i-ACT podcast
World Refugee Day (WRD) is a time of celebration. To honor the survivors who were forced fled their homes and sought refuge and safety from violence. To recognize them as part of us. WRD is also a time to reflect on the root causes of mass atrocities and solutions to bring those who were forced to run back home. It should be a day of action, as action is the very best way to honor and celebrate the sorrows and triumphs of humanity by connecting with humanity in the toughest of times.
On Saturday June 20, 2009, World Refugee Day will be celebrated around the world in internally displaced person’s camps and refugee camps throughout the world. This year’s theme is Real People, Real Needs. We ask you can be part of this day and to bring celebration and action into you life.
ACTIONS:
1. Participate in a live web streaming from Chad refugee camps. Follow our team as they capture the daily life and special WRD events. Ask questions via the live chat, and spread the word via your online social networks.
2. In solidarity with and in honor of the theme, Real People, Real Needs, fast from midnight to midnight for WRD - join here.
3. During the World Refugee Day web streaming, invite a few friends and family to your home to share in the experience. The live streaming and chat offer the opportunity for you to actively deepen the relationship between your community and refugees. Making our very large world personal is part of the long term solution that can create peace, justice and equality.
World Refugee Day Flyer - Download and Share!
Dear Friends and Family,
Tomorrow I board an Air France flight to Paris, then N’Djamena, and within a few days will reach Camp Djabal. I feel rather calm in our preparations for this trip, although I may be leaving many things unfinished. I think mostly I am simply beginning to protect myself because I know this trip will be an emotional one for me. I didn’t quite give myself enough time to gain my strength back from i-ACT7, so my heart is already vulnerable. Or maybe I am fully feeling, at a deeper new level, what it feels like to be part of a community that suffers each and every day. I consider my friends in the camp part of my growing community and want them to be part of yours also.
On this trip I will be with Gabriel and two team members, Eric and Ian, who will be experiencing i-ACT and the strong embrace of this population for the first time. Please follow our journey and be part of i-ACT. Our collective action can save lives. I believe in humanity and I believe in peace. I don’t think we can achieve it without you.
If you are part of a group or community, please consider forwarding this note or the short paragraph at the bottom of this email. If you have blog or website please consider adding this button to a side bar or a blog post.
We will also be web-casting from the camps on World Refugee Day, Saturday June 20th. Stay tuned to our website for more information and the web address so you can tune in. We encourage you to be part of this by hosting a viewing party either of these days. Serve refugee rations or ask your guests to participate in Darfur Fast for Life.
paz, ktj
To send out to your community or post:
Beginning on June 15th, i-ACT (interactive-activism) will connect you with Darfur refugees through the web for ten consecutive days. Each day delve deeper into the lives of this community by watching videos, viewing photos, reading and commenting on blog posting and taking action to bring peace and justice to Darfur. Being part of i-ACT allows you to develop a personal relationship with Darfuris and inspires us all to continue acting for each individual who has survived the horrors of Darfur. i-ACT will bring you innovative and interactive live programming for World Refugee Day on June 20th. Join us, be i-ACT.
Mother’s Day is a day we honor the mother’s, especially our own mothers, for their love and devotion to their children, and in many cases to the community around them. For the past six years the mothers of Darfur have struggled to remain strong in the face of violence, towards them and their families. Many have survived and many others have died. Many have lost children, and many carried children on their backs across the desert with little to no food or water. Today, as the situation worsens, they face death by starvation and disease.
This Mother’s Day, take action to honor the mothers of Darfur, and keep consistent and public pressure on the administration:
1. Families: write an open Mother’s Day Card to Michelle Obama. When describing herself, she says, first and foremost, she is Malia and Sasha’s mom. The mothers of Darfur need our support, and Mother’s Day is the perfect day to honor their strength and advocate for their freedom to live their lives in peace.
Send a copy to the editor of your local paper and ask them to publish it, and one to the First Lady. If you want the card to go to a mother of Darfur, send the original to Stop Genocide Now. Here are a few examples for cards and open letters.
Addresses:
First Lady Michelle Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington DC 20500
Stop Genocide Now - The Mothers of Darfur
1732 Aviation Blvd #138
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
2. Mothers, sisters, daughters: In solidarity with Darfur survivors, read one or more entries from the collection One Voice: Testimonies of Darfurian Mothers at your place of worship or Mother’s Day celebration, with your family, or perform it on a street corner.
3. Everyone: On Mother’s Day participate in a global day of Fasting - water only or refugee rations.
Mia sent a note to friends and fellow Darfur activists, “I am ready to go on a hunger strike.” Mia has visited the Darfur region eleven times, spending countless hours hearing the horrific stories of survivors. She also spent hours creating community with the proud and courageous men, women and children. They did not know about her celebrity back home. They saw someone standing with them at the most difficult and dangerous times.
