Thomas Van Dyke came to OU on Tuesday to raise awareness about the terrible human rights violations committed by the state of Myanmar (Burma).
Myanmar and Sudan — these names should ring in every human rights activists’ ear as sad stories and examples for the future. They are stories of huge successful awareness campaigns, and no effective results.
Since the coup in 1988, Myanmar has been plagued by the kind of Orwellian dictatorship found in Kim Jung Ill’s dreams and have conducted a genocide against the Karen and Kachin and other minority groups.
Since 2003, Darfur, a province of eastern Sudan, has been host to genocide against the non-Arab minority killing approximately 200,000 and displacing more than 2 million people. Its government has been quite dictatorial, stifling all dissent.
What do these groups have in common other than their human rights atrocities?
They both have a history of great awareness campaigns. Myanmar’s awareness campaigns were popularized after 1991 when Aung San Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent opposition to the Myanmar government. Darfur’s campaign was more recent, just a few years ago.
We’re still feeling the after effects of both these campaigns with the occasional speaker like Van Dyke, or a documentary screening on Darfur.
People went out and informed the world. There were documentary screenings, speakers, fairs and fliers. They were publicized with free food and had great turn-outs. Students were edified about these terrible situations, and did nothing.
So what happened? We took these nations with whom we have few economic ties and placed an embargo on them, a token slap on the hand at best.
Today, Sudan has driven nearly the entire non-Arab population from Darfur and both China and India are courting Myanmar by giving them a disproportionately large say in South Asian politics.
Simply, they’re doing well.
Raising awareness is good, and necessary, but it shouldn’t be the end goal of activists. After getting people’s attention they need something to do. Everyone knew about Myanmar, and have since forgotten. Everyone knew about Darfur; they are now forgetting.
People remember things they had to work for better than things that were fed to them.
If you want to stop a crisis in the world, try writing your senators and the people involved. Or, you could raise money for human rights groups actively improving the lives of the people ravaged in these conflicts.
Education can go only so far without action.
Source :http://www.oudaily.com/news/2010/feb/26/our-view-actions-speak-louder-words-activists-too/
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