Hotel Darfur
I just finished watching Hotel Rwanda with Lynnette. It is a very powerful movie, one that should remind all Americans not simply "how good we've got it," but that it is the responsibility and calling of the safe to help the refugee, the rich to help the poor and the advantaged to help the disadvantaged.
The movie is important on two levels: historical and futuristic. Historically speaking, I am trying to remember what I was doing as the genocide was going on half a world away. In 1994, I was in the seventh grade and never heard about the massacre. Was it because I was a teenager and my world revolved around video games and baseball teams? Was it because the western press had more important things to report about like the O.J. trial and Forrest Gump? While it's great to be able to see the heroics of one hotel manager, it is clear from the movie that the advantaged western world did too little.
While a terrific cinematic portrayal of what happened in 1994, the movie likewise calls us to action eleven years later. Also half a world away, another African nation is experiencing the horrors of genocide and war. In the Darfur region of Sudan, one militious faction wishes to wipe out an entire race of people. They are doing it by killing the men, burning the villages, raping the women, and destroying the future for thousands of children. But all we hear about is high gas prices, Michael Jackson on trial and Britney Spears with child.
I hope and pray that in 2016 we aren't all giving acclaim to another movie that pinpoints how one brave soul was able to save the lives of 0.12% of all victims of a genocide. Below are some very helpful website about what you, the safe, rich and advantaged can do to stop the genocide before we kick back with our popcorn and plasma screens eleven years from now and watch "Hotel Darfur."
The following sites are very helpful in regards to information on and action for Darfur. I also challenge you to read Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times. He has visited the region and seen the brutality first-hand. Once a solution is found to stop the genocide, he will be remembered as one heroic individual who used his means to save lives.
Websites:
The movie is important on two levels: historical and futuristic. Historically speaking, I am trying to remember what I was doing as the genocide was going on half a world away. In 1994, I was in the seventh grade and never heard about the massacre. Was it because I was a teenager and my world revolved around video games and baseball teams? Was it because the western press had more important things to report about like the O.J. trial and Forrest Gump? While it's great to be able to see the heroics of one hotel manager, it is clear from the movie that the advantaged western world did too little.
While a terrific cinematic portrayal of what happened in 1994, the movie likewise calls us to action eleven years later. Also half a world away, another African nation is experiencing the horrors of genocide and war. In the Darfur region of Sudan, one militious faction wishes to wipe out an entire race of people. They are doing it by killing the men, burning the villages, raping the women, and destroying the future for thousands of children. But all we hear about is high gas prices, Michael Jackson on trial and Britney Spears with child.
I hope and pray that in 2016 we aren't all giving acclaim to another movie that pinpoints how one brave soul was able to save the lives of 0.12% of all victims of a genocide. Below are some very helpful website about what you, the safe, rich and advantaged can do to stop the genocide before we kick back with our popcorn and plasma screens eleven years from now and watch "Hotel Darfur."
The following sites are very helpful in regards to information on and action for Darfur. I also challenge you to read Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times. He has visited the region and seen the brutality first-hand. Once a solution is found to stop the genocide, he will be remembered as one heroic individual who used his means to save lives.
Websites:
- Nicholas Kristof
- Save Darfur
- Darfur: A Genocide We Can Stop
- Human Rights Watch
- Protect Darfur
- World Vision
I also have "Save Darfur" green wristbands free for whoever would like one.
|
Comments (2)
5:14 PM
found another website in a book i'm editing for work -
http://www.fastforfamine.org
10:21 PM
cool! ;)
Post a Comment