Wednesday, September 10, 2008

"With Knowledge Comes Responsibility"

In quiet voices they speak of their losses--of beloved sons, husbands, brothers and fathers tortured, mutilated, murdered. They recount their rapes and show the brands carved into their skin. They reveal tendons sliced and how they hobble now.

Halima, whose baby was pulled from her back, told me how she fought, how she did her utmost to hold on to her child. But he was torn out of her arms anyway, and killed before her eyes with a bayonet. Three of her five children were slaughtered that day, and her husband too. "Janjaweed," she said, "they cut them and threw them into the well." Halima clasped my two hands, pleading: "Tell people what is happening here. Tell them we need help."

(Mia Farrow speaks about genocide in Darfur)

2 comments:

Roo said...

i remember watching the movie "hotel rwanda" and there was a scene where some people in rwanda were talking about people in a america watching what is happaning to them while watching the evening news in america. i remember they said something about, "they'll watch it on their news channel on TV and then go eat supper..." (meaning they will do nothing to help them in their desperate plight.)

it broke my heart because that is exactly what happanned and happans....

Anonymous said...

No words to describe such pain and sadness...such cruelty is beyond words.