Stop Debating Semantics: Darfur Needs Our Help Now

By Jihad Shoshara

On July 23, the United States Congress did something that is practically unthinkable during these days of our divided “50-50” nation; it cast a unanimous vote on a matter of substance. Yet most Americans are completely unaware of it.

The purpose of this unanimous vote was to bring attention to the rapidly festering crisis in the Darfur region of Western Sudan, where over a million people have been displaced from their homes and up to 30,000 have been killed. By a vote of 424-0, the congress passed a non-binding resolution that called for the Bush administration and the UN to take concrete action to prevent “genocide” and begin immediate measures to bring relief to the refugees of Darfur, where the US Agency for International Development estimated in June that under the best case scenario up to 320,000 people will die by the end of the year.

This resolution has not gone over well in the Muslim world where – due to George Bush’s Iraq war and its ugly aftermath – our government’s intentions are seen as mercurial at best. As a result, Muslims both here and abroad are expending great energy in a debate over whether the situation in Sudan truly constitutes genocide instead of taking action to bring relief to the victims of Darfur and pressuring others to do the same.

The debate should stop. Now.

Whatever name history ultimately chooses for the tragedy now passing practically unfettered in Darfur, no one in their right mind can deny that over a million refugees living in makeshift camps without food, sanitation, or medical access represent a humanitarian avalanche poised to fall. Will we consider it a victory if the plague of death in Darfur avoids the label of genocide, yet hundreds of thousands die?

We urge our fellow Muslims and Americans of all faiths to spread awareness about the desperate situation in Darfur, continue to contact their elected representatives about the need for immediate relief, and donate to one of many international aid organizations that is working on the ground in Darfur to save lives. If we continue to stand by idly, we will have shown that the one of the world’s greatest humanitarian crises is worth our words – but nothing more.

Jihad Shoshara is a medical doctor and chair of the Darfur Awareness and Relief Project of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago.

For information on how you can help, please see our Darfur resource list.

Also, please participate in our Darfur Wakeup Call!