The Genocide in Darfur – Blog Awareness Campaign

The folks at Degardener have initiated a blog-awareness campaign, to increase awareness of the genocide taking place in Darfur (Sudan).

The campaign calls for each post to be signed-off with this sentence: “Moreover, I advise that the genocide in Darfur must be stopped”.

I know there are plenty of cynics out there who would surely point out that

(a) the web is a poor vehicle for effecting policy and social change at the macro-level (as opposed to focused micro-level campaigns) and that

 (b) this type of involvement allows us to easily feel “we’re doing something” without taking to the streets or applying more effective methods to protest or to call for change (such as writing your Congressman)-  it makes us “feel good” while at the same time further weakening the more effective democratic process (you can read more about how these “do good” initiatives actually serve to make us complacent in David Harvey’s seminal book A Brief History of Neoliberalism) .

But this is really not the case here.  In the case of the Darfur genocide the biggest problem is ignorance.  This is about awareness, as a first step towards action.  Most people in the West have no idea where Darfur is, what is this all about, and why they should be doing something about it.

The genocide in Darfur is a tough story to “sell”.  It is taking place on a continent which has long been neglected in the media, it involves people who have no political or economic clout (no oil, no “war on terror”) and its misery is entirely hidden from mainstream media consumers.

With that in mind, I think the Web is a strong vehicle for increasing awareness, especially if we harness the power of our social networks.  I do not expect this to be “effective”, but I do see it as a small step towards raising awareness, and perhaps towards getting more people thinking about this issue, and taking some form of action.

Moreover, I advise that the genocide in Darfur must be stopped.

— Oren