Darfur Diaries: Message From Home

I bought this video one week before traveling to Darfur. I have now returned and after speaking with the victims and the recently freed slaves, I learned a few things.

The problem with this video and most books on the subject that that they intentionally don't talk about the reasons for the killing. It is Arab Muslims killing and enslaving Black Muslims because once the blacks asked for some power for self-governance, the Arab muslums no longer looked at them as Muslims but sub-human. You see many of the same enemies in the War on Terror involved in Darfur (Which is really Western Sudan.) Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia financially supporting the government in Khartoum with China buying the oil and Russia supplying the planes and bombs.

The reason why George Clooney and others omit these facts is because if they did, they would have to admit George W. Bush was right about Iraq. Darfur is what Iraq WILL look like if we leave too early!

Unlike much of the coverage of the Darfur crisis, where we see Darfurians primarily as victims to be pitied, and usually through the filter of Western journalists covering the crisis, Darfur Diaries (book and DVD) let you meet the people, hear their personal stories, and listen to what THEY want to say to the world. The filmmakers do a remarkable job of staying invisible, letting the strength, sadness, and challenges in Darfur come through the various people interviewed, from rebel leaders to humanitarian workers to mothers and children struggling to survive. What comes through is a glimpse of a people whose dignity shines through, a people you admire and like, who have a humanity that is hard to fathom given their circumstances.
The book is an important companion to the DVD as it documents what the small band of filmmakers went through to try and get to the truth of the situation. It provides important background and perspective and also gives insight into the filmmakers themselves. It is a gentle yet eye opening trip into a very dark place that includes incredible spirit and hope.

In the northwest corner of Sudan live (or rather lived) some 6 million Darfurians. Hundreds of thousands were killed and millions were dispossessed. Their own government (although Arab) decided to get rid of them for this simple reason: they were black, not Arabs.

Listen to the stories as they are told by the survivors, orphan kids, widows and old people who either could run away or were tortured or raped. See the dignity and spiritual endurance of these people as they face the camera and speak. A very respectable documentary (we never see the face of the interviewer), with a touch of artistry and originality in its conception. As some one said: if it had been the American government sending the Army against the civilians in LA, or the British against the people of some English town all the world would know it immediately.

Do we really want to know? For those Pharisees that cry out "racist" all the time in America, here's one good chance to cry loud: it's called Sudan, and the bad guys happen to be Arabs.

Despite global hand-wringing, accords, agreements, and peace-keeping forces, the Darfur genocide that began in July 2003 continues. Directors Aisha Bain and Jen Marlowe take the viewer on-site to Darfur, and through on-camera interviews with dozens of locals they let the people describe the tragedy in their own words. Their personal anecdotes are heart-breaking and appalling. The desert landscape, wind-swept and littered with bomb fragments, is stark. Despite its denials, the Sudanese government under president Omar al-Bashir has backed the Janjaweed militias to plunder, pillage, rape women of every age, and liquidate entire villages. According to the United Nations, 400,000 people have died, and over 2 million have been displaced (many refugees pouring into Chad). This documentary is only 55 minutes long, but it's a graphic, powerful and informative reminder of how much of the world can ignore the most unimaginable horrors when countries have no self-interest at stake.

Too bad, this was the reason for all of my order, but more then two months later I am still waiting for this dvd. I am waiting every day... but nothing.