"They Threw all our Children in the Fire."

The "What to do about Darfur" debate is becoming more and more of a wonk-fest, with conversations either a.) centering on complicated context and policy options or b.) devolving into territory-marking and mud-slinging. (I'm certainly guilty of both, as I think we all are.)

Some veins of this now-global conversation seem increasingly detached from what should be the central motivating concern: The victims of horrific acts of violence, and the survivors still living in precarious situation in Darfur. Even the debate over who has the best "on the ground" perspective on Darfur often seems more concerned with ownership over the analysis rather than the analysis itself.

The desire to alleviate and prevent further human suffering is implicit in most cases. Those who trample through the weeds of the policy debates -- discussing sanctions, no-fly zones, peace talks, justice, counter-terrorism, and so on -- all know why they are there.

Still, we all need to be re-grounded from time to time. Questions of "what" and "how" to respond to Darfur are complicated, but the question of "why" is not.

The video above features the testimony of a woman who lost six children in an attack on her village. If that isn't reason enough to care about this issue, then I don't know what is.