Darfur Opens Eyes

Why not add my two cents to the growing pile of reflections on yesterday's anti-genocide rally in D.C.?

First of all, the rally was only the most visible of several days of events about genocide in Darfur. After three years of systematic ethnic cleansing in Darfur, the media seemed to find its voice on Darfur this weekend. Perhaps because no other story emerged to push it out of the spotlight, Darfur led the news all weekend in Washington, and was prominent in several other major media markets.

The media was absolutely all over the rally. Most stories tended to focus on the Clooney father and son tag-team, and the message of humble concern that the Clooneys projected deserved to be noticed.

But I have found a single story in The Times of India that decided to focus on the speaker that I will most remember. That is Paul Rusesabagina, the Rwandan hotel manager featured in the film, "Hotel Rwanda". Rusesabagina, like the Clooneys, speaks from the experience of having visited Darfur. His straightforward statement connecting what he saw in Darfur with what he lived in Rwanda drew me to him. His demand that we come together to end genocide in Darfur, no, that we end genocide forever, will stay with me for a long time.

I was prepared to be annoyed when John Prendergast, Gayle Smith and Samantha Power came to the microphone. At least two of these three served the Clinton Administration, which gets them no points with me, and they had they came to the Sunday stage with this sort of rock star aura that made it difficult for me to hear them.

But Samantha Power spent her minute very carefully telling people that their activism had already made a difference. Without grassroots activism on Darfur, there would be no humanitarian relief effort, there would be no congressional resolve to support peacekeeping there in any form, and there would be no Darfur investigation by the International Criminal Court. I don't know if each of those assertions holds water, but in the context of the essential message of "YOU MUST DO MORE," Powers' message was an important one especially for young activists to hear.

And then there were the Darfurian speakers...If the day had been 15 degrees warmer, a physically marginal person like me could have ended up in a heap from heat exhaustion waiting to hear someone from Darfur address the crowd. But then, at 4:30 p.m. (2.5 hours into the show) Tragi Mustafa stepped to the microphone. A few minutes later, Salih Mahmoud Osman followed her. They were worth the wait. Each, in their own way, shared their own pain as Darfurians, witnessing such crimes against their people. They emphasized the fact that, while progressive Sudanese may be divided on many things, they are completely unified on the need to end the genocide in Darfur. That unity reverberated through the Mall and I hope it reached the ears of George Bush.