The African Union Encourages the International Community to Focus on Neglected Crises

Today President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and AU Chairman, qualmed my fears about Mbeki's resignation affecting Zimbabwe's power sharing deal. During his speech at the UN General Assembly, he assured the international community that the AU is dedicated to the restabilization of Zimbabwe and would work towards that goal in addition to the challenges faced in other parts of Africa, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo. He also used his time as a platform to advocate for the complete deployment of UN peacekeepers in Sudan and that UN forces relieve the "overstretched" African forces in Somalia- a conflict that has been virtually ignored by the western community and admittedly this blog (this will soon change).

Difficulties Returning Home

There are at least 40 million refugees and internally displaced people through out the world. And the goal of most is to be able to return home. However, because conflict and natural disaster are usually the source of their displacement, returning home is not as simple as many think. Once the war is over or the lands have dried, many people have nothing left to return to. This has been a huge challenge of the humanitarian community and unfortunately continues to compound.

Liberia has been heralded for resolving its conflict and soaring economically in the last year. However, the effects of displacement still linger. This week 12 farm workers and may be more were killed over land disputes and citizens in the DRC are facing the same issue.

I suggest that in addition to creating land distribution programs, governments need to encourage formal land ownership documentation and archives. Too often land ownership in rural settings has been relied on oral history and communal networks, which were severely fractioned and even destroyed during longstanding conflicts.

The Holocaust Memorial Museum

I can remember when I was in about 4th or 5th grade and visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum (HMM) in DC. Back then, it was strictly dedicated to the Jewish Holocaust and paid little if any mention to another genocides across the world.
About a month ago my co-workers went to a conference on the current conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and I was shocked to hear that it took place in the HMM. I was even more shocked when they gave me pamphlets with information about the genocide in Sudan and told me that there were exhibits dedicated to it. I was ecstatic to hear how the scope of the museum had grown.
Apparently, they have also grown to include a mapping program that allows visitors to track genocides across the world. I applaud the Holocaust Memorial Museum for changing the US' understanding of "holocaust" and educating others, especially the many children that visit. Holocausts include and surpass the atrocities experienced by the Jews in Germany and unfortunately, existed before then and continue to exist today.