He isn’t as popular as the ditch-sleeping Cindy Sheehan with the media.
Four million are starving to death and a genocide is taking place in South Sudan — but President Obama has not acted, nor has he heeded former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s advice, so a hunger strike in front of the White House is the only option left, said human rights activist and former child slave Simon Deng.
“Nothing is being done,” said Deng, eyes welling up with tears.
“People are being bombarded by the Ugandan air force … and the world said absolutely nothing.”
“70,000 Southern Sudanese perish … 2 million are refugees and 1 million more [fled] to Northern Sudan,” continued Deng, citing United Nations figures that 4 million South Sudanese are starving to death.
The U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) office estimates as many as 5.8 million South Sudanese had “food insecurity” in September 2014 and the number was projected to grow to 6.4 million this year.
South Sudan gained its independence in 2011 but has been rocked with brutal conflict since December 2013. The warring sides have exhibited horrific violence against civilians.
“There is a Rwanda genocide taking place … in Southern Sudan now,” said Deng. “And we’re not even following it, because there’s not a single camera there on the ground to bring the footage.”
“Shame on us if [we] don’t listen and don’t pay attention,” he said.
“I’m calling on the United States President Barack Obama to be a peace broker between the [warring] Southern Sudanese, to take a lead and be the one to broker the peace between the two [warring parties] who are now slaughtering themselves,” said Deng.