Enough of ENOUGH

I usually don't like to criticize other NGOs for the work the do because I try to believe that everyone approaches their work with good intentions. And if we all shared the same vision then there would not be a needed for hundreds of different organizations. However, recently NGOs have been casually throwing around political terms that are extremely destructive and disrupting the humanitarian communities capability to reach our goals and truly generate positive change in the world.
Currently, I am thoroughly annoyed with ENOUGH. Besides the fact that I immediately recognized them as one of many bandwagon jumpers claiming to work towards the end of genocide in Darfur (ie. Save Darfur, 24 Hours for Darfur, Genocide Intervention Network, Stop Genocide Now, Our Pledge, and more that I could ever find the time to name), their latest "campaign" has really got me pissed off.
ENOUGH claims to be a "project to end genocide and crimes against humanity". However, their latest report is focused on Robert Mugabe and his dictatorship in Zimbabwe. Now, anyone who has been following this blog knows that I am not a fan of Mugabe and his most recent stunt thoroughly pissed me off. However, you also know that I am not a fan of any dictator and have compared him to other current leaders, who have been welcomed and befriended by the same leaders and countries that criticize Mugabe. I'm all about calling a spade a spade, but I can't stand double standards or public figures who exploit their power and influence for the sake of personal interests.
ENOUGH, however, seems to be unaware of leaders throughout the world who mirror Mugabe's style of leadership and took the time to write a 28 paged report suggesting that he should be held accountable and prosecuted for international CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY. I'm not even sure if they know what that means. They then go on to say that the African Union should support the effort, though they will be reluctant to do this. Ummm...yeah...considering most of the members are his cronies!
Though I never held them in a high regard to begin with, I've completely lost respect for ENOUGH because in an effort to yet again jump on another humanitarian/political bandwagon, they have simplified the meaning of international statues and are abusing external actors role in protecting citizens. America and the Western world in general need to recognize that they are not world police. It has led them to act like the backward law enforcers citizens despise, who accept payoffs from billionaire drug lords and arrest 14year old corner boys.
Why hasn't ENOUGH written a report demanding that George W. Bush be indicted for international war crimes - considering he has illegally invaded and occupied a country for five years, destroying their infrastructure and invalidating the established method of governance, resulting in millions of refugees and displaced people. All to the political and financial benefit of he and his cohorts. But I won't get into that...
Ultimately, I've had ENOUGH with ENOUGH and they need to seriously reassess their mission and purpose.

Palestians Relocating to Sudan- A Violent Game of Hopscotch

In the US, instability in Iraq has focused around government spending, the loss of American lives, and stark political division. However, in the midst of the chaos are roughly 34,000 stateless Palestinians who have lived in Iraq and faced persecution since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. About 3,000 of them fled to the Iraq/Syrian border, where they have been denied entry into Syria and live on extremely limited resources.
UNHCR (The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) has been in seek of a country willing to host this group. Chile and Sweden have been the most welcoming, as most countries have placed a huge stigma on the Palestinian population.
In a sad, but seemingly only, solution to this dilemma the UN will be relocating them to Sudan, the only country willing to accept them.
This decision is compounded with irony. Sudan is in the midst of a multi-actor and enduring civil war that continues to result in the murder and displacement of millions of its own citizens. On Monday, the ICC put out an arrest warrant for President Al-Bashir that many believe will only heighten the level of insecurity in the region. The relocation of thousands of Palestinians to this region is not only a disservice to Palestinians who have had their lives disrupted for decades, but also for the people of Sudan who are in the midst of an internal battle for resources and many of whom have been marginalized and persecuted by their government as well.

Hypocrisy at Its Peak

I have tried to avoid posting news about the sham elections in Zimbabwe because I prefer to highlight more novel events related to Africa. And by now, if you aren't aware of how Mugabe stole the Zimbabwean presidential election, then you don't care.

Bush recently, Bush has become very vocal about the whole situation and even attempting to convince other world leaders to impose sanctions against Zimbabwe.

I definitely think that international pressure is needed in order to mediate the situation (though I feel it should come from the SADC and not the West.) However, President Bush's vocalness on this matter is completely hypocritical. In 2003, on the eve of the Iraq invasion, President Bush invited President Baul Biya to the White House in order to court his support. This is a man who has also been in power since 1984 and has maintained it through the repression of the opposition party and gross human rights violations and has even amended the constitution to inevitably make him President for Life. Sound familiar? But today, after Mugabe publicly embarassed President Bush and all of his Western cronies, President Bush "cares about the people of Zimbabwe"? Right.... Let's end the hypocrisy. All of Bush's actions and statements have been influenced by personal gain and interest. Seeing as though this is a blog about Africa, I won't even get into the invasion and occupation of Iraq, but his hypocrisy shines bright and quite frankly hurts my eyes...