Recently I read Shake hands with the Devil by Lt. General Romeo Dallaire and A Problem from Hell: America and Genocide by Samantha Powers. Two very good books with a very disturbing messages, the UN is all bark with no bite, conflicting political agendas delay action and since no one knows what to do they do nothing. Governments knew what was happening, leaders like President Clinton took no action while 800 000 people were slaughtered in 100 days and the Balkans became a flashback to the days of Hitler. Governments only take action when the people of the country want action to be taken, no one wanted to stop the killing of Tutsis or Muslims in distant impoverished countries. So what happens if genocide takes place in the Western countries? Will anyone care to come to the rescue?
Search human trafficking of women in Europe and you'll be surprised by the information that has been uncovered by journalists and NGOs. We know women from Eastern Europe are kidnapped and forced into a life of prostitution but do we care? Women go missing in the US and Canada to be forced into prostitution but do we care? Whether human trafficking of women for the sex trade is happening half way around the world or just down the street we don't care. We even blame the women for choices they made that landed them there in the first place, even though many were teens doing the same stupid things we did. We were just lucky to not be abducted.
What about kids? Surely we care when a child is harmed. Not really, genocide and displaced people around the world include children but we look the other way. Then there is the 11 year old girl who was gang raped in Texas while being video taped, obviously we care about this child. Not really, many are blaming her and saying she wanted it..... Exactly how can an 11 year old child consent to being gang raped?
Crime happens all around us but we marginalize it by making it someone else's problem and by doing so fool ourselves into believing we are safe. Yes women are abducted and forced into a life of sex slavery, but that is over there it wouldn't happen here. As long as we stay within our four walls and protect our children from harm we will all be OK. We are better parents, our girls wouldn't find themselves in bad situations where they end up being forced into the sex trade. There isn't anything we can do about it so why do anything at all. I am sure that the victims of these crimes will understand why we didn't care about them, after all they don't care about us - right. Whatever excuse or story we tell ourselves will keep us safe, right - Just ask Madeline McCann's parents, or Jaycee Lee Dugard.
Since we do nothing and our laws are written to protect the criminal and prosecute the victim things will only get worse. The Internet and global transportation have made crimes international and criminals harder to catch. There needs to be an international police agency separate from any political government set up to enforce major international crimes and protect citizens from crimes against humanity. The UN can't do it and NATO is tied too closely to its member governments political whims. Although there is a need, there is no will to create international laws and even less will to enforce them.
When I asked my grandparents how their generation could allow the Holocaust, they responded that they didn't know what was happening on the other side of the world. Considering the lack of communications and the lack of access to the camps I believe them. However, today is different with the Internet and CNN, we do know what is going on across the globe. What will you say when your grandchild asks what you did to help stop ____________________? I wonder what Bill Clinton, and the other leaders of the UN will say when God asks them what did they do to stop the genocide in Rwanda and Yugoslavia. What will you say when He asks you?
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