sudanese military dictatorship government, and rebel forces which got their start in Darfur, staging an uprising from the region in 2004.
The fighting has caused as many as 2.5 million refugees to either be chased or evicted from their homes, has led to huge migrations and the creation of makeshift tent cities with populations of 120,000 in some cases.
The congressman said his young children, ages five and eight, will learn about world history over time. Part of his motivation to become involved in defeating the genocide in Sudan, he said, was being able to have an answer for his children when they get older.
"It’s not too far of a stretch to imagine them asking me, ’Dad, what did you do when you saw the genocide against the people of Darfur?’" McGovern said. "And I want to be able to tell them I did something."
Sharing recommendations for actions needed to address what he called the "greatest human rights crisis of our time," McGovern said 7,000 African Union peacekeeping troops covering an area the size of France, must have their mission extended past a Dec. 31 pullout deadline.
He also said despite the Sudanese government’s resistance to the idea, 20,000 similar peacekeeping forces, assembled by the United Nations, should be deployed immediately.
"Once those troops leave, all hell’s going to break loose, even worse than it is now," McGovern said.
Additional humanitarian aid and the imposition of a no-fly zone over Sudan were other steps McGovern said should be taken without delay.
He acknowledged, however, that it has been tough to gain traction at a time when the primary foreign affairs focus is on the war in Iraq. As a way to keep attention on the atrocities being committed in Darfur, McGovern described his civil disobedience arrest last spring, after he refused to leave the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C., and was temporarily jailed for doing so.
Yet he said he was joined in the protest by only three other members of Congress. Meanwhile, the front page of McGovern’s own Web site does not mention Sudan or Darfur.
"We could all be doing more to fight this," he said.
He was also critical of the world’s tepid response to the crisis in Sudan. "It really says something about the lack of political will in the world," McGovern said. Closer to home, he said a shrugged shoulders response from Americans was a betrayal of the national conscience.
"If (the genocide) is allowed to continue, we should remove the words ’never again’ from the Holocaust Museum," McGovern said.
On a more hopeful note, McGovern told his audience yesterday that individual actions could make a difference. He noted that the will of the people had brought an end to conflicts such as the Vietnam War and the practice of apartheid in South Africa.
"If I can leave here with one message, it’s to join in this effort," McGovern said, before directing people who want to learn more to the Web site www.savedarfur.org.
His comments appeared to have an effect on students after the presentation yesterday. While she directed questions to McGovern about domestic issues, Nicole Consigli, the college’s Student Government Association president, said the congressman’s visit had helped her appreciate needs on a global scale.
"He helped me see that it’s really up to us, people in my generation, to take the initiative to get involved if we’re going to change the world," Consigli said.
Rick Holland can be reached at rholland@cnc.com or 508-634-7505.
"The only way things will change (in Darfur) is if we demand that things change," McGovern told a group of about 50 Dean College students and faculty yesterday. "This horror is not going to end on its own."
McGovern, D-3rd, has been an outspoken voice in drawing attention to the civil war between the Sudanese military dictatorship government, and rebel forces which got their start in Darfur, staging an uprising from the region in 2004.
The fighting has caused as many as 2.5 million refugees to either be chased or evicted from their homes, has led to huge migrations and the creation of makeshift tent cities with populations of 120,000 in some cases.
The congressman said his young children, ages five and eight, will learn about world history over time. Part of his motivation to become involved in defeating the genocide in Sudan, he said, was being able to have an answer for his children when they get older.
"It’s not too far of a stretch to imagine them asking me, ’Dad, what did you do when you saw the genocide against the people of Darfur?’" McGovern said. "And I want to be able to tell them I did something."
Sharing recommendations for actions needed to address what he called the "greatest human rights crisis of our time," McGovern said 7,000 African Union peacekeeping troops covering an area the size of France, must have their mission extended past a Dec. 31 pullout deadline.
He also said despite the Sudanese government’s resistance to the idea, 20,000 similar peacekeeping forces, assembled by the United Nations, should be deployed immediately.
"Once those troops leave, all hell’s going to break loose, even worse than it is now," McGovern said.
Additional humanitarian aid and the imposition of a no-fly zone over Sudan were other steps McGovern said should be taken without delay.
He acknowledged, however, that it has been tough to gain traction at a time when the primary foreign affairs focus is on the war in Iraq. As a way to keep attention on the atrocities being committed in Darfur, McGovern described his civil disobedience arrest last spring, after he refused to leave the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C., and was temporarily jailed for doing so.
Yet he said he was joined in the protest by only three other members of Congress. Meanwhile, the front page of McGovern’s own Web site does not mention Sudan or Darfur.
"We could all be doing more to fight this," he said.
He was also critical of the world’s tepid response to the crisis in Sudan. "It really says something about the lack of political will in the world," McGovern said. Closer to home, he said a shrugged shoulders response from Americans was a betrayal of the national conscience.
"If (the genocide) is allowed to continue, we should remove the words ’never again’ from the Holocaust Museum," McGovern said.
On a more hopeful note, McGovern told his audience yesterday that individual actions could make a difference. He noted that the will of the people had brought an end to conflicts such as the Vietnam War and the practice of apartheid in South Africa.
"If I can leave here with one message, it’s to join in this effort," McGovern said, before directing people who want to learn more to the Web site www.savedarfur.org.
His comments appeared to have an effect on students after the presentation yesterday. While she directed questions to McGovern about domestic issues, Nicole Consigli, the college’s Student Government Association president, said the congressman’s visit had helped her appreciate needs on a global scale.
"He helped me see that it’s really up to us, people in my generation, to take the initiative to get involved if we’re going to change the world," Consigli said.
Rick Holland can be reached at rholland@cnc.com or 508-634-7505.
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