It is one thing to raid a village and it’s another thing to massacre a village. Some of the attacks the Murahiliin would come into villages on foot and separate the men women and children and kill them in different very inhumane ways. In They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky the narrator tell us, “The Murahiliin… captured many civilians and shot dead those who tried to run away. The captives were separated into two groups. The women and children were locked inside the huts and burned to death. The men were tied up, lead to the river-side, killed with a machete and dropped into the river.” (Bernstein 52) they would also come and randomly start shooting the first people they saw. At first they would just raid the villages for their cattle and some resources, but then it turned into a massacre. They would burn crops, steal more cattle and food, and even nail babies to tress like Jesus on a cross. Later they started to drop bombs on the villages and shoot them with helicopters and it became a daily routine. “… The Murahiliin had attacked their villages with shooting helicopters… the war was coming to southern Sudan.” (Bernstein 51) The war was expanding and it was just getting worse. They had never used helicopters or any aircrafts to kill people in random villages with no warning and no reason. They also would bomb some of the villages daily where they knew there would be a lot of people. The villages had to dig trenches to hide in randomly during the day if they could get to them on time. Even when they did thought not everyone always survived in the trench. The things that these soldiers did to the villagers for no reason, isn’t acceptable. It is dehumanizing and barbaric. The villagers couldn’t even defend themselves. “The men tried fighting the invaders with spears but they were all killed in a few minutes. “There was a plane standing above trees pouring fire on them”” (Bernstein 55) Even when the SPLA came and tried to protect the villages there is only so much they could do on the ground and they had no way of protecting people from the Murahiliin that were attacking with helicopters and aircrafts. Someone needs to end this war and bring peace back to Africa before it destroys itself.
This was a very powerful and moving entry. Even though this year in particular I've looked at a lot of the bad in the world, it still never fails to amaze me. Stuff like the massacre's in this entry do not go on around me so I feel detached from it. But then I have to try and put myself in their situation and it compels me to want to do something about it. Do you think this is something we can bring attention to? Maybe confront some of our politicians and express concern and a want or need to get involved? It doesn't necessarily mean putting our men on their soil, but even talks on the political level can accomplish things. Or even just bringing this to attention and educating people on it can get more people compelled to do something about it.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that the government in the beginning is the one that started everything. They really aren't doing anything to stop it and I think we need to try to influence them to step up and do something to stop all this violence. I think as a super power we need to show them statistics or something that can finally make them see how big of a problem this is and what is really going on. You personally can get involved with Invisible Children who do talk to our government to try to figure things out or try to change it yourself or with a bunch of friends. call it to peoples attention. Spread the word.
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