After hearing Darfur mentioned in a conversation for the first time in what must have been several years, LSA senior Jeff Henderson realized that he was completely unaware of how the conflict ended, or if it was still even occurring.
“I remember seeing those green signs that said ‘Save Darfur’ everywhere, but now you never see those anymore. I wonder if that organization just doesn’t advertise as much anymore, or if the whole issue has been settled,” Henderson told reporters.
Others Henderson asked appeared equally unsure of the conflict’s duration, as well as who was fighting and why. His friend Sean Granger explained, “You know what? I’m really not sure. Was it even a war? Or just a famine or something? If it was a famine, it’s probably over by now, of course.”
Granger continued, “I’m pretty confident it was all settled with that #KONY2012 thing.”
While the media has largely turned to other world conflicts, even the most attentive viewers of the news could not say for certain whether “whatever was happening” in Darfur had ended, what it was about, and how someone could help ‘save’ it.
International Studies Professor Joan Berry said, “The thing with conflicts, and what makes world affairs so hard to follow, is that another one is always on the horizon. Who’s to say when a conflict is truly over? Is it when The New York Times stops covering it? Or when a movie about it comes out?”
Henderson was later seen researching the outcome of that earthquake in Haiti, the genocide in Bosnia, and Kim Kardashian’s marriage to Kris Humphries.