When Mia told of her fast, this group of friends decided to support and join her and thus, Darfur Fast for Life. The fast begins April 7th and continues indefinitely. The situation on the ground—more than a million people in imminent danger of dehydration, disease, and starvation—and the long, slow destruction of a society and culture moved Mia to this action. A positive vision of a world in which the human rights of ALL humans is respected is what motivates this group to stand today and tomorrow with the people of Darfur.
Please visit the Darfur Fast for Life site and consider joining, supporting, and telling friends.
We, the people, are the political will that will motivate our leaders to take action. President Obama has appointed a special envoy, J Scott Gration, but we need more immediate action that will change the situation in the ground. As noted recently in an op-ed by Enough Project’s John Prendergast and Jim Wallis, Obama Can Make a Difference in Darfur.
He has top advisors and in contact with our movement’s leaders. What we need to do is continue putting high and consistent pressure on our leaders - locally, at the State level, and directly on the Obama Administration.
Things you can do:
1. At least once a day please call President Obama at 202.456.1111 (9am-5pm EST Monday-Friday), State Department at 202.647.6575 (call anytime to leave a message), or text Secretary Clinton at 90822 and tell them:
“I am from _____ and I want the Obama Administration to uphold his promises of action for Darfur with ‘unstinting resolve.’ Work to get aid back into Darfur. Create a multilateral peace plans for all of Sudan. Work to isolate al-Bashir from his allies and support the ICC. ”
2. Call 1-800-GENOCIDE (1-800-436-6243) to contact your Senators and Congressional leaders. Many around the country are meeting them to be stronger advocates for Darfur as food, water, and medicine runs dry.
3. Stay up-to-date about what is going on inside of Darfur at While We Wait and Damanga
4. April 29th will mark the 100th day of office for Obama, and yet another 100 days of inaction for Darfur. From now until April 29th, we need to be loud and consistent in our words. On April 27th, Mia Farrow, supported by a group of our movement’s leaders and by people like you, will start a hunger strike. Stay tuned for more details on Darfur Fast for Life.
Less than three weeks ago, the International Criminal Court indicted Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bahsir on War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity. Upon hearing this, al-Bashir took the actions he claimed he would in the months leading up to the arrest warrant: 13 aid organizations expelled leaving 4.7 million refugees without aid and janjaweed and Sudanese soldiers armed and prepared to act on any orders from Khartoum. Once again the innocent civilians will suffer the most. While global attention focuses on these two important developments, it is the time for i-ACTivists, around the world, to take collective action for each individual suffering on the ground.
Join us by participating in the i-ACTivist Challenge. In the daily action of each i-ACT day one word will be CAPITALIZED & BOLD. That word will only remain bold on that day. Write it down somewhere safe, and send your list of 10 words and the ACTION that you took that day at the end of the trip to challenge@stopgenocidenow.org — if you get them all correct, we will send you an profile of a Darfur Refugee and a Humanity before Politics t-shirt!
Gabriel, Katie-Jay and Yuen-Lin have safely arrived in Chad! Their flight was delayed leaving Los Angeles, which made their transit in Paris very ‘exhilirating’. Their bags haven’t arrived yet though, but they will continue making preparations to head out to camps while they are there.
Here are some notes from our Darfuri friend (living in US), Mohamed Yahya, from information he has received from sources inside of Darfur:
- In camps in Western Darfur such as Al- Geniena, Riyadh, Abuzaid, Kerdang and Dorti the refugee’s lives are in grave danger at this moment. Riyadh and Abuzaid were attacked by the government and the janjaweed the day after the arrest warrant was issued in retaliation for cheering and celebrating upon news of the ICC’s decision. More than 15 lives were lost and 300 homes burnt that day with all survivors driven out of the camps with no place to go.
- Thousands are fleeing to the Chad border with anywhere from 30,000 to 4 million more refugees expected to follow. All have been met by the Sudanese government guarding the borders, intent on forced starvation in the Darfur desert.
- After Al-bashir expelled NGOs, the Sudanese government and the janjaweed immediately took over the camps including food stores, medical clinics and water resources. Not only is there a critical lack of water, food and medical attention but there is no milk for the babies. To add to the horror the refugees must stand by and watch their usual rations of food, medicine and shelter sold to the traders in the market. They must starve and fall ill as they watch their lives being sold for the money it is impossible for them to earn.
- Many refugees in many different camps in Western, Southern and Northern Darfur are reporting the same atrocities. El- fashir camps are being hit especially hard with lack of water the greatest current threat. Families as large as 7 get only one small plastic container of water. Each person gets less than 2 liters a day to drink with no water left over for hygiene purposes such as cleaning or showering not to mention the forced choice to quench ones thirst or cook life sustaining food. The projections for 2 weeks from now are far worse.
- In South Darfur camps such as Kalma and Domaya disease is already rampant and spreading every day. Meningitis, cholera and diarrhea have infected hundreds already with more on the way. Doctors have left and the few remaining who are treating entire camps are leaving any day. The disaster has already started
- When asked what the refugees want us to do to help they replied:
“We need water, food, shelter and medicine.”
