U.S. must speak up to save Darfur
10/31/2005
Lowell Sun
By State Rep. BARRY R. FINEGOLD, and State Rep. PETER J. KOUTOUJIAN
Many are familiar with the famous words uttered by Matain Niemoller, a German Protestant pastor, in which he lamented the apathy of those seemingly unaffected by Nazi genocidal activity during World War II.
He said: “In Germany they came first for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me -- and by that time there was no one left to speak up.”
[...]
While the Bush administration has a duty to act, and the greatest ability to act, we as elected officials in Massachusetts also must speak up for the people of Darfur. From 1915-1923, while Armenian men, women and children were slaughtered by the Turks, few American leaders stood up for the innocent people of Armenia. Similarly, in the 1940s, as Adolf Hitler began his systematic extermination of European Jews, few American leaders stood up for the innocent people of Europe. It is important that this trend does not continue today in Darfur.
Much like the genocides that affected our relatives, the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust, the Darfur genocide is a deliberate plan of a regime whose sole purpose is to permanently alter the demography of Darfur. With every week of silence in the Bush administration, more people in Darfur are raped, killed, beaten or starved to death. Our leaders can stop this genocide by speaking up and by acting, so no one in this country will ever risk having to utter the words of Martin Nielmoller, “then they came for me -- and by that time no one was left to speak up.”
[...]
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Lowell Sun
By State Rep. BARRY R. FINEGOLD, and State Rep. PETER J. KOUTOUJIAN
Many are familiar with the famous words uttered by Matain Niemoller, a German Protestant pastor, in which he lamented the apathy of those seemingly unaffected by Nazi genocidal activity during World War II.
He said: “In Germany they came first for the Communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me -- and by that time there was no one left to speak up.”
[...]
While the Bush administration has a duty to act, and the greatest ability to act, we as elected officials in Massachusetts also must speak up for the people of Darfur. From 1915-1923, while Armenian men, women and children were slaughtered by the Turks, few American leaders stood up for the innocent people of Armenia. Similarly, in the 1940s, as Adolf Hitler began his systematic extermination of European Jews, few American leaders stood up for the innocent people of Europe. It is important that this trend does not continue today in Darfur.
Much like the genocides that affected our relatives, the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust, the Darfur genocide is a deliberate plan of a regime whose sole purpose is to permanently alter the demography of Darfur. With every week of silence in the Bush administration, more people in Darfur are raped, killed, beaten or starved to death. Our leaders can stop this genocide by speaking up and by acting, so no one in this country will ever risk having to utter the words of Martin Nielmoller, “then they came for me -- and by that time no one was left to speak up.”
[...]
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 5:09 PM
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