Nuba Vision is a free newsletter for justice and democracy in Sudan.

Amnesty International’s coverage of the 2003 arrest, detention, and torture of Nuba advocates

Meyer describes the Nuba’s response to the threat of famine and military assault by the Sudanese armies in the area, who in an effort to conquer have threatened the very existance of the tribe, who pose no threat to them. Their offense is simply a desire to continue in their traditional way of life.

The plight of the Nuba is just another example of that faced by so many isolated, indigenous peoples around the world, people virtually invisible to encroaching societies, who stand in the way of so-called “civilization.” What is happening in Sudan is, in part, similar to the persecution of Native Americans and Australian Aborigines: one culture imposing itself upon another, often displacing it or obliterating it in the process.

Who can speak for a people in danger of losing everything in the face of tyrrany? If I may paraphrase Mr. Meyer: “Their very invisibility gives the perpetrators a free hand.” The persecution of the Nuba is entirely possible in a world that is largely ignorant of their existance. These human rights atrocities must be opposed by so-called civilized nations. We cannot stand by and do nothing, for the story of the Nuba is common to all times and places, to many peoples. Genocide is murder not only of individuals, but of an entire culture.

Though we may feel helpless to stop it, we are not powerless. Take action right where you are. Don't focus on what you cannot do. Begin by doing one thing today, a simple but important thing: Call or write to your elected officials about the Nuba, and the larger issues in Sudan. Hold your government and industry responsible for the choices they make that lead to land-grabs and instability, to economic and political gambits that threaten the safety of ordinary people.

Posterity will know us by our actions and our failure to act, and our descendants will rightly condemn us for not defending those who cannot defend themselves. It is a moral choice to speak, to act, to advocate for any person who is victimized, much more so an entire people. Both as individuals and as a society, we cannot limit our outrage to those moments when our own political or economic interests are threatened. To make the moral choice means to be blind to such extenuating circumstances; it demands that we face the unspeakable horror, to see it through eyes of compassion and justice; we can no loger remain blind.