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1. Fleeting Fixation

   Having been an aid worker myself for the International Rescue Committee in western Sudan (Darfur) during the onset of what is now, undeniably a genocide, I have worked very closely with refugees in horrific circumstances. Had the subject of Darfur been en-vogue at the time of the slaughter, it would seem that due to the glare of the international communities' attention, much of the ruthless violence might have been prevented. Ideally. Of course, to anyone familiar with the details of the Rwandan genocide, this was certainly NOT the case. There was, even leading up to the three month slaughter, a great deal of press regarding deep civil unrest and ominous acts of genocide in Rwanda. The assigned United Nations presence had been warning the DPKO and the media of a potentially catastrophic wave of pending violence. Still, nothing was done, and in the words of Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire (United Nations Force Commander to the UNAMIR, the assistance mission in Rwanda) any solid support, monetary or otherwise, came "to little, too late." And of course, in the aftermath of such willful ignorance, America declared once again, never to again let something like it happen. Well, not surprisingly, it has. Upon my return from the country, it became resoundingly clear to me that hardly anyone even knew that a region of the world called Darfur even existed. Having been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the ordeal, the psychological need to communicate and exercise some of my memories and experiences to anyone that could understand became absolutely necessary, though at the time, trying to find anyone who could really empathize was a near impossibility. Four years later celebrities like George Clooney, whom I have great respect for (as he has worked to garner attention to Darfur, not simply to glean praise and reverence off of the suffering of nameless millions), have brought the issue of Darfur into the limelight. Sadly, this much needed attention comes far too late, and at the price of many, far too many lives. The subject of Africa and its people is of serious import to me. The near constant exploitation of the continent as a plaything of the affluent enrages me. I fear every news headline regarding Africa and am haunted constantly by the faces of the people I couldn't help. Nightmares that have gripped me fast and show no sign of letting up. Nor should they. The lives of the Other are our responsibility as human beings, for in as much as we destroy and ravage, we are paradoxically fantastic creators and must use any and all resources as we have them, for we are all doomed to the same inevitable fate, alone in death, with only the memories of the other to survive us. (I apologize, but this subject gets me worked up and it is incredibly difficult for me to be entirely objective where so much anger, sadness, and hopelessness is involved.)Okay. Deep breath. Now to Paris Hilton. (I was getting there!) For someone whose crowning achievement in life includes enduring a justifiable jail sentence for a matter of hours and the popularization of defenseless inbred animals as handbags, it is difficult for me to see anything but the grossest form of narcissism inherent in this "brilliant stroke of all-the-sudden altruism". What makes this all particularly obscene, is that now she is using the hardship and misfortune of REAL human beings to bolster the public opinion of one sadly misguided and deeply self-involved pseudo celebrity. Sure, it may draw some attention to the plight of the people for a time, but the consciousness of those individuals that follow the life of Paris Hilton are notoriously rooted in American media habits, whose attention span is dismally short, to say the least. How long will they invest their attention before the whole country plummets again into relative obscurity? Yet another African country whose statistics are so bleak and depressing that any hope of salvation is lost to the next infatuation of a population capable, but unwilling to get its hands dirty? If Miss Hilton really wishes to learn and do some good, she should go to Africa and leave the cameras behind for a moment. Halt the press releases regarding her "selfless" plight and do something for humanity that will have no affect whatsoever upon her social and commercial strata, but every effect on her character.

   7 months, 4 weeks ago In response to Hotel Rwanda Hilton?

Define what responsibility means to you.