Against my nature, I have largely remained silent the past month as one horrific series of atrocities after another--som.e of which have been deemed genocide by everyone from President Barack Obama to various journalists and activists--have been perpetrated.
Here, I am speaking of the butchery in the Central African Republic; the savagery of mass killing in Syria; the kidnappings and vicious killings of innocents by the Boko Haram in Nigeria; the daily aerial bombings of the Nuba Mountains people in Sudan; the renewed killing of black Africans in Darfur, Sudan; the killing of Muslims by radical Buddhists in Burma; and, most recently, the vicious threats, beheadings, and purposeful starvation of Christians and Yazidis in Iraq. (And that does not include the ongoing horrors in Iraq and Afghanistan, or the Gaza Strip and Israel.)
The simple but profound reason I've remained silent, despite my years of studying about similar atrocities and conducting field work that has brought me face to face with survivors of such calamities (as well as my being personally subjected to the potential of being killed by the aforementioned aerial bombings in the Nuba Mountains), is that I have been stunned by the overwhelming rash of horror engulfing so many lives today. While I've remained silent, my mind has swirled with thoughts about the atrocities and the grief they've caused.
Sometimes one simply has to seek silence and reflect on the world in which we live, including the fact that many do not have the comfort of simply going about everyday life without the fear of being beaten, raped/gang-raped, and/or killed.
Ultimately, though, to remain silent is not an option. To remain passive and hunch my shoulders in despair are also not options. Bystander behavior is untenable.
We all live vastly different lives, even in the U.S. Due to varying circumstances, some have no choice but to work two jobs just to "make it"; many parents are consumed with the raising of their children; some people are poverty-stricken and doing all they can to eke out a meager existence; others are so ill they can do little more than get through the pain and sickness afflicting them; and still others care for sick and terminally ill parents, spouses, and children.
If such individuals do not have the time or emotional reserves to address anything other than their personal situations, that is completely understandable.
But what about the rest of us? Those of us who have been blessed with relatively decent-paying jobs, good health, families in good stead, and at least some free time?
Is there a moral imperative to make a conscious effort to not be a bystander in the face of horrors visited on others by perpetrators of crimes against humanity and/or genocide?
My answer is a resounding yes. To go about our daily lives as if all is right in the world is moral blindness, and to assume that the problems plaguing humanity have "nothing to do with me" is unconscionable.
What each person can do is likely based on his/her knowledge, abilities, available time, and the size of one's heart.
Such actions range from educating oneself and others about such crises; joining an organization such as Amnesty International, which works on the behalf of those across the globe who have been denied their fundamental rights; speaking up about the horrors by writing one's own letters or columns, contacting one's members of Congress (not only once, but in a sustained manner until something concrete is done), and/or writing up and posting a petition on Avaaz.org, calling for the world to act now to staunch the abject brutality and mass murder.
Of the firm belief that I should not ask anyone to do anything I am not willing to undertake, in late September I am leaving for South Sudan to carry out (pro bono) a study of Nonviolent Peaceforce's efforts to mediate violence among warring factions and, in doing so, I shall travel with their teams into hot spots to document their efforts. Then, in December, I shall return to the Nuba Mountains to provide food for those in desperate need. Many are suffering severe malnutrition and/or starving to death, while the government of Sudan continues to prevent entrance to the UN and other humanitarian agencies. I will also document their situation in order to issue a clarion call.
I truly wish I could do more.
Why can't we all become our brothers' and sisters' keepers and in doing so put into practice the spirit inherent in most religions across the globe: "Do unto others as we would have them do unto us"?
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Samuel Totten (samstertotten@gmail.com) is a scholar of genocide studies and professor emeritus at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
Editorial on 08/22/2014