As a Poland Regional High School student I am writing about genocide – a mass extermination of a race, nation or group. In the past, there were genocides, such as the Rwandan genocide of 1994, that lasted only 100 days but killed 800,000 Tutsi men, women and children.

Genocide continues to happen because certain races want more power, or because of a conflict between government and a country’s people.

Currently, in the Darfur region of Sudan, another genocide is taking place. There is a high level of poverty and little government support for people in Darfur. Civilians and farmers were tired of it and tried fighting against the government, but they had no voice. The government supported a militia group, the Janjaweed, and at least 450,000 people have been victims of rape, displacement, starvation, disease and mass slaughter by Janjaweed militia.

There are many options that people could take to help stop this genocide, and it all starts with having our society care. There are many organizations where donations can be given, or anyone can sign up on a petition to help save Darfur. There are options such as a Dollars For Darfur, or even rubber bracelets like a Livestrong where the money will be sent to relief organizations.

A great start would be to join www.savedarfur.org to help this cause. With educating our youth and community with what’s going on and what options that can be taken, you would be surprised what may happen.

Danielle Belanger, Poland