Aid workers fear a new disaster as militia forces close in on a major Darfur city.

On a sunny April afternoon in 2006, thousands of people flocked to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for a rally with celebrities, Olympic athletes, and rising political stars. Their cause: garner international support to halt a genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region.

“If we care, the world will care. If we act, then the world will follow,” Barack Obama, then the junior Illinois senator, told the crowd, speaking alongside future House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. That same week, then-Sen. Joe Biden introduced a bill in Congress calling on NATO to intervene to halt the genocide in Sudan. “We need to take action on both a military and diplomatic front to end the conflict,” he said.

    • tsonfeir@lemmy.worldEnglish
      51·
      6 months ago

      Yeah probably. But what do we do? “Vote?” “Protest?” That’s just thoughts and prayers. We have very little control over our governments in the short term and no control of—or right to control—another country. What is there?

      • rockSlayer@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        6 months ago

        Agitate, educate, organize. Vote, protest, unionize, build political coalitions, support local progressive politicians, etc. We need to do everything, and anything helps. We, the people, have all the power. To use it, we need to act collectively.

        • tsonfeir@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          6 months ago

          That sounds great for making your own country better. But how do we influence 100 or more countries in the next 30 days to condemn Israel, and any other country engaging in genocide?