Miss Melissa's A Gymnasio Class Blog : Blog Topics

The Darfur Genocide

This section contains some information about the the darfur genocide. It is presented as a series of questions and answers. After working through this information, you should be able to:

Explain what genocide is.
Explain key events in Sudan's history.
Describe what is happening in Darfur.
Think critically about the issue and describe actions to stop it.

Before you read the information on this page, watch again the video made by some students in the USA.

Where is Darfur?

Darfur is a region of the African nation of Sudan.

What is happening in Darfur?

The Sudan govennment has organised a programme of ethnic cleansing which means the elimination of a racial group from an area. Since 2004, over 400,000 Sudanese men, women and children have been brutally murdered, with thousands raped, and over two million forced to flee their villages. The elimination of a group of people like this is called genocide.

Why is it happening?

In Sudan, there are two main groups of people: the Arab Africans and the black Africans.

A black African from Darfur

President Omar al-Bashir, an Arab African

The government of Sudan is run by Arab Africans, who consider themselves better than the black Africans. Considering yourself better than another because of a difference in ethnicity, religion etc. is called discrimination. The violence against the black Africans is committed by a militila group called the Janjaweed - which means "devil on horseback". Although the Sudan president Omar al-Bashir denies any links to the Janjaweed militia group, the international community accuses him of both leading and supporting the group and their violent actions.

What is a militia group?

A militia group is an army which consists of non-professional soldiers.

Why Darfur?

In the Darfur region, there are many black African villages. Over half of these villages have been burned down.

Is the discimination towards the black Africans the only reason for the genocide?

No it isn't. The Sudan government is also interested in the large amount of oil and water that exists under Darfur. So there's also an interest in Sudan's resources.

Also, the government of Sudan is a dictatorship that doesn't want to give any power to the Sudan people.

So basically, the genocide is happening for three reasons:

1) Discrimination: The Arab Africans consider themselves better than the black Africans.
2) Resources: The Sudan government is interested in the large amount of oil and water that exists under Darfur.
3) Power: The government of Sudan is a dictatorship that doesn't want to give any power to the Sudanese people.

What has happened to the two million Darfu refugees?

The Darfu refugees are now living in refugee camps. Some of these camps are in the middle of the Sahara desert and others on the Darfur - Chad border. Darfu refugees are still being attacked, raped and murdered by the Janjaweed.

Why isn't this being stopped?

Many countries in the world get their oil from Sudan, especially China. Because of this, these nations don't want to get involved.

Also, Sudan is a huge desert nation the size of Europe with very few roads. Because of this it's easy for the Sudanese to commit these atrocities and get away with it. What's more, Sudan's president has made strict rules that keep people away from Darfur.

What should be done to make this stop?

Action needs to be taken on three levels: International, National, Local.

International level: Country leaders need to get together and make it stop.
National level: Individual countries can donate money and help to groups working to end the genocide and to help the refugees. Country leaders can listen to people who call or write about the genocide and also make sure the people of the country know what's going on.
Local level: Students can write letters to newspapers, articles for school newspapers and blogs and can hold various activities to raise awareness.

Springville Secondary School, USA


Danbury High School, USA

At the local level, you can also spread the word online:

So what is genocide?

The systematic elimination of a group of people based on their ethnicity, religion or other defining characteristic.

Can we think of some examples of genocide that occured in the 20th century?

A serious genocide that happened in our part of the world in the 20th century was the Holocaust. During World War II, 6 million Jews were systematically murdered in concentration camps by the Nazis.

After World War II, the international community decided that this should never happen again. A law was made called the "Genocide Convention", which makes the countries who signed this law obliged to intervene and stop genocide when it is occuring.

"Never again"

...but it's happening right now...