“We need peace keepers as quickly as possible from America and Europe to protect us.”
“We need America to send International police to arrest Al-bashir and others before they kill us.”
“Every one of them said. ’We will die, we will all die very soon. We are starving, thirsty and sick; Al-bashir will not need bullets to kill us if this situation continues for more than 2 weeks. Please, do something for us, ask Americans, ask President Obama, ask the United Nations.”
-They pleaded in broken native languages, making me cry. They allowed me to feel their desperation and need for help. I just couldn’t hold my tears back when I asked one man to describe the situation and he replied “Saab, Saab, Saab Khalis Khalis….” Then he went silent because words could not describe the pain. Instead he said what would roughly translate into English,” The situation is very, very difficult…. No one could possibly imagine.”
###
Tonight we expressed OUTRAGE @ LA Federal Building. People from all over California and Darfuris living in Arizona gathered - shouted - died in during red lights - and made noise for Darfur. During the event we got word that President Obama has taken the first step for Darfur by appointing a Special Envoy for Sudan, J. Scott Gration. Tonight, all of us made a new commitment to Darfur: to not let down or step down until peace reached Darfur. We will not be satisfied by announcements and statements, we want action for Darfur.
OUTRAGE continues as Obama makes appearances Orange County and LA in the next two days:
March 18th: Meet at 3pm
Town Hall: Orange County Fairgrounds
Building 12
88 Fair Drive,
Costa Mesa, CA
March 19th: Meet at 3pm
Filming of the Jay Leno Show
NBC is located at: 3000 W. Alameda Avenue Burbank, CA 91523
Meet at Johnny Carson Park - Corner of S Bob Hope Dr and W Parkside Ave
As I write this note, children are still without aid: no medicine, scarce water, and very little, if any food. Obama needs to know that we will hold him accountable for Darfur. Please join us! We have some signs that we will bring from the LA Federal Building, but we encourage you to bring your own.
URGENT ACTION ALERT!
On Wednesday, March 4, 2009, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued a landmark arrest warrant for President Omar al Bashir of Sudan. Just hours later, President Bashir expelled 16 humanitarian organizations from Sudan, placing millions of Darfuri civilians at immediate risk. Bashir is holding innocent lives hostage in order to retain his own grip on power.
4.7 million innocent people are currently affected by the conflict – more than the populations of the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco put together. Without the assistance provided by the humanitarian organizations expelled, well over a million internally displaced Darfuris are at immediate risk. With the rainy season quickly approaching, organizations are expecting widespread death from disease and starvation as millions lose access to food, water, medicine and adequate shelter.
TAKE ACTION NOW!
Join Jewish World Watch, Stop Genocide Now, HOPE, and other activist and citizens throughout Southern California as they make a permanent presence in front of the Federal Building to demand immediate and decisive action by the US, the UN and the EU! Activists will be present throughout each day and night, but we will be concentrating our efforts during the time periods listed below. Please make a particular effort to join us Tuesday, March 17 for a big push!
Where:
Federal Building
11000 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA
When: All Day and Night and these times for higher concentration:
Thursday, March 12: 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Friday, March 13: 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Saturday, March 14: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Sunday, March 15: 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Monday, March 16: 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Tuesday, March 17: 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
* Click here to see who is signed up. Click here to sign up, or just scroll down to see the form.
** If you stay for more than 3 hours you will get a Humanity before Politics T-shirt!
*** Let us know if you are interested in staying overnight: email i-actinfo@stopgenocidenow.org. We have tents!
What to Bring: Signs! Possible slogans include:
DARFUR - MILLIONS AT RISK!
DARFUR - MILLIONS COULD DIE - WE CAN STOP IT!
DARFUR - ACT NOW!
SAVE DARFUR!
DARFUR EMERGENCY!
DARFUR - MILLIONS IMMEDIATELY FACE
NO FOOD
NO WATER
DISEASE
STARVATION
DEATH
DARFUR - MILLIONS COULD DIE - WE CAN STOP IT!
DARFUR - ACT NOW!
SAVE DARFUR!
Millions of lives hang in the balance - please send this link out widely, to everyone you know! Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, emails, phone calls. Urgent action is needed now. Our leaders must see that we care.
During this volatile time for Darfurians following the ICC indictment of President al-Bashir, i-ACT field team members Yuen-Lin Tan, Gabriel Stauring, and Katie-Jay Scott will depart for the Darfur refugee camps on March 21st - less than two weeks from now. We will be re-uniting with past friends and meeting new ones. Learning, first-hand, about the current situation and sharing the news with you through video web-casts, Darfur testimonies, blog posts and photos.
In order to do this we need your help. We need your help to purchase new tech equipment for the trip so that we can gather the best information in the highest quality. Your contribution will help us to spread the voices of Darfuris further than ever before. Your help will allow us to continue posting videos like Justice in Darfur.
