In the three weeks that I have been in Berlin, Germany, I have been so fortunate to meet and build a community with a group of older women who have taken me under their wings and showed me the lay of the land. Last weekend, we decided to take a trip to Munich (one of those unplanned and fantastic trips that peppered my time with this group). On our second day in Munich, we travelled 30 minutes north of the city to the Dachau Concentration Camp. Dachau was the first regular concentration camp established by the National Socialist (Nazi) Government and served as the model camp for all of the other camps. This camp was officially described as a work camp for political prisoners- Arbeit Macht Frei (work sets you free) - though when this camp was liberated a much more horrific and gruesome picture was seen. It is at this camp that 200,000 prisoners were beaten, starved and worked to death. It is believed that 25 ,613 prisoners died in the camp and almost another 10,000 in its subcamps.

As we toured the camp, I got the honor of listening to the personal stories of the women I was with- stories of loved ones who were sent to concentration camps, stories of living under the Nazi regime, stories of fear and lies and hatred. As we neared the end of our time at Dachau we walked up to the memorial at one end of the camp. It is there that in five languages "Never Again" is written in huge, iron letters. When we saw this, one of the women said "We said "Never Again" after the Holocaust, we said "Never Again" after Bosnia, after Rwanda, after Kosovo. When is "Never Again" actually going to mean never again?

Never again. It has been 2 years, 11 months and 19 days since the United States labeled the crisis in Darfur genocide. Yet even with this label, in the almost three years that have past, little attention has been given and little action has been done to stop this genocide. It is only now that many celebrities have raised their concern and shown support of non-profits that this genocide has been brought into the public eye.

But we don't need celebrities to tell up what is right and wrong. We know that genocide is wrong. We know that hating and torturing and killing another person based on their race or their ethnicity or their culture or their gender is wrong. We have seen it too many times; we have leaned about it in school and we have watched it in the movies. And though it seems like a huge and insurmountable task, each individual person can do something to end this genocide. Educate yourself. Educate others. Talk, talk, talk! Talk to your friends and family, talk to your congregation, talk to your elected officials, talk to anyone who will listen. Start or join an awareness group in your area or at your college. And pray. Never forget to pray. Do something because the longer we wait, the more people will suffer and die. Do something so we can say with certainty and force "Never Again!"

Some resources:
STAND: Students Taking Action Now: Darfur: www.standnow.org
Save Darfur- www.savedarfur.org
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA)- http://www.pcusa.org/pda/response/africa/sudan-index.htm