A Tsunami in Darfur Too!

There is no doubt that the response to the Tsunami disaster has been overwhelming. Stories of children giving away vacation money and the millions of dollars that have been raised throughout the world to help the people of South East Asia. But why does it take an event like a Tsunami to wake people up to the devastation that is happening all over the world. It is said that over a million people have been displaced and tens of thousands slaughtered by government affiliated forces in the Darfur region of the Sudan. Aid and human rights agencies have been trying to draw attention to this genocide for most of last year. Why is it mostly ignored? Similarly, if the world mobolized to eradicate HIV/AIDS with the same gusto as the Asian disaster, we would be able to solve this problem for good. Last week, CNN devoted an entire weekend's coverage to the Tsunami disaster. If they did the same for the atrocities in the Sudan, would people care more? If they dedicated an entire week of programming to HIV/AIDS in Africa, would people watch? Would kids send their vacation money?