WASHINGTON - Looking into the eyes of protestors wearing "Save Darfur" T-shirts and UN peacekeepers' blue berets, speakers at Sunday's Washington DC Darfur rally repeatedly asked participants an unsettling yet honest question - "Are you too tired to fight?"
"Are you feeling too tired today to fight for Darfur? Are you feeling too tired to keep fighting for Darfur? Are you ready to give up on Darfur?" questioned Larry Cox, executive director of the human rights group Amnesty International USA."No!" was the resounding answer from the crowd of several hundred sprawled on the lawn of Lafayette Park across from the White House.
"We will never give up! We will never give up on the killing, the rape, the destruction of villages that not only continues in Darfur but starts to spread throughout the region and into Chad. We won't give up!" exclaimed Cox.
More than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million displaced in Darfur after four years of fighting. Khartoum is accused of unleashing the nomadic Arab janjaweed militias on Darfurians after rebels from ethnic African tribes in the region rose up against the central government. The government denies the charges.
Likewise, Sam Bell, advocacy director of Genocide Intervention Network; the Rev. Walter Fauntroy, former D.C. congressman and founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus; and the Rabbi Steve Gutow, executive director of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs all addressed in their speeches the growing weariness and feelings of despair over the lack of progress against the Darfur genocide.
However, all urged demonstrators to keep strong and continue to press Bush and the U.S. government on the issue.
"After four years of waiting for real leadership to end the genocide in Darfur we are tired but not that tired," said Bell. "We are desperate for good news but we are not that desperate.
"It is up to us to rack up the pressure and raise our voices even louder," said Bell in presenting a solution to the lack of progress.
The Washington rally was one among many protests in the United States and around the world.
Darfur rallies were confirmed in 49 states and held in more than 35 capitals around the world, according to organizers.
"We won't give up until the killing stops and the words 'Never Again' are no longer hollow," concluded Cox, "Until the people of Darfur can begin to enjoy their human rights and rebuild their land. We will never give up!"
