Genocide Watch via satellite imagery

[BiLaaL]

The line between genuine humanitarianism and publicity continues to blur. Most celebrities bring more harm than good to humanitarian causes but the following initiative is a good one. A similar initiative would shed light on the genocide taking place in Somali Galbeed right at this moment.

 

Clooney, Google, UN team up to watch Sudan border

 

(AP) –

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — A group founded by American actor George Clooney said Tuesday it has teamed up with Google, a U.N. agency and anti-genocide organizations to launch satellite surveillance of the border between north and south Sudan to try to prevent a new civil war after the south votes in a secession referendum next month.

 

Clooney's Not On Our Watch is funding the start-up phase Satellite Sentinel Project that will collect real-time satellite imagery and combine it with field analysis from the Enough Project and the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, organizers said.

 

The data will point out movements of troops, civilians and other signs of impending conflict. The U.N. Operational Satellite Applications Program and Google will then publish the findings online.

 

"We want to let potential perpetrators of genocide and other war crimes know that we're watching, the world is watching," Clooney said in a statement. "War criminals thrive in the dark. It's a lot harder to commit mass atrocities in the glare of the media spotlight."

 

The groups hope that early warnings will reduce the risk of violence.

 

Southern Sudan's looming Jan. 9 independence referendum has raised fears of renewed north-south civil war. The vote is the result of a 2005 peace deal that ended a 21-year conflict that claimed the lives of two million people and left twice as many displaced.

 

Organizers said the Satellite Sentinel Project will be available online Wednesday at www.satsentinel.org.

[Somalina]

Interesting. Is this legal?

 

Somalia ayaa u baahan SSP, laakiin yaa rabo inuu caawiyo Soomaliya.

[Jacaylbaro]

Why only Sudan ??? ,,,,,,

[Polanyi]

Well, clooneey is a prick, because there is no war in the South Sudan. He could have used the money to feed starving people or actually set it up in other places where there are actual genocides.

[BiLaaL]

Yep, its legal and there's no better candidate for such an initiative than Somali Galbeed. These kind of initiatives are never about genuine humanitarianism and Clooney is not the only culprit. Most of the so-called 'human rights' organizations (Human Rights Watch, Amnesty Intl etc) behave in the same manner. They may release a brief country report here and there but if you analyze it closely, these organizations concentrate most of their efforts on campaigns which generate the most funds and publicity for their respective organizations. Namely, countries and cases which generate more headlines and thereby bring in more funds for the organization. They may claim otherwise, pure humanitarian need is seldom used as a measure by any of these organizations. Its just the sad reality and one we have to wake up to.