Darfur for Dummies (Care of UCLA's Sondra Hale)

by Cinnamon Stillwell  •  November 14, 2007

http://www.campus-watch.org/blog/2007/11/darfur-for-dummies-care-of-uclas

In an article that came out earlier this week titled, "UCLA's Politicized Middle East Studies Professors," Campus Watch shed light on anthropology and women's studies professor Sondra Hale.

Hale was interviewed by UCLA Today in April, 2006 about the ongoing campaign of violence in Darfur many experts have labeled genocide and, in the process, provided further evidence of her propensity for politics over scholarship. At question was the nature of the conflict itself, which, by all objective accounts, consists of government-backed Islamist Arab militias known as the Janjaweed systematically targeting Western Sudan's black population (Christian, Animist, and Muslim, alike) for massacre, slavery, rape, and subjugation.

Hale conceded that the situation involves, "the Islamist central government, which wants to impose an Arab hegemony over the entire country," but, taking a page from the politically-correct playbook, later contradicted herself by stating, "The struggle in Darfur has been framed as one of Arabs victimizing Africans — and this is a 9/11 phenomenon; i.e., a chance to make an anti-Arab statement, at least as a subtext."

So which is it: Islamist Arabs or nameless, faceless perpetrators who just happen to be targeting black Africans for no apparent reason?

Moving along, and offering up a little inadvertent humor, Hale responded to the rather broad question, " What can be done to prevent genocide?" with this helpful suggestion:

So many people throughout the world are trained in mediation, negotiation, healing and psychotherapy. We could send in a force of these professionals to work with people when tensions are building up.

Something tells me the tribal fighters of the Janjaweed wouldn't be particularly intimidated by a brigade of "healing" psychotherapists, but who knows - maybe a group hug would do the trick?

If this interview is any indication, Hale's forthcoming book, Perspectives on Genocide in Sudan, would more properly be titled, Darfur for Dummies.

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