So what’s with David’s “Remember Darfur,” e-mail signoff?
“Well, I was thinking about how we have these mostly meaningless sign-offs like “Best regards” and such within our e-mails.
At first I was pleased with this re-emergence of politeness that occurred over the past few years (as we didn’t see this in the early days of e-mail). However such greetings have become fairly robotic. So, with the same brutal logic that advertisers use to commercialize every square inch of urban space, I started to think of what utility we could give to that “wasted” space that appears in millions of e-mails each day.
At the same time, I found myself deeply frustrated with the situation in Darfur. I recall being a teenager visiting the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem in 1975, sitting in a discussion circle there where the theme was a very convincing Never Again. But then I asked my peers if they were aware of how in Cambodia, as we spoke, genocide was unfolding under Pol Pot. Most of them didn’t know about it, so I explained the dire urgent situation. Then I asked “What are we going to do about it, now that we know?” Blank, sad teenage stares.
And then there was the sickening invention of the term “ethnic cleaning” in the Balkans and then Rwanda… need I go on? So today, I am deeply troubled by Darfur: experts I know in that area of politics tell me the way is unclear. And I am frustratingly naive. Because I don’t know what to do. So I decided that perhaps the most important thing I can do right now is to urge myself and others to keep Darfur top of mind… poised to act when opportunity and clarity intersect.
So, that’s why “Remember Darfur”. N’shallah, soon I will be able replace it with something else. In the meanwhile, I welcome you to join me in adding this sign-off on your signature, along with this link so people will understand what we’re up to!”
And here are some resources to learn about the crisis in Darfur, and how you can act:
Sudan Tribune: latest articles on Darfur peace process
Pambazuka News (an Inter Pares’ respected source for analysis)
Reviewed August 17, 2009