Stand up

” How did we get here “

Unless you live under a rock, then I’m sure by now you’ve heard of the manicure currently taking place in Sudan. It’s more than the original media presentation of it just being a protest for bread. It’s more than the internet being shut down for a while in Sudan. As of now the unofficial death toll of the recent massacre is 100. 100 brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, cousins, etc who simply got tired of accepting the governments’ bs decided to stand together and PEACEFULLY protest. And what do they get? Killed and then dumped in the Nile river for dead. What many don’t know is that, like all issues that eventually surface to the top, this killing spree has been going on for a while, almost a decade actually. It’s sad that we live in a world where common human empathy is too much to ask. We have to wait til the problem is out of hand, until 10-year-olds, almost as old as the conflict itself, are raped everyday. Until we see our friends, families, neighbors, and teachers being killed. Until an Instagram hashtag becomes trendy before we realize we have a problem. Even then now that we’ve unraveled the problem: what is the solution. How do we possibly come back from this. The answer is simple: we stand up.

” retweeting or changing your profile picture is a good start but not enough “

We can not just retweet, repost, or screenshot our problems away and then sit down and hope for the best. When has hoping for the best ever got us anywhere? Did that allow women to be able to vote, did that provide education for African American children, did that start the multimillionaire corporation we know today to be Apple. You know why you’ve never heard of a success story that involved just hoping for the best, because nothing came out of it.

So congratulations you’ve changed your Instagram profile picture to blue, reposted the hashtag all over your Snapchat, and your twitter feed has taken on the role of a 24hr news coverage, but the government is still abusing power and people are still dying, so what now.

” we must stand up “

Why?

Because

Children are starving in Yemen

Because

Girls are being kidnapped, extorted, and rapped in northern Nigeria

Because

Flint, Michigan still doesn’t have clean water, a WHOLE 5 years later

Because

An UNBORN child has more rights than a LIVING African American in America

Because

5 boys were accused of committing a crime beyond the scope of their age simply because of the color of their skin. But only received justice because a MURDER has more compassion for them than the police. But I digress

Because

After escaping one cage by finally receiving victory against their oppressor, the Sudanese people have landed in another cage

Because

They no longer can stand for themselves; with the internet being cut and all

So If we don’t stand for them who will

“I have my own problems”

I know that we all have our own problems, so why should we worry about other peoples problems. But you need to understand that :

1. In the grand scheme of things, your life may suck, you may have problems of your own, but it could be much worse. The worse alternative is a reality for many.

2. If you don’t care for any other reason just know that if you continue to ignore it: other peoples problems can and WILL become your own. So what’s it going to be

Besides, compassion is the greatest form of love humans have to offer

how can i make a difference?

We’ve unraveled the problem so what’s the solution? We’ve already established the fact that we may not be able to go to Sudan and solve the conflict so why not pitch it to the people who actually can.

George Clooney, whom actually had been working in South Sudan since 2006 and has been advocating since then for action to be taken, wrote an essay in Politico explaining why Congress should act and how they can help the people of Sudan. But if we’ve learned anything from WW2 it’s that if we wait for Congress to reply to that it will cost us big time.

So here’s what you can do :

Call your member of Congress

• Call 202-224-3121. State your zip code. When connected, tell them you support helping the people of Sudan or send them George Clooney’s essay.

Text your members of Congress

• Use ResistBot to text your members of Congress. Text RESIST to 50409 and it will help you contact your elected officials and tell them to help the people of Sudan.

Give to UNICEF

• UNICEF, which is working to help the children displaced by the conflict. Donate here

Donate

• Donate to Save the Children, which has been working in Sudan since 1984. Donate here. If you prefer the International Rescue Committee, it has been in Sudan since 1989 fighting malnutrition and helping displaced families. Donate here

Sign the petition

Sign this Change.org petition demanding that “The UN must investigate the 3rd of June human rights violations in Sudan by the Military.”

Pray

Regardless of what faith you may or may not identify with, I truly believe that prayer is powerful & that My Lord has not forsaken us. I wish you all peace, love, and safety.

If we were in a similar situation wouldn’t we want to be spoken for. To be fought for. To have others stand up for us. So stand up, tall and proud. And if you take nothing else away from this, know this :

If you stand for nothing, you WILL fall for anything.

That is all for today. I hope you all have a marvelous day

#PRAY4SUDAN

Yours truly,

Olamide