"I started to shout to my husband to run from the house. They shot him as he stepped from the door. I went back to help him. My son was clinging to my dress. An Arab-looking man in a uniform with military insignia stopped his car next to me. He grabbed my son from me and threw him into a fire ... They raped me. There was nothing I could do. Nothing I could do," said Kalima, a woman from Darfur interviewed by the BBC.

According to the BBC, 200,000 people, primarily black Africans, have died in Darfur, and almost two million more are internally displaced in Sudan. The violence in Sudan continues unabatedly. How did this violence begin and why? Is it genocide? Why is no one doing anything about it?

Darfur is primarily populated by black African farmers, who due to desertification have been struggling for land with Arab pastoralists in Africa. Desertification is the process by which fertile land becomes unusable desert due to overuse.

Frustrated by government neglect in their region, militia groups began attacking government targets in 2003. The government, in retaliation, has destroyed the entire region.

The Janjaweed militia, primarily on horseback and camels, has perpetrated most of the murder and rapes in the region. Although the government has never claimed official support of the group, enough reports have proved otherwise.

One Janjaweed member, who escaped to London and was interviewed by the BBC said, "I tell you one fact. The Janjaweed don't make decisions. The orders come from the government ... Sometimes they said wipe out an entire village ... We hear kill! Kill! Kill! And we shoot to kill ..."

On Tuesday, the government of Sudan refused to hand over two officials to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes. ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Morena-Ocampo claims the government's forces "did not target any rebel presence. Rather they targeted civilian residents based on the rationale that they were supporters of the rebel forces."

Is this violence genocide, and if so, should the international community intervene? The UN's official definition of the genocide is so technical, like most legal matters, that it could or could not include Sudan based on individual interpretations.

As a result, it will only be deemed genocide if governments are willing to intervene.

The challenge in countries like Sudan is that stopping the murders will likely require more murder. However, unlike the very debatable grounds for entering Iraq and now Iran, intervening in Sudan for humanitarian purposes could save millions of lives and devastation.

But Sudan is in Africa. And help rarely comes to Africa. For example, the international community failed to stop the Rwandan genocide, where nearly one million people died by machete in a few months.

Similar violence occurred in Burundi years before on a smaller scale. Following Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo was torn apart and millions died.

Violence in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Somalia, Eritrea and many others has gone on without international intervention, besides forces from other African nations — which usually only exacerbates the violence.

Africa is the forgotten continent. Millions of lives are threatened on a daily basis and those with the power to stop it only bicker and debate about proper action. And of course, nothing happens. Probably the most important — and most disregarded — issue perpetuating this violence is poverty. As the poorest continent, African nations, including Sudan, face incredible challenges.

Issues surrounding poverty are often the root causes of wars, and to stop these atrocities from beginning, people's lives need to be improved.

For example, the desertification in Sudan has prevented millions from sustaining their livelihoods and increased tensions among the black African farmers and Arab pastoralists. Because an Arab government runs Sudan, the black Africans lose out.

In nations with phenomenal unemployment rates, joining a militia is a way out and a way to fight a government who has persecuted you from childhood. Violence throughout Africa will continue until lives are improved, and this is where the international community can play a critical role. Persecuted groups need support and development assistance.

If the farmers in Darfur had been given such support, would the violence have begun? I think not.

But I have little hope. When was the last time you heard about an African country on the news? American news agencies don't typically have a permanent Africa correspondent. No one seems to care about the continent that provides so many of the natural resources that make our privileged lives possible.

Until we change how we see the world, and until the international community focuses on issues of poverty, nothing will change. Women will continue to be gang-raped. Boys will continue to fight wars they did not start. Babies will continue to die slow, painful deaths from disease and famine. But who cares about Africa, anyways?

Reach columnist Brooke McKean at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.