In Darfur, it can be said that those caught in the crossfire of the current crisis lost their innocence a long time ago. But a new problem is coming to light - the systematic rape of women and children:They say the situation has now become so bad that many women are now resigned to rape as a way of life and men are unwilling to accompany them because they fear that they will be killed if they try to defend them.
Although few aid workers dispute the extent of the attacks against women, they say survivors are unwilling to come forward. But those who do reveal shocking levels of abuse.
"She said they removed their scarves and used it to tie them up and were taking turns to rape them. One is 13 years old; the other one is 16 years," said Ajayi Funmi of the UNAMID police, who is trying to educate women, said after talking to two girls.
Workers like Funmi are working actively to combat the problem with education - but in the face of brute force, what are these women to do, really? Especially when the government says that "there is no rape in Darfur"? It pains me deeply that the world is standing idly by, relatively, while this transpires.
It's not just the children who are assaulted that are the victims. So are those conceived by these evil acts:
Making matters worse, aid workers say scores of babies conceived through rape are being dumped by their mothers.
"Abandoned babies are reported, but because of the stigma attached to it, there is no detailed report, because the women don't come forward," said Dr. Naqib Safi of the U.N. children's body UNICEF.
As many as 20 babies a month are being dumped in one camp of 22,000 people.
When folks on the Right claims they value life, remind them how little our current administration has done in Darfur. I applaud Mr. Bush's efforts to combat AIDS in Africa, but that is not enough.
I will be making the genocide a focus of what I write here.
For there is no one more invisible right now than the women and children of Darfur. I know that I need to point my lightbulbs in their direction.
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