Death by Indifference in Darfur

Remember the story of Kitty Genovese? In a New York City neighborhood in 1964, a young woman was brutally attacked and stabbed to death. What made the case unique and uniquely horrifying was that all up-and-down the block, neighbors opened windows, watched the attack, listened to Genovese’s cries for help and did absolutely nothing. No one even called the police until nearly an hour after the killing.

The case is shocking and led to a deep, national debate on how so many people could be so horribly indifferent.

Today, the Coalition for Darfur comments on the continuing indifference of the international community towards Darfur. Yes, we’ve opened our windows, noted the horror of it all and maybe, after it’s all over, we’ll call in the police, maybe have a trial in the ICC.

Then, as with Kitty Genovese, we’ll look around and wonder how so many people could do nothing to stop a murder. Or, in this case, to stop hundreds of thousand of murders.