Falling Like Flies in a Bloodpath of Pain

“6,000 people had been displaced by the attacks and thousands of cattle were taken.”

When watching Born On the Fourth of July, I though a lot about how similar the experiences of Tim O’Brian’s characters in Things We Carried were to those of Tom Cruise’s character in the movie.  I believe that seriously thinking about the atmosphere surrounding the war in Vietnam is very relevant to current American policies, and especially the war in Iraq, and how this conflict has affected my generation.  There seem to be a lot of correlations between the America of the 1960’s and America today.  Unlike WWII, which had a huge national following and widespread support from the entire nation, Vietnam and Iraq are both wars that have divided the allegiances of the country.

That being said, I’ll get back to my main topic of the conflict in Darfur.  I felt that the movie Born on the Fourth of July was filmed in such an interesting way.  So many of the scenes resonated with me.  Probably the most striking scene was that of the shooting in the village.  The director did such an amazing job capturing the emotion and feel of that situation.  The confusion of the shooting of the village, and the aftermath, when the soldiers realize that they have killed innocent people, including children were all depicted very well.  Sadly the innocent casualties of war are often brushed under the rug, and in general people are so blasé about the innocent victims of warfare.  When Tom Cruise’s character realizes that he has killed people who had no way of defending themselves, it really strikes a nerve for him.

I believe that this is one of the reasons that Darfur has struck such a cord for the general public.  While I have often blogged that there is not enough support for the innocents of Darfur, it is important to recognize those who are actively trying to promote change in Sudan.

Recently there was a news story issued about the village raids occurring in Darfur.  One of the deadliest aspects of the fighting in Sudan is that the skirmishes take place between small armies from different tribes.  These heavily armed groups come into villages and kill every one, including children in retribution for cattle losses.

‘He said at least 17 villages controlled by the Murle tribe were attacked from March 5 to 13 by armed members of the Lou Nuer tribe. He said the attacks were in retaliation for the theft of around 20,000 head of Lou Nuer cattle in January.
Mr. Adikiu said about 6,000 people had been displaced by the attacks and thousands of cattle were taken. Cattle are highly prized and represent wealth, status and stability.
Andy Pendleton, a United Nations official in southern Sudan, confirmed that his office had received reports that a large number of people had been killed in the fighting.
“The situation is rather alarming,” he said. “Usually the fighting is between cattle-guarding combatants. But this time it’s different. You also have people caught in the middle, and they lost their lives.”
United Nations personnel have made a quick visit to the area and are planning to send a full team in to assess humanitarian needs this week, he added.’

These small skirmishes are resulting in the deaths of thousands of people, but are very hard to prevent as they are not planned or perpetrated by a organized army as we would think of them in America.

When I read this article I thought of the scene in the village.  I thought about the innocent people who die every day in Sudan as a result of warfare and greed.  When Tom Cruise was faced with the loss of life in Born on the Fourth of July a face was put on that suffering.  Though it was a movie, and the viewing understands that it is not technically real, I believe that such depictions resonate with the ‘story truth’ that O’Brian talked about in The Things They Carried.  The scenes were technically not real and in a movie, but they are images that resemble those that actually occur all over the world.  People actually do die in the ways that Tom Cruise witnessed in Born on the Fourth of July and it’s important to take such images seriously, and to remember that story truth is not just for entertainment value.

Village Raids Kill Over 200 in the South of Sudan, Reuters, March 15, 2009