Sand and Sorrow: A New Documentary on Darfur-DVD Review

The old adage goes that those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it, but in this case, it seems more like those who are aware of history are doomed to watch it repeat itself. Ever since the Holocaust people have wondered why it took the Allied Nations so long to respond. In hindsight, the systematic genocide of the Jews seems obvious, and the amount of debate over whether or not to get involved seems stupid at best and heinous at worst. Once it was over many people vowed never to let something like that happen again.

Unfortunately, it has.

Not just the recent events in Darfur, but in the past thirty years in Cambodia, Serbia, and Rwanda. Again, in each case, hindsight tells us that we should have gotten involved far sooner than we did, or at all. The promise made after the Holocaust seems to be one that we’re only willing to pay when it’s convenient.

The situation in Darfur has its roots in the independence of the Sudan from the British Empire. The Arab tribes were the ones who came into power and they quickly ignored the non-Arabs in the country. What followed was a civil war between the southern portion of Sudan and the power base located in the north. Darfur was not directly involved in this, but a year-long famine created tensions between the Arab and non-Arab tribes. The non-Arabs were afraid that their plight was going to be ignored because of their ethnicity and the ongoing civil war, so three of the largest tribes formed together into a coalition called the Sudan Liberation Movement, where they engaged in guerrilla warfare against the government in order to bring attention to the situation.

Instead of dealing with Darfur and the south, the Sudanese government supplied Arab tribes with guns, ammunition, fatigues, and military support and told them to more or less take care of the non-Arabs. These armed groups were quickly labeled Janjaweed, or “Devil on Horseback,” and they killed, burned, and raped their way through Darfur to either drive away the non-Arabs or to exterminate them.

Sadly, the Janjaweed has been incredibly successful due to an impressive media blanketing campaign instituted by the Sudanese government as well as various deals made with Russia, China, and the United States. Things began to change, though, when New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof began writing about the situation. Kristof, along with Harvard professor Samantha Power and human rights activist John Prendergast, have been working tirelessly to bring Darfur to the world’s attention. Unfortunately, little has been done to make any real change in the situation. Thousands are trapped in the limbo of refugee camps where they are entirely dependent on food aid from other nations, where the women constantly have to leave the camp for firewood at the risk of being gang raped, where the men, women, and children are dying from malnutrition and disease.

The video is presented fullscreen in 1.33:1 aspect ratio, and the audio was simple stereo. Neither are very impressive, but considering this is a documentary, they really aren’t meant to be. There were no problems in viewing or hearing the feature.

There were no special features on this DVD.

Sand and Sorrow is not an easy documentary to watch, but it is one that should be seen. The plight of the non-Arabs in Darfur is monstrous, and too many in the American public have no idea what’s going on, or even where the Sudan is located. It’s difficult to make statements like this without sounding self-righteous, but this is something that is happening now and demands our attention.

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HBO Home Video presents Sand and Sorrow: A New Documentary on Darfur. Directed by Paul Freeman. Narrated by George Clooney. Written by Paul Freeman. Running time: 94 minutes. Not rated. Released on DVD: January 24, 2008. Available at Amazon.com.