We do realize that everyone is in a tight spot these days financially. Below you will see exactly what we need to purchase for the trip on March 21st. Every bit counts, and we will also accept in-kind donations. If you have unused memory cards that you can offer, we appreciate these too. We will be looking for discount options and deals whenever possible.
Your contribution will help build a global community that is real people and real voices. Thank you for considering contributing to i-ACT: Putting the Faces to the Numbers of Darfur.
2 Canon Powershot SD880 IS Digital Cameras: $598
2 Canon HS11 HiDef Camcorders: $2,400
Zoom Field Recorder: $179
USB 2GB/4GB Memory Cards (for video, photo, and recorder) - $500
Total: $3,677
Donate NOW by paypal or credit card:
Thank you for your time and commitment to Darfur. We will keep you posted on our goal, so check back!
In-Kind Donations and Checks (made to Emerge Arts Projects Inc. with SGN in memo line) can be mailed to:
SGN
1732 Aviation Blvd #138
Redondo Beach, CA 90278
Over and Over again in the refugee camps we heard from Darfuris that justice is above everyone and that any deferral in the name of a peace would only give Sudan’s President al-Bashir more time to kill.
Listen to the victims speak themselves in our recent video, share their words. Add it to your socail network page, twitter it, add it to your blog. No longer can we ignore the voices of those who have been persecuted.
The beginning of justice in Sudan started today.
In an unprecedented move, the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir. The first time ever that a sitting head of state has been indicted.
For months leading up to today Omar al-Bashir threatened that he would not be able to protect humanitarian aid workers if the ICC ruled against him. He also said the warrant is not worth the ink and paper with which it is written. A member of his government takes it a step further and threatens, “we will cut his hands, head, and parts,” of any assisting the ICC.
And so it begins, an even slower genocide for Amira and Mohamed, for the children whose Darfur memories are burning homes, blood, and violent militia.
Charges against al-Bashir include:
- five counts of crimes against humanity: murder; extermination, forcible transfer, torture, and rape;
- two counts of war crimes: intentionally directing attacks against a civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities, and pillaging.
We have the responsibility to protect these civilians. They are our brothers and sisters. President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton, Vice President Biden, and UN Ambassador Rice have all agreed in past comments that a no fly-zone may be a good option. Will they take action? Not without us. Please take action NOW.
In the last few days, news of the possible arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) has surfaced. New York Times reported the breaking news on February 11, 2009 late in the day. It will be the first time the ICC will issue a warrant for a sitting head of state.
The ICC quickly added a note to their own website stating that there had been “no decision concerning the possible arrest warrant” of Sudan’s al-Bashir.
Darfur activist groups have moved forward using the breaking news from NYT has a sign that the ICC will issue a warrant soon. ENOUGH Project released a very good paper, What the Warrant Means: Justice, Peace, and Key Actors in Sudan, and urgent call-in campaigns reflect the decision in their wording.
Over the last several weeks we have asked you to make phone call after phone call, to fax, to email, and to stand by the people of Darfur by changing your facebook, myspace, or twitter profile picture. Many of you have reached busy signals, answering machines, and your faxes have failed. This only means that more and more people are standing as you are, next to our friends during a time of increased violence. Now there is word of an ICC decision, although not yet confirmed, and al-Bashir could further unleash terror on the innocent civilians, humanitarian workers, and Peacekeepers.
The Obama Administration must be prepared to take swift action, beginning now by appointing a special envoy to Sudan with powerful skills and an international reputation that demands respect. He has surrounded himself with advocates who have spoken out on Darfur: Samantha Powers, Susan Rice, Hillary Clinton, John Prendergast, and more. Now he must act.
TAKE ACTION: EVEN IF YOU HAVE CALLED, PLEASE CALL AGAIN! You are part of an urgent call-in campaign whose goal it is to keep phone lines busy for Darfur.
THE NUMBERS:
White House: 202.456.1111 (Open 9am - 5pm EST Mon-Fri)
State Department Message Line: 202.647.6575 (Open 24 hours a day/7 days a week)
Secretary of State Clinton Targeted Message: 1 800 GENOCIDE (1 800 436 6243)
THE MESSAGE:
“I’m calling to ask President Obama, Ambassador Rice, and Secretary of State Clinton to protect innocent civilians in Darfur during this volatile period approaching an ICC arrest warrant for Bashir. Please issue immediate warnings to the government of Sudan specifying consequence of attacks on civilians, appoints a full-time senior level envoy, and stand firm in support of the ICC indictment of Bashir.
Thank you for taking action. If you get a busy signal, please do not give up. Everyone of our voices is meaningful, and together we can keep their attention on Darfur.
Get Educated: Read ENOUGH Projects What the Warrant Means: Justice, Peace, and Key Actors
Want to do more?
Faxing Campaigns
Urgent Email Campaign to Obama
New Petition: FIVE POINTS FOR DARFUR to UN
Stop Genocide Now has been busy spreading the word through various social networks. Are you on any of the following social networking sites? Join the community - get more frequent updates, view photos, pass actions and articles on to your community more often and easier than ever before! 
