Hoping to spark more interest in the crisis in Darfur, Uganda, and other African nations, a former Amnesty International press director spoke to a class at Danville Community College on Friday morning.
Scott Morgan, a former Marine who is now a writer and activist, addressed Barry Koplen’s Controversial Issues class, focusing much of his talk on Darfur and how the conflict is spreading throughout the region.
“Violence is drifting south and east,” he said, “It’s possible the janjaweed will expand.”
The janjaweed are a violent militant group responsible for mass killings, rape and torture of civilians in Darfur.
Morgan said the violence in Sudan is related to a rebel insurgency in Northern Uganda and that there is growing support among the janjaweed of al-Qaida.
Arms trade, narcotics, human trafficking, oil and terrorism will be the elements that shape U.S. policy toward Africa, asserted Morgan.
Morgan talked about the United States’ seemingly contradictory approach to many countries: with one hand, the U.S. offers humanitarian aid, and with the other, it’s the largest supplier of arms in the region.
At least some of what drives conflict in regions like Darfur and the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a fight for control of resources, he said. There is oil, diamonds, and components of cell phones and PDAs to be found throughout those countries.
Much of what complicates the UN’s actions, Morgan said, is that it has a very specific mandate, and can’t really do much without the approval of China and Russia, which have their own personal interests in Sudan and other African countries.
“Everybody is now looking to the U.S., rather than the UN,” he said.
Morgan also stressed the importance of people getting involved and making their voices heard on the matter in any way possible, including writing letters to the editor of their newspaper and talking to members of Congress.
“Everything affects everybody,” he said, “whether it’s oil or components for cell phones that are mined in the Congo.”
People interested in learning more about what’s going on in Darfur, or who want to get involved, can go to www.savedarfur.org and type in the 24541 zip code for information on the Danville Darfur Awareness Committee led by the Rev. Jayne Webb.
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