Why has Darfur remained an afterthought in the mind’s eye of America?

Since 2003, the conflict in Western Sudan has spiraled out of control. The government of Sudan and pro-government Arab militias have committed what most consider war crimes against the regions “Black African” population. Then Secretary Colin Powell recognized the violence in Darfur as genocide as far back as September of 2004.

Two million Darfurians have been displaced and are living in camps. While Khartoum says that 9,000 have died since the conflict began, the U.N. puts the death toll at well over 200,000. The level of sexual violence against women and girls has skyrocketed.

These females often do not admit to being sexually abused because they fear social stigmatization and do not trust the authorities to take action. Some of the accounts of the atrocities that are taking place:

In the course of a large-scale attack, government soldiers and Janjaweed from the neighboring town of Um Sayalah, which hosts a military base, abducted eight women and girls, brutally raped at least three, and forced them to walk back to their village naked.

Large numbers of militia and government forces killed civilians and abducted and raped dozens of women and girls. One witness told UN human rights officers, “they were raped by any man who wanted. Whenever any man came to them, the women were supposed to comply, otherwise they were badly beaten.

In an example from West Darfur, a 12-year-old Erenga girl described how in December 2007, an armed Arab man in uniform lured her and her younger sister into a secluded area by pretending to help them find their lost donkey. “He said if we went with him he would show us. He grabbed me and took off my clothes to do bad things to me. My younger sister ran back to the camp.”

What is the cause of the conflict?

Centuries of tension between Arabs and Africans? Overpopulation? A fight for limited resources? For faces like the ones above, does it really matter?

After the genocide that occurred in Rwanda over a decade ago, it would seem as if the international community would have learned a lesson. Though the Sudanese government classifies the War in Darfur as “tribal clashes,” it is clear that something much more calculated and organized is in progress. And few in the world are willing to act.

While protesters have recently targeted the Beijing Olympics as an opportunity to highlight human rights violations of China against Tibet, there is also a need to highlight what is happening in Darfur. And by the way, countries singling out China as not doing enough to end the violence in Darfur is akin to washing their hands of the matter.

It is time that we all pay attention to the plight of those being wiped out in Darfur. In this space I promise to do my part and I hope the readers of this site will do their part as well. None of us can be expected to do it all, but there’s no doubt that this is an international crisis that deserves all of our attention.

It’s not easy topic to broach, and there is not an easy solution to the problems that are faced. I will call upon the United States Presidential candidates to speak more about Darfur in their foreign policy discussions. The time for action is now. The day to stand up for Darfur is today.

Many in Kenya believe that the election results were tampered with, and the European Union is calling for them to be independently audited.  Opposition leader Raila Odinga had claimed victory as well before Kibaki was declared the victor.

Both leaders have accused the other of committing genocide against the people of Kenya.  In many instances the Luo, who support Odinga have clashed with the Kikuyu tribe of which Mr. Kibaki is a part. . British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice issued a joint statement, urging "all political leaders to engage in a spirit of compromise that puts the democratic interests of Kenya first".

On Tuesday night, reports surfaced of a church fire in Eldoret which killed at least 50 people.  Around 200 Kikuyus had taken refuge at the church before fires were set, reportedly by angry youth.  

Listen to PRI's Matthew Bell reporting on Kenya here.

Read Times Online's account of the church burning here. 

CNN has received I-reports from people on the ground in Kenya giving detailed accounts of what they are seeing. One such report came from Jayne Samuels, an aid worker who arrived in Kenya on December 28.  Here's how CNN reports Samuels' story.

Samuels says she had to pay a gas station owner to get a ride to her hotel. Once there, however, the trick was getting out again.

Samuels could look out from her room and see rioting and looting. When police finally cleared the streets several days later, she was more than ready to leave. But her hotel concierge offered this dire warning: "You better not go outside. The police may shoot you dead on accident."

Undaunted, Samuels left her belongings inside the hotel and walked into the streets, hoping to find a ride to the airport. She came across a group of riot police and persuaded them to take her. Samuels says she is lucky they didn't ask for a bribe, because she was running very low on funds.

At the airport, Samuels discovered most inter-African flights had been grounded. She called the U.S. Embassy but officials there could offer no help and encouraged her to "stay put."

Then she got word of a small jet flying to Nairobi, with operators selling "cash tickets." She was happy to pay and get out.

PRI has also posted some correspondence sent to the BBC.  Here's a sample of the letters there.  

• "I think people who believe the West is dealing with African nation states are deluding themselves. Those were artificial colonial creations and we're still dealing basically with tribes and people with tribal mentalities: Kikuyu, Zulu, Hutu, Tutsi, etc. A similar situation exists in South Asia where we're dealing still with Indian casts, Pakistani and Afghan tribes, etc. Unless this mentality changes, there's no hope for peace and reconciliation, let alone real progress, in their lands". Mirek Kondracki (address not included).

• "It is unfortunate that Kenyans are dying, to fulfill the selfish ambitions of individuals. Kibaki may not be perfect and he has fallen short when it comes to dealing with corruption, but lets not forget the progress our country has made in just 5 years since he became President - gains now threatened by the current violence. Would Raila do better? Just look at Kibera where he has been MP for 15 years. This is the largest slum in Africa. What an achievement. Fellow Kenyans think". Cecilia Waithera, Boston, US.

• "Wake up Kenyans. No matter whoever is leading the country, will it add a Sufuria [cooking pot] in your house? Thinking on ethnic lines is not on. The people at the top all know each other and I wouldn't be surprised if they are seen laughing together while the common man is the one who suffers, as we battle it out for something really which won't make a whole lot of difference. You will still need to work, fend for your family etc. Wake up Kenya". Bill Amira, Nairobi, Kenya.

• "By playing the ethnic card, both candidates showed that they forgot that whoever wins will be running a country, not a village, and this is why (danger aside) this issue has no place in a presidential election. The Kenyan government should pass a law barring presidential candidates from playing the ethnic card or be automatically disqualified". Alejandro Rodón, Moenchengladbach, Germany.

I don't generally cover much in the way of world events because the issues involved are often so complicated.  I listened to an interview today where a gentleman suggested that the characterization of the violence in Kenya as a tribal struggle oversimplifies the matter.  Class, status, tribe, party affiliation, and many other factors have driven this democratic nation to a point some are calling "pre-genocide" and "pre-civil war."

Most of this is new to me, but you don't have to know much to see that the situation in Kenya is quickly deteriorating.  The head of the African Union, Ghanaian President John Kufuor, is expected to arrive in Nairobi on Thursday to speak with both Kibaki and Odinga.  I can only pray that Kufuor and any other diplomat who engages in the process can bring a swift and peaceful end to the violence in the streets of Keyna.