Facebook Group: Stop Genocide Now
NEW!!!
The entire Stop Genocide Now team thanks you and your community for your generous support in 2008. Your contributions (of money and time) have allowed SGN and UNHCR to expand educational opportunities in Darfur refugee camps. We have traveled to more US communities and connected them with more survivors of the Darfur genocide. Your support with our i-ACT team members when in the refugee camps has been invaluable - you posted comments and spread the word for others to connect through i-ACT.
Check out all the events we participated in - we reached thousands of people and shared with them the voices of Darfuris.
Your support is so important to us, and to the livelihood of the Darfur refugees. We can not thank you enough!
For many refugees 2009 will be their 6th year living in a desperate situation where their tents cannot shield them from the sun, rain, or wind of the harsh desert landscape. It will be filled with months of struggling to make rations last. And long, hard days of waiting to see if the international community does the right thing. Will it be the year that their hope disappears because we have failed?
It doesn’t have to be this way. We can change the way the world responds to genocide. We are all part of the Global Community called Humanity. We are all responsible.
In this new year, SGN will bring you more frequent updates - videos, photos and blog entries - from the refugees and our team members. Check out the first of many i-ACTzine issues in 2009.
Change.org is holding it’s 2nd round of voting for the “Top 10 Ideas for Change in America.” Go to CHANGE.org to vote today!
Jerry Fowler, President of the Save Darfur Coalition, is asking the Obama Administration to adopt a Peace Surge for Darfur. In doing so, Save Darfur is participating in a contest run by Change.org and MySpace that is called “Ideas for Change in America.” The top 10 ideas will be presented to the Obama administration on Inauguration Day. Then, Change.org, MySpace, and their partners will build a national campaign to advance those ideas in Congress. Help make Darfur a Day 1 Priority. If we allow genocide to continue in Darfur for another day, week, or year we are not just failing the innocent civilians of Darfur, but we are disrespecting the memory of the millions who have died in genocides in our history. Stand up for Darfur, uphold the memory of all those who have died because of who they are.
Voting requires registration, but it’s simple.
You can make this Peace Surge for Darfur happen. Go to CHANGE.org and vote in support of peace, protection, and accountability in Darfur.
Jerry Fowler, President of the Save Darfur Coalition, is asking the Obama Administration to adopt a Peace Surge for Darfur. In doing so, Save Darfur is participating in a contest run by Change.org and MySpace that is called “Ideas for Change in America.” The top 10 ideas will be presented to the Obama administration on Inauguration Day. Then, Change.org, MySpace, and their partners will build a national campaign to advance those ideas in Congress. The first round of voting ends on December 31. The top three ideas from each of the 30 categories will make it into the second round. Round two voting starts on January 5 and ends January 15. Voting requires registration, but it’s simple.
You can make this Peace Surge for Darfur happen. Go to CHANGE.org and vote in support of peace, protection, and accountability in Darfur.
December 10th, 2008 was the 60th anniversary for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document, ratified by all United Nations member states, declares, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” Completely disregarding the Declaration, the Government of Sudan and the Janjaweed militia have systematically attacked the people of Darfur and deprived them of their basic human rights. Women and girls have suffered unimaginable horrors. Their homes have been destroyed and their husbands and family killed. Rape has been used systematically as a tool of genocide.In solidarity with the girls and women of Darfur, please ask President Elect Obama to make Darfur a Day 1 Priority:
1. Go to President Elect Obama’s Transition Team Website: Change.gov
2. Fill in the required fields.
3. Check off “Foreign Policy.”
4. Ask President Elect Obama to make Darfur a Day 1 Priority.
Eric and Jeremiah have completed their month-long refugee fast. For Eric, the physical changes he experienced is quite startling:
Below are some photos documenting the observable effects of living on a wheat diet of 1,000 Calories a day for just 1 month. The left shows me at 157 lbs on Nov 1, and the right shows me at 134 lbs on Nov 30. So in just 30 days I lost 23 lbs. I am a healthy adult and I will put the weight back on and be fine. But there are children that have lived their entire lives in the refugee camps without even minimally sufficient nutrition. They won’t be fine. The damage done to their bodies is permanent and will plague them forever.
Read more about their experiences during the month here.
Communities from America’s 50 States came together in Washington DC this last weekend. After a year of activism centered around their Tents of Hope tent, the Washington Mall became an unlikely refugee camp, hosting hundreds of tents directly in front of the Capitol.It was surreal to stand surrounded by tents in DC. The camps we visit in Eastern Chad also feel surreal, but in a very different way. DC gave me hope, at seeing regular people standing up for the rights of others that are half-way around the world. In Chad, I go through a roller-coaster of emotions, feeling joy at being surrounded by beautiful children but also feeling deeply sadenned at knowing why they have experienced.The DC tents were adorned with colorful paint. Some looked like professional works of art, depicting images of the Darfuri’s journey from their destroyed homes to their life in tents. Some shared images of what their sister US home looks like, with mountains, oceans, and trees. Others were painted innocently by children of all ages. The site of all these tents at sunset in the middle of America’s capital city was just about overwhelming.Our leaders that have their offices a short distance from the mock DC refugee camp must participate in the vision that the Tents of Hope represent, a vision of peace, protection, and justice.
