Never give up fighting genocide in Darfur

March 10, 2007
The Coloradoan
By Lilit Hovakimyan

My heart is paining for those who had lived their whole lives in peace and who wanted to die in peace, for those who were so young and had so many plans for the future, for those who would have so much to tell and who'd just learned to say "Mother." Is it fair?

No, it is not just. I know what it means. Genocide. Even hearing this word, I tremble. This word fills the heart of a 16-year-old girl with hatred. A question that doesn't leave my mind alone is, "Why? For what?" The answer is simple: "Why not?"

I am talking from a name of a whole nation. From the name of parents who saw their children burning in the fire, from the name of husbands who saw their wives being raped and from the names of children getting killed when they were still under their mothers' hearts.

I am crying while putting down what I feel on this sheet of paper. Yes, I am crying because I knowa 16-year-old girl and her thoughts or feelings cannot stop it. But I know one thing for sure. We cannot change the past, but the future is in our hands. We learn from the past and bring it to the future. If we all fight and never give up, there will come a day of triumph.

I would do everything to make that day tomorrow. I could even give my life, but. ...

My mind, my body and my soul can understand a genocide that took place in 1915 at some points. But people, open your eyes there are hundreds of people being killed every day. There are people that fall asleep without any hopes that they will wake up next morning. I am talking about Darfur, a region in Sudan where all these inhumane things take place. More than 16.000 [more likely close to 200,000] Africans were killed in the last two years. In front of our eyes. Don't people see or understand that common people are very important?

What can we do to stop it?

I know that a 16-year-old girl has so much to see and to learn, but I still think that sometimes we need to get used to the idea that we cannot have everything. We just cannot.

I am asking you in the name of all the children that were killed in Darfur. People, please, stop for just a second and think about all this. Think about the people that could be your parents, sisters, brothers, husbands. ...

Smile at the world and the world will smile back. Never give 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.