On November 21st, the 34 year old anti-Syrian politician Pierre Gemayel was assassinated in Lebanon. Almost immediately, condemnations of the political murder were issued all across the world, by everyone from Pope Benedict to George Bush and the UN. Certainly, this assassination will have wide spread ramifications for many.
On November 19th, dozens of children, many of whom hadn't even reached 'double digits' yet, were slaughtered by Sudanese government and Janjaweed militia forces. Not a peep was uttered by the international community at large, not a peep: toddlers are being machine-gunned down whilst pleading for their lives every day in the Darfur region of Sudan and in Chad, "while we speak", according to Jan Egeland of the UN.
This Thursday, toddlers across Darfur and Chad will literally be being yanked from their mothers' arms and thrown into flames to die screaming and flailing, engulfed in the same majestic orange and red that will be simultaneously roasting turkerys across America. We have a lot to be thankful for: so much, in fact, that the phrase has become hopelessly cliched. This Thursday, even without protection from insane relatives and family affairs, we will be safe: this Thursday, without any protection from genocidal slaughters and violence, innocence in Darfur will continue to be reduced to ashes on the ground and decaying bodies on the lonely desert floor.
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"Happy Turkey Day" is being said all over U.S. I suppose. And yeah, we think of turkey, pumpkin pie, and feasts on Thanksgiving Day. But do we really stop and think of all the things we can say we are thankful for? Do we realize how lucky we are? I don't think we do. Are we thankful for the people who care for us? Are we thankful for the homes we have? Are we thankful for the life in our neighborhood? Are we thankful for the freedom we have? Are we thankful? Compare our lives with those suffering in Darfur, and we may feel awful. So, for the holidays, we should give hope to those in need. Also... what's on your "Grown Up Christmas List"?
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