“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”

~ Edmund Burke

“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.”

~ Dante, The Inferno

For almost two years the Arab dominated Government of Sudan has been engaged in a policy of ethnic cleansing of the African-Sudanese population of south Sudan. Over two million have been displaced; 500,000 children are near death from starvation and some 20,000 have been slaughtered. And the world remains mute.

The official government position is that this started as a peacekeeping operation to rid certain villages of armed rebels. In fact this was the excuse to empty hundreds of towns and villages of their inhabitants and force them to flee as refugees to Chad. In the withering heat of the Chadian desert these wretched of the earth await their fate. Each day brings new devastation whether from the flaming rays of the sun, or from the fiery retort of a government rifle.

The United Nations and most of the western world have reacted with their usual impotence. Aside from American relief supplies, which the Sudanese government refuses to move by motorized vehicle, all we hear are the usual excuses for failed states’ right to be wrong. Some have even argued that this is an internal conflict between Arab-Sudanese and African-Sudanese.

We should cringe at these hyphenated appellations. We should rage against these mindsets praying at the altars of multi-lateralism and moral relativism that allow crypto-fascist despots to flourish. We should reject, once and for all, these Gods that failed. For soon human vocabulary itself will be insufficient to describe the horrors that can befall us all.

Let us make no mistake about what this is. Though none dare say its name this is race war. Genocide. This crisis commands an urgent call on our conscience and on our character. A call that should stir our passions as did the fight against apartheid and the struggle for the freedom of Soviet dissidents. A call that should have been heeded for the dead in the jungles of Rwanda. Let us not repeat that tragic mistake again.

As an industrialized nation we benefit from the resources and  labor of the underdeveloped world. The least we owe is to come to the relief of its poor and oppressed and help them to live free. For those who think that this will ignite retribution from the Sudanese government they should know that it cannot get worse. These refugees, as full members of a universal humanity, have a right to dignity. Far better to rage like lions than to be slaughtered like lambs.

The government of Canada claims a superior moral authority in the world councils of state. Perhaps now is the time for it to act with legitimate moral authenticity as well. In this most dangerous of worlds, there can be no automatic right of exploitation for governments and corporations to operate in such climates without restraint of consequence.

The Institute's Council for Community Conciliation has been asked to assist a group of community leaders in organizing a demonstration at ICAO Headquarters on University Street next Friday, July 9^th, at noon. This group includes representatives of all aspects of civil society. Social action, labour and ecumenical regiligious leaders.

Let the United Nations, and our own government, hear our voices next Friday. Proud. Strong. Defiant. Let them hear us as we shout with one voice…

WHAT DO WE WANT? JUSTICE!

WHEN DO WE WANT IT? NOW!

Put aside a half-hour next Friday. This time your presence can truly save a life. Social justice is not just for focus groups. It is real. It is vibrant. It is dynamic. And contrary to many Canadians’ smug orthodoxy it does not stop at our borders.

Beryl P. Wajsman

President

Final details for next Friday are still being worked out. Please call our office at 875.4884 for information and to confirm your participation. We encourage you to circulate this through any organization you may be involved with.

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