37 Quotes by John Prendergast

And then here come the Janjaweed on camel or on horseback, ... They come rolling into the town, shooting and torching the village, often bringing women to the side and raping women indiscriminately. And in order to ensure that the destruction is complete, the government either sends ground forces to oversee the operation, or the attack helicopters, which often are the most deadly things.

Americans' perceptions of Africa remain rooted in troubling stereotypes of helplessness and perpetual crisis.

There isn't one celebrity I've worked with who doesn't have major doubts about what impact they are having. I am glad when they question the impact, because it shows they are based firmly in the reality that peacemaking isn't the same as changing a streetlight or distributing mosquito nets.

The biggest road block to action on genocide and other human rights crimes is ignorance. Most people just don't know that such things are happening, and often, if they have a vague idea they are happening, there is a feeling that there is nothing that can be done to stop these crimes.

I've had a number of near misses during my travels that in retrospect seem of greater concern than they did at the time. I guess that is what happens with age.

It turns out, all the studies show you invest a little time in another person's life, often a younger person, and all of us have that capacity to do it, just an hour a week, an hour every couple of weeks, and you can make a tremendous difference in a kid's life over their lifetime.

The U.S. has not been forward-leaning on this issue. It's disingenuous to claim that the United Nations is not doing all it should.

They would give away the one card they have, which is military pressure, before being certain of movement implementing the peace deal.

In human rights and peacemaking, it's really about having a solid concrete goal - the reduction of human suffering somewhere in the world - and then doing what is required to get that goal achieved.