darfur

If you’ve logged on to Google Earth (earth.google.com) and looked up your house, you know the program is surprisingly accurate, with individual cars and buildings made visible. And hey, that dot on the sidewalk could be you walking to school.

With the ability to zoom in on one’s own house and view photos of college campuses, Google Earth may be a source of amusement and interest, but this program also serves a greater purpose.

Many nonprofit organizations now use Google Earth to quickly locate refugee camps and provide aid. In dire emergencies, lack of communication and panic can make it almost impossible to find those in greatest need, so Google Earth is a huge advantage for aid workers. In fact, after Hurricane Katrina, some used this technological tool for rescue operations

Whenever I have a general conversation about politics, government, or morals, I usually direct the subject towards the issue of the genocide in Darfur. Many are aware of the crisis, but I’m not too surprised when someone responds by saying, "What’s Darfur?" I’m not offended by one’s lack of knowledge on the situation, because it is entirely underreported in the news.

My hand is raised, that's for sure.

You see, I just don't understand.
You can call me naive, but I honestly don't understand why half of humanity is embroiled in conflict, and the other half is hiding under the covers of their comfort zones.

Darfur.

You can almost smell the death from here—the stench of sweat and blood hanging thickly in the air. Awareness is not the problem, nor is apathy. Inaction is in fact the culprit.

Everyone knows who Steven Spielberg is, right? If not, I direct you to Google, which is a wonderful plethora of information on anything. Educate yourself briefly on pop culture. So about Spielberg . . .

World War II was perhaps the bloodiest war of the twentieth century, if not of all history. Estimates for total deaths range between fifty to sixty-five million. Of those, eleven million were civilians murdered systematically by the Nazis. Six million were Jews – about 72% of the total Jewish population in Europe. In some countries, nearly 90% of the Jewish population was killed.

If George Clooney, Mia Farrow, Angelina Jolie and bands I like can't change the world, is there really anyone who can?

Many of the people who know me well will tell you a get in these very strange moods sometimes. I will be extra fidgety and blurt out randomly “I wanna get on a plane, I just wanna go to Africa”. See I have this slight obsession with East Africa and the injustices that happen there (well many will say it’s much more then slight).