For most in the United States, November is a month to give thanks. On Thanksgiving Day, we gather at our homes and enjoy great food and the company of loved ones. Refugees in and from Darfur have been deprived of a home; many of their loved ones have been killed; and they lack enough of the basics, such as food and water. In solidarity with all of the displaced from Darfur, SGN teammates Jeremiah Forest and Eric Angel will participate on a month-long fast, matching their diets to the ones of refugees we have recently visited in the desert. They will write daily journals and regularly upload pictures and video, sharing their experience.
Earlier in 2006, we spoke to several Congressmen as part of our From America with Love project. Two of them happen to be candidates in the upcoming elections for the Presidency, Barack Obama and John McCain!
At SGN, taking action is core to our mission, and throughout each trip to Chad, we’ve accompanied each day with an action. After 6 trips, that means we’ve had a lot of actions, more than we can keep track of.
To that end, we’re highlighting what we feel is the most urgent action for everyone to focus on at a given moment. Systemic change can only be achieved if everyone joins the cause and ACTS to create that change. Be a part of the change by participating in our actions! To kick things off, we have a petition to President Bush, urging him to stop the UN Security Council from interfering with the ICC’s indictment of President Bashir.
Justice for the people of Darfur
“Why give al-Bashir 12 months, when for 5 years we have seen no peace?” the question posed by a young man in a Darfur refugee captures the theme heard over and over again in the camp during our late July visit. And the theme of international debate over what our next steps for Darfur should be.
For almost four months now representatives of the international community – countries, experts, judges - has been debating whether indicting Sudanese President al-Bashir would impede the peace process for Darfur. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has the opportunity to postpone the indictment for 12 months according to the Rome Statute Article 16 and plans on voting on this as soon as September. But it would be impossible for an arrest warrant for al-Bahsir to impede the peace process, because there is not peace in Darfur. Since Moreno-Ocampo statement on June 5th, peacekeepers have been attacked and murdered and bombs have fallen from Sudanese aircraft into IDP camps in Darfur.
We need to guarantee that President Bush and our UNSC representative support justice and peace in Darfur and show this by ensuring that the UNSC allows the ICC to continue with their efforts to charge al-Bashir with genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Our leaders must veto attempts to block ICC progress by using Rome Statute Article 16.
As one woman described, “A delay will not be a chance for peace. It will be a chance for Bashir to kill more.”
The August 24th killings and burning of homes in Kalma Camp, Nyala, Darfur is the most recent example of this continued terror and attempted extermination of the people of Darfur. As the international community and experts take a vacation and debate themes of peace, Al-Bashir’s confidence in carrying out genocide grows and his latest attack, carried out not by Janjaweed but by Sudanese military, is only the most recent example of continued, not impeded, genocide.
For the protection of the people and for the peace process, we need to bring Justice to Darfur. From a refugee to the world, “Justice first, then peace will come.”
Read more:
- The Merits of Justice by ENOUGH Project
- Al-Bashir continues his reign of terror on the Darfur region
August 24th attacks on Kalma Camp - 2nd Day of attacks, services cut off by Sudanese Army
- Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, outlining its founding principles and operating procedures.
Almost a year ago, Beijing began to spread their 2008 Olympics motto: One World, One Dream. Shortly thereafter, a movement began to pressure Sudan’s largest foreign oil investor and UNSC ally, China. Now with the games less then two weeks away, our community needs to turn up the heat, and demand that the Chinese government, and all our global leaders, ensure that our world, and our dreams, represent and include those of Darfur.What are the dreams of the Darfuris whose lives have been filled with daily horrors, challenges and obstacles to their dreams? You have heard it before through past i-ACTs – they want peace and protection in order to ensure a safe passage home, and a chance to rebuild their lives. They want justice and a future.
As the i-ACT team prepares to bring our community the voices and stories of Darfur from refugee camps, where they have been trapped and forgotten by our leaders, athletes are moving into the Beijing Olympic Village. As NBC brings you thousands of hours of coverage of Olympic games, and athlete profiles about realizing dreams of the Gold, i-ACT will bring you the voices of those who have fled their homes under flames, violence, and hatred.
As the world celebrates humanity and the global community through competition and sportsmanship, people in Darfu r and refugee camps in Chad are starving and struggling to survive day-to-day.
Now more than ever, THEY NEED YOU to listen to their voices, look into their eyes and tell our leaders, China, NBC and your local community their stories. People are nervous that the recent ICC evidence brought forth by Moreno-Ocampo threatens the prospect for peace. But what peace has their been for Darfuri’s or for UNAMID troops? Now more than ever, with the world’s attention on humanity and global brotherhood, we need to share with others why Darfuri’s deserve to be part of One World, One Dream.
