Tomorrow is the first day of the internationally-observed 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, running from November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, to December 10th, International Human Rights Day. Save Darfur has organized a version of this campaign specifically aimed at Darfuri women. Each day there is a new activity, from lighting a candle to writing a letter to the editor of a local newspaper.
This op-ed by Dave Eggers and John Prendergast. As the Sudan policy is being finalized and reviewed by top officials it is essential that the point of view of those who actually know and care about the situation in Sudan be heard in as many places as possible.
Of striking importance is that this point of view is the same point of view of Obama, Biden, Clinton, and Susan Rice before they were inaugurated. This is one place where Obama has not done what he promised to do on the campaign trail nor has any other member of his administration. It is essential that this issue be heard now as the Sudan policy is being finalized. This is not just about Sudan, Prendergast hastens to remind us:
“this isn’t just a debate about policy towards one country. President Obama, like President Bush before him, has called Darfur an ongoing genocide. So the policy that will be unveiled soon on Sudan will have global ramifications, because it will be the president’s first chance to articulate his policy on responding to genocide.”
Glenn Beck’s comparisons to Obama as Hitler are beyond disgraceful. Mr. Beck, a man who lies almost every moment that he speaks has nothing to say of course on actual genocide that continues to go on in Darfur. Unfortunately the very president that he so perversely attacks does not have much to say on it either. It’s time for all voices from main street to Wall Street to Pennsylvania Avenue take an actual stand against genocide.
I’m going to name drop for a minute. I was at an event back in 2007 where Senator Barack Obama was speaking about why he should be elected President. He talked about a lot of the things he was passionate about. Darfur did not come up on that list. I ran up to him afterward, my only time ever meeting the soon to be president and said, “Senator, will we be hearing more on Darfur?” He looked at me seriously for a moment and said, “Absolutely.”
So far Obama has once in a while said the right things on Darfur. But his policies have been awful. His administration continues to fail the Darfuri people and I am not going to accept that the fate of millions of refugees and an entire region of the world are not important enough for an administration that has so much on its plate. No excuse, no excuse, no excuse. I am just as aware as any one else that when Obama entered office we were falling fast into a potential economic depression, that there is a health care crisis in this country, and that the president is dealing with more issues right away than most presidents do in their first months in office. But that’s why we have a State Department. That’s why we have multiple resources in a presidential cabinet to deal with multiple issues. Obama knows about Darfur. He knows exactly what is happening there and yet he continues to carry out the same policies that most of the leaders in his administration called failed policies right before they came into office. There is no excuse. The Darfuri people have waited too long. Those children in that video are growing up in refugee camps where its not safe to return home and the camps themselves remain dangerous. Sorry Mr. President, but it’s time to take a stand and be a leader and say “yes we can end genocide.” I sincerely HOPE you can listen to those kids who are calling on you and whose lives and whose families lives are depending on you to work for CHANGE that they can believe in. All it will take is an ounce of bold leadership.
I just read an article in the NY Times that made me feel the following:
The United States of America is finally having an important debate where:
1- the strained debate on global warming, 2- the too often ignored debate on civilian protection, genocide, and poverty, AND 3- the often sensationalist debate around national security threats for the United States are suddenly interconnected: Read the rest of this entry »
Today was a very important day where the Senate heard testimony from Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration. More on this soon, but for now here is a short article followed by an opening remarks by Senator John Kerry’s.
If you’d like, think of this as the Wizengamut having a hearing about how to proceed now that Voldemort has returned. Let’s hope the US Senate and Scott Gration come to a better conclusion than the Ministry of Magic.
At Leakycon this weekend, the Harry Potter Alliance is asking conference-goers to sign postcards that ask President Obama to keep Darfur a priority and do whatever it takes to end the genocide. All of these postcards will then be sent to the White House. We hope to get 300 postcards signed this weekend.
However, we also need you all to participate by signing postcards online.
The Save Darfur Coalition, ENOUGH Project, and GI-NET, the three leading anti-genocide organizations in the US, have written an open letter detailing what it would take to end the genocide - and you can add your name to this letter very easily.
As the rainy season approaches in Darfur, and aid organizations have not yet been let back in, estimates suggest that as many as 1 million people are at risk in Darfur. It’s not just about letting those aid organizations back in - it’s about making a strong statement that we want to end the genocide now.
As we told you during the Weekly Wrap-Up, Mia Farrow, who was participating in a 21-day fast for Darfur, had to stop last week after warnings from her doctor.
However, several others have stepped up to finish the fast - including Jon Foreman of the rock band Switchfoot, Congressman Donald M. Payne, and Richard Branson.
This fast is helping me remember that after all we have accomplished to end the genocide in Darfur, there is so much more to be done. At Leakycon and beyond, the Harry Potter Alliance is going to keep having things that we all can do to help stop this genocide. At Leakycon, we’ll also be having an interactive program on the current situation in Darfur.
Just as Dumbledore and Harry broke the world’s silence around Voldemort’s return, the HP Alliance is breaking the world’s silence around some of our world’s most pressing issues at rapid speed!
Today my article, A New Hope To End Genocide was published in the Huffington Post. Not only is it full of references to Harry Potter and Star Wars, it more importantly addresses how during this fifteenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide President Obama and our allies can avoid another 1,000,000 Africans being killed by protecting Darfuri refugees.
Please read the article, please comment on the article, and please pass it around. When articles like this are popular on sites like the Huffington Post it reminds the mainstream media that the public wants them to break the silence and report more on Darfur.
Okay. Here’s your chance to write a short, heartfelt letter in a way that truly, truly matters. From the Save Darfur Coalition:
This weekend, you have the opportunity to tell the United Nations to Act Now for Darfur. We have the chance to send a message on all fronts to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
On Tuesday morning, Jerry Fowler and the Save Darfur Coalition team are going to meet with Ambassador Susan Rice at the United Nations. As you know, we are going to be thanking her for her steadfast support for Darfur and pushing her to keep pressing hard at the United Nations.
Please email it to sarah@savedarfur.org by the end of the day Monday. The sooner we get the letters, the better! We will be making sure these letters get to Carmen Paolercio, an activist leader in New York City, who has volunteered to deliver the letters in person after a vigil on Tuesday. Thank you for volunteering, Carmen!
This is a short deadline, but the letters don’t have to be elaborate, formal documents. A personal, heartfelt message will send a much stronger message.
