Dear friends and family:

It was in December of 2004, when I first sent out one of these e-mails talking about Darfur. It went out to my family and a couple of friends, a total of recipients that stayed in the single digits. Pretty much all it said was, “Have you heard about what is happening in a place called Darfur!?”

Darfur sounded far away, and I felt insignificant in what I could to, when seeing the magnitude of the horrors and the statistics. As I got closer to the story, met the people, and heard their voice, I ignored my internal voice that told me “you can’t do anything about it” and just started doing. It started so small, but by December of 2005, I was walking in a refugee camp with about ten children holding each of my hands.

The International Criminal Court recently issued an arrest warrant for Sudan President al Bashir, As expected, his response was to unleash once again an intense hell for innocent civilians in a place that has been hellish for over six years. Aid agencies are now being expelled from the country, and the army and Janjaweed are terrorizing the Darfuri towns and displacement camps.

The statistics are, again, horrific. More than one million are in imminent danger, with very limited supplies. Millions more are next in line to face starvation, lack of water and medical services. Diarrhea and meningitis threaten to become major killers in this nightmare that is picking up speed.

New York Times columnist, Nick Kristoff, has said that, from what his sources tell him, there are Two weeks to the Darfur Epidemic:

within a period of less than two weeks 1.1 million people will need food; within a period of less than two weeks 1.2 million people will need water; within a period of less than two weeks 1.5 million people will be without access to health services; within a period of less than two weeks 760,000 people will not have shelter at the beginning of the rainy season; within one week water supplies in most camps will not be operational; within two-three weeks, you may have a widespread diarrhea epidemic in the camps due to the lack of water and services and potentially unrest in the camps; within one month you are likely to have a mass movement of people from camps without NGOs to camps with NGOs.

These numbers, which are probably conservative, again made me feel small and made me feel guilty. As a part of a historical movement to stop genocide, I feel that we have failed to act to avert the disaster we saw coming from miles away. The movement continued with business as usual and was not willing to demonstrate the outrage required to push our leaders towards action.

I am right now sitting next to a tent outside of the Federal building in Los Angeles. It is 2:08am. We are staying here and more will come tomorrow and throughout the weekend and in to this coming week. It has to be the start of a new level of activism for us in LA but also for others across the country. We must stand for justice in Darfur, and we must stand for protection of innocent civilians. As we heard over and over again at the camps on our last visit, peace and justice must come together; they are both part of the same.

In a little more than a week, we’ll also be sitting next to tents, but in a refugee camp close to the Chad/Darfur border. You’ll get to hear from the people of Darfur yourselves. Don’t wait to act, though. Come out and join us. Let’s get together and be loud in our outrage! This e-mail now goes out to more than single digit recipients, but we are still a small community. Let’s be as loud as if we were millions, so that millions can stay alive.

I am now asking you to make a commitment for Darfur.

This situation for Darfuris on the ground is deteriorating quickly. On a conference call on March 11, International Rescue Committee (IRC) indicated that they were able to put in place a few supplies before they were ordered out. They estimate that medicine will run out in one month, and fuel supplies for water pumps will be used up in two weeks. Lack of clean water leads to the spreading of a disease that is easily curable in our homes - diarrhea.

OCHA estimates that in one camp, 4,000 children we currently receiving extra food and medication for severe malnutrition. Will these children survive? My guess is no.

Doctors without Borders was preparing to vaccinate 130,000 Kalma camp displaced persons for meningitis before they were expelled. Reports indicate that 2 people have died and 28 more are already infected.

The Government of Sudan not only expelled these NGOs but seized their assets - that means trucks, food supplies, records (registered Darfuris receiving aid) and bank accounts. The Government who harbors 3 WAR CRIMINALS has been allowed to retain all the supplies keeping the same population alive that they want dead.

From sources inside of Darfur say:

Eyewitness say armed men on 2 vehicles kidnapped 7 aid workers from Doctors-Without-Borders workers in a hospital in Saraf Omrah location in Central Darfur. The kidnapped workers: one French national, one Italian national, one Canadian national, 3 other International staff, 2 sudanese national (guards). Doctors-Without -Borders organization is one of the organizations that medically treats and documents cases of rape and other atrocities, which angered Government of Sudan(GoS).

Situation in the large cities of Darfur is extremely tense. News from Elfasher that there was sporadic gun fires in the last five days. Janjaweed forces are seen roaming the city freely and assaulting citizens.

A Darfuri activist in Midwest ( U.S.A.) told me this morning that GoS security agents are looking for her sister in Nyala (South Darfur). She said her sister has no political affiliation or activities. She believes that Government of Sudan’s agents in U.S.A. has a hand in what is going on to her family back home. ( All demonstrations supporting ICC decision on 4th of March in major U.S. cities by Darfuris in Diaspora were taped by GoS agents). This Darfuri activist is a student in a university. She told me she cancelled all classes today just to keep calling her relatives in Sudan, Arabian Gulf countries, to follow up situation in Darfur.

Some IDP refugees in a camp in west Darfur ( UmTagook) were forced to get out in a demonstartion (yesterday Wednesday) condemning the ICC warrant of arrest. A l TV channel from Khartoum ( Alshoroug TV) taped the forced-demonstration to be shown nation-wide.

Retributions are going on against outspoken IDP camps leaders. Thur IDP camp ( West Darfur) leader Sheikh Haroun Mohamed Ishag was lead out by armed men and killed by gun fire at a short distance from the camp.

It is clear that news like this demands strong, loud, and sustained action until our leaders step up and speak out for Darfur. We cannot allow our leaders to make small steps, like statements of condemnation, and the movement to call for a victory. We must set our sights on REAL action towards policy changes, as outlined by ENOUGH.

Check out our Action page - stay engaged - more actions to come. Have ideas? Send us your comments, let’s mobilize.

Stay connected with daily blog posts by Michelle at Change.org.

Hours after the ICC announced an arrest warrant for Sudan’s President al-Bashir, he and his administration distributed their own blows to the country. Ultimately, unless the International community acts, we are allowing Sudan to continue genocide of it’s non-arab population. Without aid workers, they don’t need the Janjaweed militia men riding in and raping, burning and killing, Darfuris will waste away in displacement camps - genocide by starvation and disease. Sudan has expelled 13 aid agencies thus far, leaving 4.7 million without aid, including:

CARE International
OXFAM - GB
MSF-Holland (Doctors without Borders)
MSF-France
Mercy Corps
Save the Children Fund - UK
Save the Children Fund - US
Norwegian Refugee Council
International Rescue Committee
Solidarites
CHF International
Action Contre La Faim-France
PADCO-US

Do you remember Ahmat, who met so many years ago in 2005? He may be in one of the many camps. He left Eastern Chad in search of an education because there was no secondary schools in the refugee camps. We haven’t heard from him since. He may be one of the millions that die without aid.

ACTIONS:

1. Please call the White House today (202 456 1111) or State Department (202 647 6575) and say “I want President Obama and his administration to ensure humanitarian aid is not cut off for Darfur and to appoint a high-level official with the necessary stature, authority and mandate to bring peace to Sudan and its people”

2. Sign IRC’s petition to UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon about aid agencies being kicked out.

3. Use your facebook profile, twitter account, myspace page or other social network to post info about Sudan. Swift action must be taken, millions of lives are at stake.

4. Fax the White House.

5. Text Secretary of State Clinton at 90822 - Tell her to do more for Darfur immediately.

Want to stay up-to-date everyday? Follow Michelle’s Stop Genocide blog at Change.org!

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:

1. five counts of crimes against humanity: murder; extermination, forcible transfer, torture, and rape;
2. 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.