Starting August 1st, i-ACT will bring you exclusive footage from the other Olympics, the other Dreams. Each day we will highlight a Darfur athlete. I am asking you to share this athlete’s profile with others. During the opening ceremony of the Olympics on August 8th, Switch Over to Darfur will launch their own Olympics show through the 15th. Please tune in and spread out, the stories you hear for these two weeks – the power to unite the world lies in your ability to take action on behalf of the innocent civilians of Darfur.
I Challenge You to Participate in the i-ACT Challenge.
HUMANITY BEFORE POLITICS.
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On Monday July 14, 2008, the International Criminal Court Office of the Prosecutor presented evidence to the court that Sudanese President al-Bashir has committed genocide in Darfur. This includes 10 counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity that al-Bashir has lead for the past five years, displacing hundreds of thousands and destroying the lives of millions.
Many fear that these charges put humanitarian aid workers and UN peacekeepers on the ground at more of risk than ever before. However, the international community needs to hold Sudan more accountable if this should occur; it is the Bashir administration and their militia that hold the power to ensure aid worker and peacekeeper safety. It is also the international community’s responsibility to support the ICC and Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s efforts by telling our leaders of their responsibility to protect the innocent civilians of Darfur and pursue peace in a region that has seen only death of their families, destruction of their lives, and deterioration of their culture for the past five years.
Please call the President at 202 456 1111 or 1 800 GENOCIDE and tell him to continue support of the ICC OTP decision and ensure that the UNSC continues to support ICC action.
It is our support of the ICC that will move our leader to support the work of the ICC – be active. Your voice is the voice of Adam, Fatna, and Mansur.
We are coming to the last days of the 100-Day Fast for Darfur. By participating in the fast and helping the World Food Program (WFP) in their efforts to feed the Darfuri people that have been brutally displaced, you are standing with the victims at a crucial time. There has been recent escalation of fighting and violence in Darfur, Khartoum, Abeyi (South Sudan), and in Chad. The victims, as usual, end up being regular, innocent civilians.
For the final days of the fast, we are requesting that you join for one or more days and get others in your community to join also. Your donation to the World Food Program will make double the difference. Humanity United, an organization committed to building a world where modern-day slavery and mass atrocities are no longer possible, will be matching dollar-for-dollar all 100-Day Fast for Darfur pledges to the World Food Program.
To join the fast, e-mail us at fast@stopgenocidenow.org with your name, city, and amount pledged to the WFP (instructions for sending in donation below).
Hello friend and family of Stop Genocide Now,
SGN is joining forty-six other organizations in demanding that our world leaders at this year’s G8 Summit in Hokkaido, Japan, focus and act on one of the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. The G8 Summit comes at a perilous time for Darfur, the whole of Sudan, and the entire region. Intensified violence in Darfur has resulted in more death and displacement, and recent fighting in the Abyei region of Sudan suggests the unraveling of the fragile North/South peace agreement. The instability we recently witnessed in Chad is another alarming red flag.
Stop Genocide Now will be one of many sponsoring a letter and petition to Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda of Japan, President Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev of the Russian Federation, Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and President George W. Bush of the United States of America. We would like to encourage our supporters to read the letter and sign the petition, letting our world leaders know that ignoring the genocide in Darfur is unacceptable.
To learn more and sign the petition, visit Human Rights First.
As always, thank you for your support and commitment.
Peace,
The Stop Genocide Now team
Edit: Originally sent to our mailing list on 16 June, 2008.
Hello Friends and Familia:
We are starting our second week in Chad, and for the first time in five trips we might not be able to visit a refugee camp. When we left camp Kounoungo this past January, our friend Yakoub told us that the people in his camp felt motivated by our trips and felt proud that we continued to come back. They feel connected to not just us, but to the communities that support them in the US and other countries.
Yakoub and other refugees are so grateful for the aid they receive to keep them alive, but they regain hope and energy when they hear the messages, see the faces, and learn the names of those that are doing selfless work every day to bring peace to Darfur. That “building of community” across continents is priceless. The i-ACT team remains committed to this.
We are in Abeche, in Eastern Chad, unable to move because of heavy fighting in the area. We will continue to report on the situation and how it affects aid work and the lives of the hundreds of thousands of displaced people. We will post video, when there is something visually worth posting. Otherwise, we will continue with journals, reports, and answering any comments and questions that you post on our blog. Click here to read our reports from Abeche.
Thank you for staying involved and for being one of those faces and names that Yakoub says he feels proud to know.
Paz,
Gabriel
for Katie-Jay, Colin, and Scott,
i-ACT Team in Abeche, Chad.
