Darfur = Texas

Quote of the day:
“You’re supposed to stop and smell the roses, and I do. But not while I’m working.”
--Lorne Michaels

Quote of the day no. 2:
“Stop and smell the roses. And remember that someone has grown them.”
--Preston Creston

Over the last four years in the Darfur region of Sudan, more than 200,000 people have been killed, and thousands have been brutalized, according to the BBC. Two million people have fled their homes. The Sudanese government remains opposed to allowing UN troops in the region.

There are so many interests involved in the Darfur situation, it can be hard to remember how this violence began. Here is an excellent, brief summary:

“The Darfur region is located in the western part of Sudan along the border with Chad. Darfur, which means ‘the kingdom of the Fur,’ is the size of Texas.

“The current conflict began in 2002 when two rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement, began attacking government targets because of the Khartoum government’s perceived discrimination against African ethnic groups such as the Fur, Massaleit and Zagawha. The conflict is rooted in local struggles over land
and water between the nomadic ‘Arabs’ and the land-tilling ‘Africans.’

“The categories of Arab and African are rather arbitrary, however. There have been decades of intermarriage between the two groups, both of which are Muslim. A split within the government of Sudan in 2000 over the correct expression of political Islam led to the declaration of a state of emergency and fueled violence between the two groups.”

--Sandra Joireman in the November 28 "Christian Century."