Analysis Of For Darfur By Mahnaz Badihian

Different types of media can cause different conclusions and apprehensions. The Darfur genocide was brought to awareness through music, photography, video and poetry. Though, not all effectively achieved its purpose. The poem “For Darfur : Tears of Darfur” By Mahnaz Badihian was very sentimental and deep. Though if one were to simply just read the poem without having any background on the dismal war of Darfur, they could have several different conclusions on what the poem is about. For example, one could conclude that a natural disaster occurred in Darfur because of the several stanzas in which Badihian writes about being hungry, homeless, and cultivating “dry, sad roots, left from / the countless bones / of your children” (Badihian 11-13). The poem does not accurately explain or inform the reader of the war of Darfur. Though it does explain the horrors the Darfuri are experiencing, it does not explain the cause and reason.
Music has the ability to allow people to explain how they feel and can even be seen as an outlet for some. The song “Tears of Darfur” goes into more depth than the poem and is also very impactful. Listening to the song itself, without reading the lyrics, may confuse the listener. The song is sung in a high pitch and in an opera tone which makes it difficult to understand. Some listeners may even go as far as to say that it sounds as if the song were in a different language. The Darfur genocide was also brought to the public through video. The video was about eleven minutes and accurately explains the War in Darfur and fully exemplifies what the Darfuri suffered and are enduring. The video also interviews some of the people and talks about their story firsthand. The video could definitely explain the tragedy in more depth, but the video itself gives the viewer information of the genocide and touches on the emotional aspect of the