An alliance of Chadian rebel groups has launched a fresh offensive to overthrow the government of Chadian president Idriss Deby. The rebels requested mediation by France and the EU as a precursor to avert war, but their request was not accepted. Beginning from positions in Eastern Chad near the border with Sudan, they have advanced westwards towards the Chadian capital, N’djamena. On Saturday June 14, the rebels attacked and took control of the town of Goz-Beida. They withdrew later in the day, but promised further confrontation on Sunday. An EUFOR force deployed in Goz-Beida, comprising 500 Irish and 70 Dutch troops, has been protecting civilians and aid workers in the area. Camps surrounding Goz-Beida house 15,000 refugees and 36,000 internally displaced Chadians. The i-ACT team was about to travel to Goz-Beida from Abeche, when travel restrictions put in place meant the journey had to be cancelled. They are currently waiting at a safe location in Abeche as the situation unfolds.
To see the location of Goz-Beida, Abeche and N’djamena on a map, click here (scroll west to see N’djamena).
News reports about the situation:
Chad rebels say on offensive and seek French mediation (Thursday June 12)
EU troops increase patrols in Chad security alert (Friday June 13)
Chad rebels say they are advancing, threaten French forces (Friday June 13)
Chad rebels attack town, EU troops come under fire (Saturday June 14)
Your messages of love and activism that we share with refugees often bring tears and smiles to the faces of our friends who have suffered for five years. It is your words and images that provide them with the essential human connection that gets lost in the isolated desert. Without your messages, they would lose hope all together.Please leave a comment below for our friends in the camps, and we will pass them on each day. Our field team will check back daily for message to share with the refugees they meet.
I’ve told you “we’re going back” three times in the past, but this one is a little different. The last time we left Chad after our visits to the refugee camps in the east, we left on a French military plane, being evacuated in the middle of an all out coup attempt that left an already unstable country and region in even worse conditions.
Soon after, the Sudanese government attacked Darfuri villages, displacing tens of thousands of more civilians. This was in February 2008. Of the over 13,000 that reached the border between Chad and Darfur, 8,000 are still sitting in the desert, waiting to be transferred to camp Mile, according to UNHCR. The insecurity has stopped the transfers indefinitely.
Services have been reduced and interrupted at almost all of the camps in Chad. Chadian security officers working at the camps have been attacked and killed, and humanitarian aid workers have been targets. Our friends in the camps, mostly women and children, continue to live the life of a refugee—but the life of a refugee in grave danger.
We are returning after ourselves having been in some danger. That also makes it different. Our experience at the hotel in N’Djamena had an effect on Katie-Jay and I and on all the people around us. We are not taking this lightly. We will take all precautions possible and will make decision based on the best information from experts on the ground.
We want to continue putting a face on the numbers and allowing the voice of the victims to be heard. The innocent civilians of Darfur need immediate protection, and sovereignty cannot be an excuse for inaction from the entire world.
Join us for i-ACT, staring June 10th and for twelve consecutive days of webcasts, interactive blog, and opportunities for action. Scott Warren, the outgoing National Director of STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition, and Colin O’Brien, who served as the National High School Outreach Coordinator for STAND, will be going with us on the journey. Students have been the leaders of the Darfur movement, and we are looking for students and their communities to increase the heat and raise the noise this summer to bring peace to Darfur.
Paz,
Gabriel
Posted on behalf of Chann Noun, a survivor of the Cambodian genocide.
Hi everyone,
After having gone through an extremely terrible starvation during the Cambodian genocide era (especially in 1975) and a somewhat mild one in the refugee camps in the mid 80’s, I vowed never to experience any hungry feelings ever again after I had arrived in America. Anyhow, after several years of eating all the fatty American foods, I barely gained any weight. One doctor in Minnesota said the starvation that hit me was so severe that it completely destroyed all my fat cells and it would take a long while for them to rebuild. However, for this very important cause and my absolutely personal experiences, I will break my vow.
I choose May 25th and July 13th to fast. Let’s stand with the people of Darfur and fast in solidarity w ith me on this date.
If you can participate, please send your response to fast@stopgenocidenow.org and let them know that you’re doing it with me.
Peace,
Chann Noun
Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, provided three vans to travel from Vermont to San Francisco in preparation for the April 9th Olympic Torch Relay. The vans have billboards attached that encourage China to engage constructively in Sudan. Due to an accident in New Jersey with one of the vans (thankfully no one was hurt!), the other two vans were shipped to San Francisco and have now arrived. The vans will tour the San Francisco Bay Area to build momentum for the Torch’s arrival on April 9th. Stay tuned for updates!
On-the-ground sources tell us that thousands of newly displaced people have been fleeing the destruction of their villages in Darfur and are trying to make it in to the also unstable and dangerous Chad side of the border. Attacks come from air and ground, with bombs falling from the sky and dozens of trucks riding in to destroy the Darfuri villages. A more complete report will come soon.
The situation on the ground is getting worse. They are still in the capital, barred from leaving the hotel. The streets are empty, and the fighting is getting closer and closer. Read Google News for all the latest news stories from Chad. Katie-Jay was also interviewed by the BBC. Gabriel is still uploading reports from the ground, you can find them all here. Here’s the latest video from Gabriel:
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