The Kids are all right

Good things happen even in Massachussets. Fontbonne students stand for social justice

Now, don't cringe. I know that headline says "social justice". This is a case where the term applies. For instance:

Over the past several weeks, the young women have put that teaching into practice. Impassioned by one woman's tragic story, the students united to stand in solidarity with the victims of Darfur and spread the word about the social injustices taking place there.

"The work of these students truly teaches the 'love of God and neighbor without distinction,' and embodies the values of respect, responsibility, reverence and reconciliation to which we aspire," said Gadziala who is chairperson of the theology department and has been teaching social justice courses at the Catholic all-girls school since 1993.
Dubbing their effort "Ducks for Darfur," these young women have worked hard to educate fellow members of the Fontbonne community, legislators and the public about the atrocities, the genocide, taking place in Sudan's Darfur region.

Since many people throughout the world probably just stare blankly when any one mentions Darfur, it's good work that these women do. It must be. Even has-been politicians want to be seen recognizing it:

An affirmation of their efforts on behalf of the victims of Darfur recently came in the form of a written response from Senator John Kerry thanking them for their concern, a concern he shares: "I join you in condemning the horrendous humanitarian conditions in Sudan, including enslavement and ethnic cleansing, as part of the country's devastating civil war . . . I have been one of the leaders in promoting the importance of the situation in Darfur, first calling the atrocities in Darfur genocide in June 2004. I share your concern that the United States should be actively involved in the cessation of these human rights violations."

Now, maybe it's me. I held my nose to this line; it didn't quite pass the smell test. So, a little google brought me this

From this mess, I found this:

Here's a relevent excerpt:

In a June 7, 2004 campaign press release, John Kerry declared that:

"I believe that the United States and the international community must act immediately to apply effective pressure on the Government of Sudan to rein in its militia proxies and to immediately provide unrestricted access for humanitarian aid and aid workers."

And Senator Kerry also made explicit reference to Darfur in the context of the Rwandan genocide:

"The world did not act in Rwanda, to our eternal shame. Now we are at another crisis point this time in Sudan. The Sudan's western Darfur region demands the world's immediate attention and action." (Kerry Campaign press release, June 7, 2004)

A determination of genocide is clearly implied in this statement, but this is not good enough: Senator Kerry must declare publicly and explicitly whether he believes the evidence in Darfur supports a finding of genocide, and tell the American people and the international community what he would do if were President, and such determination were made.

Now, if the most Mr. Kerry did was imply genocide took place in Darfur by comparing what happened there to Rawanda, then Mr. Reeves is right. This would demonstrate, yet again, how elastic Mr. Kerry regards the truth. If He says now that "I have been one of the leaders in promoting the importance of the situation in Darfur, first calling the atrocities in Darfur genocide in June 2004, when he said then that "The world did not act in Rwanda, to our eternal shame. Now we are at another crisis point this time in Sudan,", He is posturing to gain respectibility on the backs of committed young women. Disappointing, but not surprising. Still, it surely highlights the important work of, yes, social justice, that these students have engaged. God bless them.