This forum is now closed. Read the archived postings below, and continue the discussion by posting new comments on the Voices on Genocide Prevention blog — where Jerry Fowler interviews human rights defenders, experts, advocates, and government officials each week and posts occasional blog entries on the crisis in Darfur and genocide prevention around the world today.
Braden
April 16, 2006 09:56 PM
Everyone knows that the more one knows about an issue, the better suited they are to finding an effective course of action. Therefore, I try to stay as educated as I can regarding the unfolding of the situation in Darfur. However, I am having an increasingly more difficult time finding sources of information that I feel I can rely on. I've found that the newspapers I am familiar with have largely grown tired of the issue - while certain articles still appear that are both passionate and accurate, I am finding fewer and fewer of them. News channels, when they do report on the issue, can only give short blurbs of information due to time limitations, and they leave me wondering where I can really go if I want to stay informed. Recently, I've begun to websites, such as www.darfurgenocide.org, but I've only found so many. I feel at a loss, like the situation is slipping even more out of my consciousness.
My understanding of the genocide is nearly where I want it to be, and I am unsure where to turn for reliable information. Any recommendations of good sources that you've come to trust and that make the situation in Darfur a priority?
Elaine Sylvester
April 17, 2006 02:40 PM
It seems like the lack of information avaliable to the public corresponds with the amount of information that people want to know, or rather the amount of people who truely care about the information that should be made available. In the movie, "Hotel Rwanda," a reporter questions the public's involvement. He asks if the coverage will make a difference. He states that Americans will watch the news, say how much they regret what is happening, and without another thought, return to their own personal problems.
I feel that the problem is not only the lack of information readily available, but the lack of incentinve to really become involved in the situation.
Samantha Power states in her book that "despite graphic media coverage, American policymakers, journalists, and citizens are extremely slow to muster the imagination needed to reckon with evil." She also states that "no US president has ever suffered politically for his indifference to [genocide's] occurence. It is thus no coincidence that genocides rages on."
Is it not our responsibility to make that information important and interference to genocide a priority? We cannot blame the journalist for the public's lack of interest. Instead of looking for the news, try to make the news come to you through public involvement.
