'Them'

The Darfur region of Sudan has been at war since 2003. The area has been filled by tension, fear and slaughter for over 14 years. A lifetime for some - I am only 16 yet I feel empowered within my nation-state. The inequality between 'us' and 'them' is atrocious. I should not be able to sit here, sympathise about their lives in fleeting commentary, and still embellish my life with technologies and comfort when our relatives (all-be-it distant) can't even find a meal more nutritious than leaves tonight.

We scoff at the lives they lead; their impact on us is merely a brush on the shoulder. But if you whittle our societies 'morals' down through the hardships and losses they have - we would be just the same.

So let me rephrase. There is no 'them.' Only an 'us.'

Women and children wait to be registered prior to a food distribution carried out by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Thonyor, Leer state, South Sudan, February 26, 2017. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola
Women and children wait to be registered prior to a food distribution carried out by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Thonyor, Leer state, South Sudan, February 26, 2017.
REUTERS/Siegfried Modola
In recent weeks, the media has built more public awareness of the outrageous conditions they live in. Campaigns through the UN are heavily promoted and I think it's time we act on them.
For 14 years the landscapes, the ecosystem and the societies of Sudan have increasingly been diminishing. We live in a world where I, in the UK, can buy & sell shares in an American company, making millions, in mere seconds. How come in this same world, after 14 years, almost as many years as I have been alive, we still can't change the course of these people's lives in a few countries, simply because they were born there?

In our irreversibly globalising world, I strongly feel we can no longer dissociate ourselves from each other. We rely on one another too much and can gain so many unidentifiable skills by helping put a smile on another person. So much hope, so much kindness & so much wisdom. Our world could one day thrive in unity if we could simply fit a fleeting thought of hope into each day.

Now is not the time to save them; it's the time to save us.

Click here to find out more
Click here to donate to the UN's humanitarian fund in Sudan

H _ M
    :)

Bibliography
http://www.wvi.org/sudan/article/malnutrition-continues-affect-children-sudan

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We are so small.

Image
Twitter has unveiled me to so many days in the calendar that I had no clue existed! I'm sure I'm not the only one... Today is Endangered Species Day but, considering this event comes 3 days before exam week, I'm afraid this entry is going to be a bit brief. I only hope that other articles give you more details of this day and the honest publicity such a topic like this deserves. I hope they make us think. Really think. Think how closely entwined we are with the Earth; not only do we influence nature, we are a part of it. We are, in the grand scheme of things, a mere minority amongst the mass of biodiversity on this planet. A simple carbon store in it's whole entity. According to http://storiented.blogspot.co.uk , Showing less than 1% of all known species, this phylogenetic tree of life was created by David Hillis, Derreck Zwickil and Robin Gutell. It displays the evolutionary relationships of about 3,000 species. Hillis et al., Science, 2003 Think how much in...
Read more

Can we protect the deep sea?

Image
Knowing what we know now, what would you give to go back in time and stop fossil fuel extraction? If you had the chance to reverse it all and go straight into a just system of renewable energy distribution, is there anything you wouldn’t do? Dwelling on the road not taken is no doubt unproductive; stirring up climate apathy and an encroaching sense of doom. For that reason, it can be best to hold onto the future visions generated by grassroots communities and activists rather than facts of the past. Yet if there’s another lesson to be learned from climate activists, especially those from marginalised backgrounds and Indigenous peoples, it’s that we mustn’t forget our past. Rather, we can take our horrors, our fears, past traumas and mistakes, and channel them into more considered and decisive action. And now we are faced with the opportunity. Yesterday, the United Nation’s International Seabed Authority (ISA) met in Kingston, Jamaica, to discuss the potential of deep-sea mining (DSM). ...
Read more

The Pearl of Africa

Image
You are probably wondering why my focus on palm oil has fazed out. Or, more bluntly, why I haven't posted in 3 weeks (sorry, folks). Well, for once, I have a good reason.  The last couple of weeks have been ones of discovery, novelty and fascination. Through exploring the emerging hubbubs of human civilisations and becoming part of the tranquil landscapes which teemed with nature, I explored a glorious place; Uganda.  Forgive the diversion, with the permission of several communities, I feel a heavy urge to share my experience with you. Perhaps, together, we could find some answers to the questions I still ponder over? Also, at the request of several communities, I wish to share the unheard stories of people living in this wondrous land. I present to you the Pearl of Africa. To Mityana Source: Own Innovat ive - Uganda is one of the poorest nations in the world. In 2012, over a third of the population lived on less than $1.25 a day. The stats also show us t...
Read more