Here at Enough, we often swap emails with interesting articles and feature stories that we come across in our favorite publications and on our favorite websites. We wanted to share some of these stories with you as part of our effort to keep you up to date on what you need to know in the world of anti-genocide and crimes against humanity work.
NYT columnist Nick Kristof recently took a series of questions from readers and responded via YouTube. One question in particular generated numerous blog posts and comments. Jason Stearns at Congo Siasa wrote a thoughtful post about Kristof’s response to a question about why, from the reader’s perspective, Kristof’s columns often portray “black Africans as victims” and “white foreigners as saviors.” Stearns related the topic back to conflict minerals from Congo, taking some issue with what he views as Kristof’s inadequate attention to political details.
Curious if the timing was just a coincidence… The New York Times released a video from Kristof’s recent trip to southern Sudan, where he traveled to the town of Marial Bai. He accompanied Valentino Achak Deng – of Dave Eggers’ What is the What fame – on a homecoming visit to highlight the secondary school built by Valentino’s foundation. Set against images of children swarming to see him, Valentino reflected on the celebrity welcome he receives during his visits: “And I keep thinking, what I’m I going to do with these kids? (…) And in the little way I am doing, I’m going to make sure something is done.”
International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, followed up the Court’s second arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir – this time for genocide in Darfur – with an op-ed in the Guardian. He writes:
“As the prosecutor of the ICC, my mandate is to ensure justice for these Darfuris, the victims of genocide. Our evidence and our conclusions should be taken into consideration by the United Nations security council. (…) The council, which extensively reviewed its failure to act in Rwanda, should grab this opportunity.”
For Global Voices, Rebekah Heacock drew together numerous posts from bloggers in Uganda reacting to the bombings in the capital of Kampala last weekend. The excerpts and photos are personalized, political, angry, confused, and raw.
With the closing of Africa’s first World Cup, the bombings in Uganda suggesting signs of a spillover of the conflict in Somalia, and the ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for the Sudanese president for genocide, it was an eventful week. The South African Broadcasting Corporation had a field day with its exclusive interview with President Obama, asking him to react to these stories one by one – and then some. The Johannesburg-based Daily Maverick published this interesting round-up and commentary
from the president’s remarks.
M. Browning, A. Sweet, S. Virk, and A. Fisher contributed to this post.