Karma is a Bitch...

On April 3^rd of this year, the Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) released a study that corroborates what many of us have been saying for about a decade: That the people of Sudan, in particular Darfur, have been enduring a constant attack that at best kills them and at worse leaves them facing a slow death, an ethnic cleansing. There have been numerous accounts of all type of torture imaginable perpetrated on the non-Arab speaking citizens of Sudan: rapes, beatings, electrocutions, gunshots, bombings, burnings, amputations and killings that, for reasons incomprehensible to me, the world has refused to act, react or admit that these atrocities are taking place under their watch for a decade. The governments of the “civilized” world have sided with China and Russia – the two major forces that are supporting Omar al-Bashir in his ethnic cleansing.

Perhaps I am being too harsh in saying that the world or governments are siding with China and Russia – but isn’t doing nothing the same as accepting? I can understand that there is too much at risk, the last thing anyone wants is a war, especially against these world superpowers; however, there is no excuse for us to continue conducting business with them as if they were not monsters against humanity. By continuing with “business as usual,” we are in a way helping perpetuate the massacre and we are supporting the tormentor.

The PHR's study might help to put pressure on those with the power to do something. So far, there has been no reliable proof that any of these atrocities were taking place, at least that is what the governments of the world have claimed up to now. This study will help shine a light on this matter that, perhaps because it is so atrocious, others have refused to accept it and what’s more important, do something about it.

This study reveals that nearly half of the women treated were victims of rape or gang rape. There were even reports of men that were sexually assaulted and some even raped. The evidence also showed that injuries inflicted on these people were consistent and showed evidence of beatings, fires, amputations and all other forms of torture. We must remember the evidence at hand is only from those that survived or reached a medical center; how many others died on the field or on the way to the center are unknown. Every single piece of the evidence recorded and examined by PHR was consistent with the claims. Every single one. PHR stated in their study “Our findings show that in all of the medical records that contained sufficient detail, the medical evidence was considered to be at least consistent with (if not highly consistent with or virtually diagnostic of) the human rights violations disclosed by the patients.” Further in the study, PHR said, “Rape and other forms of sexual violence have been recognized as war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as instruments of genocide.”

The study represents a milestone that will aid the International Criminal Courts in proceeding with more tangible proof and with any luck receive the support of other nations in the capture of Omar al-Bashir and put an end to his reign of terror.

There might be something worthwhile celebrating this Easter week: Hopefully these findings will mark the beginning of the end for al-Bashir and a new beginning for the people of Darfur. 

I encourage the reader to look at the PHR’s study. Please, click here to read it.

To donate to the Save Darfur Organization, click here .

To donate to Amnesty International, click here.

To sign the International Petition for the People of Darfur, click here.

The Killing Fields

There are only a handful of Hollywood actors that I do admire. Most of these Hollywood actors are so full of themselves, they’re involved in so many frivolities and are so narcissistic that I don’t waste my time with them. I couldn’t care less which of them is fucking who, who bought a multimillion dollar mansion or made a scene at a party… Some of them do not deserve to make the money they get for making a film, they might be beautiful to look at but their talent is nothing out of this world. There are others whose personal lives are worthless, but we must admit they are masters at their craft and I enjoy watching a film if they’re in it. Usually the starlets use their fame and money to bring attention to themselves; they couldn’t care less about the world that surrounds them.

Then we have those few and brilliant actors that deserve all the attention they get and all the money they make. These are the actors that I admire the most, not because of their career but because of who they truly are. They use their fame and fortune to help others or to bring attention to important issues which otherwise would go unnoticed. Such is the case with George Clooney. George Clooney doesn’t devote all of his spare time defending causes, after all he is a human being, but it is commendable that he does use most of his free time to do precisely that. While the starlets use every chance they get to promote themselves in front of the cameras, George Clooney uses his fame to bring attention to important issues, human issues.

The last thing he has done, on purpose and very successfully I may add, was to get arrested, handcuffed and taken away today for trespassing and protesting in front of the Embassy of Sudan in Washington, D.C. It is said that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree and Mr. Clooney’s passion must run in his genes, since his 78 year old father, Mr. Nick Clooney, was with him and was also arrested and his mother, Nina Clooney, was witnessing their efforts in support; she was very proud of her son and her husband. There were other public figures that were arrested with the Clooneys: Martin Luther King III; former Rep. Tom Andrews (D-Mass.); Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.); Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and Ben Jealous, President of NAACP.

George Clooney knew very well what he was doing. He is a public figure that knows how to use his fame and popularity to bring attention where it matters most, and this time the cause mattered… a lot.

Let’s begin by honoring Mr. Clooney’s wishes by exposing the criminal behavior of the government of Sudan.

President Omar al-Bashir has two arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur. The first arrest warrant was issued back in March 4th, 2009 which was overturned because of insufficient evidence to prosecute and the second one filed on July 12th, 2010 and this time the ICC found that there was sufficient evidence to charge al-Bashir of genocide. Since this brutal dictator took power and proclaimed himself “president”, according to Wikipidea, there has been an approximate 200,000 to 400,000 deaths in Sudan and more than 2.5 million people displaced in what it’s clearly an ethnic cleansing.

The government of Sudan is blocking any aid to the displaced people of Sudan, allowing women, children and men to slowly die of starvation while at the same time, conducting air attacks bombing these unarmed villagers who desperately run towards caves for protection. The world should not ignore these actions; we must stop this genocide from continuing a minute longer… Someone has to help these people; someone has to stop this massacre. All the countries that believe and stand for humanity should unite to stop and arrest the officials of Sudan; we as a united voice should demand it.