Jewish Independent: Honoring a long-ago promise

May 20, 2005

Honoring a long-ago promise
Local groups and government take action to tackle Sudanese crisis.

DANA BOOKMAN

Two generations ago, when the Holocaust ended, Jews around the world made the promise, "Never again." It was supposed to be a guarantee that such an indescribable, inhumane tragedy would be prevented in the future. But it has happened again. And it is still happening today in western Sudan – in what the United Nations has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.It began more than two years ago, following an insurgency by two rebel groups. The government dispatched an Arab militia group – the Janjaweed – in retaliation, with members recruited from local tribes attacking African civilians. Now, "People are being raped, attacked, killed and driven from [their] homes into neighboring countries," said Mira Robin, part of a group of young Jews trying to raise awareness about the issue.

"Innocent civilians were living everyday lives and all of a sudden they've been uprooted, stricken by violence," said Robin, adding that this tragedy is reminiscent of the Holocaust. So far, 300,000 people in Darfur are thought to have been killed and more than two million others have been displaced. According to the UN, millions of people in Sudan could still face food shortages in the next 18 months.

Robin and a committee of concerned citizens, along with Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC), Pacific Region, and the Liu Institute for Global Issues, are hoping to raise the profile of the crisis in Darfur with Never Again: A Call for Action in Sudan.

Key speakers at the May 24 event will include Robbie Waisman, a survivor of the Buchenwald concentration camp and co-founder of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre.

"The Holocaust was supposed to teach the world compassion and understanding and that it should never happen again," said Waisman. "When I see things around the world, like what's happening in Darfur, I and other survivors get outraged, because the world hasn't learned its lesson yet."

Robert Sebufirira, another speaker at the event, hopes to encourage people to do something to help the survivors of the crisis – which the UN has stopped short of calling a genocide.

"After the Holocaust, people said the promise of 'Never again' was not brought into action, because of the Rwandan genocide," said Sebufirira. "As Africans, and as people, this is the time to be aware. We have to contribute to stop [the] killing in Sudan and this is the right opportunity to call on individuals to do something."

Sebufirira – once editor of Rwanda's only independent newspaper, Umuseso – survived the 1994 genocide in his home country. He says he feels obligated to help with anything related to awareness of genocide. "After what happened to me in Rwanda," he said, "I wouldn't want to see it happen to anyone else."

There have been some positive steps to help the victims in Sudan. Last week, Canada became the first western country to begin to promise to protect civilians there. The government committed $260 million to aid efforts in Darfur. That pledge also includes an initial 100 Canadian forces military experts. They will support the more than 2,000 African Union soldiers already in Sudan to protect refugees from the fighting. About 40 Canadian troops will also join a United Nations observer force in the southern part of the East African nation.

CJC Pacific Region chair Mark Weintraub said the Vancouver Jewish community has been instrumental in pushing for Canada's involvement in Sudan. He said the community "is playing on a stage much larger than we usually do. Without exaggeration, I can say that we have been a catalyst [for government action]."

Nouri Abdalla is a member of Vancouver's Darfurian community and has family members in refugee camps in Darfur. Abdalla said he's delighted about the government's contribution."

Canada is sending a strong message to [the] world by sending the first western troops into Darfur," he said. "It's a positive step in [the] right direction and I hope [the] rest of [the] world will follow."

Waisman also said Canada's pledge is a good start. "We're putting pressure on the government and it's working," he said. "But we have to keep up the pressure. We are our brothers' keepers."

Robin is hoping that this event will send a message to other international political leaders to take the action needed to spare the people of Darfur further suffering and misery.

"We want this event to empower individuals to put further pressure on the government and international community," she said.

Sen. Mobina Jaffer, who is being sent to Sudan as a special envoy by Prime Minister Paul Martin, will be the keynote speaker at the event, which will also feature a photo exhibit and a question and answer period.

Although there is reason to be cautiously optimistic about a resolution to the horror in Darfur, Waisman warned, "There is still evil in the world and we have to use lessons from the Holocaust to teach compassion. As long as I am healthy and can do this, and bring this to the attention of governments and people, I have no choice: I have to do it."

Never Again: A Call for Action in Sudan is a free event. It's being held at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24, in the Wosk Auditorium at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver.

Dana Bookman is a Vancouver writer.

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