Come On China

To host the Olympics, China had to agree to improve it's human rights record. In March, it was removed from the US's list of top ten human rights violators. At the same time, riots were rising in Tibet as China was attempting to suppress Tibet's culture and strip it of it's religious freedom.

China has single handedly supported the war in Darfur. They have given over $83 million in weapons, aircrafts and spare parts. They have given training and confidence to the leaders of Darfur, not only allowing the war to continue, but giving the Darfur government the confidence to attack UN personnel. China threatened the use of its veto on the Security Council to block UN action against the Sudanese government. Most experts agree that without China, the war in Darfur would end. Most experts agree that without China, the war in Darfur would not have happened. Over 400,00 people would still be alive, 2 million others would still be in their homes and villages, unreported numbers of rape of women and girls would not have happened and the land would have a chance at peace.

I love the Olympics. We have been watching the Olympics but I think we need to do more when the world is watching China. President Bush needs to do more than issue a statement then go watch women's volleyball. This all came to a head for me when my very sweet neighbor was upset with President Bush making any statement about China's lack of human rights.

I will call our neighbor Freda. Freda says to us (about George's statement), "Why does he have to say anything? Can't he just leave it out of the forefront and enjoy the Olympics?". My first response is "When was Sudan and/or Tibet ever in the forefront?". We scour the BBC and NY Times for any information that cannot be found in People.

All I could say to her was for her to imagine if that was her family raped and killed. I asked her to imagine if no one in the world cared that her home had been burned, her family was raped and killed and she witnessed torture she could not even imagine in her American suburb. Her response was "Yeah, well, I guess. I just don't want to see the lives of the athletes ruined". Really? You cannot even argue with that mentality. You cannot argue that an Olympian not competing for gold is parallel to the lives of the people in Tibet and Darfur.

I cannot write more about this. I could go on and on. If you want to help donate to World Vision. They are one of the only agencies that still have workers in the refugees camps in Sudan. Your money goes directly to food, water and medical care of the displaced Sudanese. Also, if interested, sign up at savedarfur.com to send letters to various government officials and stay informed about the progress or lack of.

Enjoy the Olympics but lets hold China accountable.