from l to r: student from Hopkins STAND, me, John Morlino (picture courtesy of Serena)
Last Thursday evening, YOUNG CLERGY FOR SOCIAL CHANGE attended a Call to Action for Darfur held at the Interfaith Center on the campus of JHU. Like many other “call to action” events, the crowd was few in number, but the passion to see genocide in Darfur defeated was evident. The keynote speaker of the forum was John Morlino (Founder of The Ethic). John spoke of an initiative that his nonprofit organization started to help bring genocide in Sudan to an end. It’s called the Darfur Pledge. Read his article and more about the pledge below. (Please consider identifying a way practical to you to help advocate for the people of Darfur and share your idea with family/friends.)
“A Call to Action: Help End the Genocide in Darfur” – by John Morlino
From Satya MagazineThe question sent chills down my spine: “Were they less human?†It was a question posed by Canadian Lt. General Romeo Dallaire as he described the profound horror of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, which left over 800,000 dead in a matter of weeks. Dallaire, leader of a small United Nations peace-keeping force, made a heroic attempt to warn of the impending massacre. Tragically, his plea went ignored. As was the case with the Holocaust, Cambodia and Bosnia, many have since apologized for not intervening and have forcefully proclaimed: “Never again.†Yet now, with the memory of Rwanda still fresh in our conscience, it is happening again—and the world continues to look away . . . (Read the full text of this article at: Satya Magazine).
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I have sat…read and re-read this article since it has been posted. Interestingly enough, I have seen no response. I am sure that there are those who are involved with this “Beautiful Struggle” as Bro. Talib has recorded on track 13. Trust that my comments do not come from the heart of one who is seeking self-righteousness. Yet, with the silence that has pervaded this blog since this posting…one wonders. It seems many who shout revolution, simply signify.
I wonder, is it necessary for one to be directly connected to this (as if we are not) to see involvement in this struggle against evil as an authentic calling?
I ponder this on the days after revisiting studies of 3 great leaders of the slave rebellions of the 1800′s. And out of the three key revolutionaries…Prosser, Vesey, Turner, the latter two were not directly connected to the oppressive undertow by which they were so enraged. Now this is not to state that they themselves experienced no oppression…no, no! However, they were a class of Africans that had been self-actualized to an extent that allowed for them to have felt the zephyr breezes of consciousness.
So…I wonder. Will we, be so enraged by those injustices that happen in our community, even though they are not in our country?
There seems to me, that our present is a perfect place for rage. (RAgE = Righteousness Against Evil, inspired by prophetic words of Miles Jones.)
Stay on the wall – Malcom
Martin-
I watch, listen, and read about tragedies occuring throughout our world, day by day. Ones that could be prevented but are not. Those with the power to stand against the injustices, the wrongs, the evil, do not stand but sit by and let these things continue to happen.
In Iraq, as in many other parts of the world (even the US), women continue to be treated as inferior to men. I’m not just talking about the “who gets to have the last say” kind of inferior. I’m talking about the “woman has sex outside of marriage and family must kill her” kind of inferior. NPR covered the story today, and my heart sank. A 16-year-old Iraqi girl was kidnapped, and the kidnappers threatened to rape and kill her if her brother did not quit the Iraqi police force. Her brother subsequently left the police, and the girl was released back to her family. Instead of a welcoming home-coming, the young girl was shot by her cousin. Even the remote possibility of her having had sex (whether or not it was consensual) outside of marriage would have shamed her family so much that their culture calls for “honor killings” like this one. Is this the freedom we’re fighting for?
The injustices continue to go on in this world. Sometimes it is so overwhelming that despair starts to take over my mind. However, I am reminded that we are God’s hands and feed…and mouth. We have to stand up for these folks that no one is listening to; we are fortunate to be living in America, where we are considered to have some form of power. Use that power to make a difference. Don’t just let these things continue to happen. SPEAK UP!