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The Names of the Living Call Out to the World
Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 02/21/2007 - 11:01am.
"Jerone Uwanahoro is still alive!"
"Canisius Nzayisenga is still alive!"
The names of the living called out to the world.
"Jyaniya Muhaweninawa is still alive!"
It is a hard thing to comprehend when you hear a figure like 300,000 Darfurians killed. But when you begin to view genocide on an individual level, as Alfredo Jaar did, the actions you take can have real meaning. You are working hard to save your brother, your sister, your parent -- anxiously awaiting confirmation that the conflict has stopped and that they will be among the survivors.
Names belonging to the living are now calling out for assistance. But will we respond? Join the Drumbeat today.
Why is it that there are some who deny the Holocaust? Why does Bill Clinton consider his inaction on the Rwandan genocide his "greatest regret as president"? And now, after more than 300,000 people have been slaughtered and millions displaced, why is the U.S. public just now awakening to the Drumbeat for Darfur? Perhaps it is that until we personalize these unspeakable tragedies, we are unable to act. But when we finally do, we are compelled to act.
By looking back, we can find the strength and courage to move forward. At the time of the genocide in Rwanda, artist Alfredo Jaar used his voice to call attention to what was happening when no one seemed to be paying much notice.
David Levi Strauss, author of the book Between the Eyes, writes:
One day, Jaar came upon an inoperative post office and bought up the last of their postcards. The cards, which had been produced at some point by the Rwandan Office of Tourism, all had the same slogan emblazoned across the top: "Rwanda -- Discover 1,000 marvels in the land of 1,000 hills." On the reverse, they carried tourist pictures of the wildlife in Akagera National Park -- impalas, zebras, eagles, and lions -- and beautiful mountain vistas of Kibuye and Gisenyi or the serene skies over Lake Kivu. . . . Jaar began to collect the names of the survivors he met in Kigali and write them on the postcards. Then he addressed the postcards to his friends and colleagues in other parts of the world. Twenty five to 30 people received over 200 postcards. Since there was no postal service left in Rwanda, he mailed the cards from Uganda on his way out.
"Jerone Uwanahoro is still alive!"
"Canisius Nzayisenga is still alive!"
The names of the living called out to the world.
"Jyaniya Muhaweninawa is still alive!"
It is a hard thing to comprehend when you hear a figure like 300,000 Darfurians killed. But when you begin to view genocide on an individual level, as Alfredo Jaar did, the actions you take can have real meaning. You are working hard to save your brother, your sister, your parent -- anxiously awaiting confirmation that the conflict has stopped and that they will be among the survivors.
Names belonging to the living are now calling out for assistance. But will we respond? Join the Drumbeat today.
