Darfur Be Damned

From Reuters:

The number of cases of acute watery diarrhea has increased noticeably in the past four weeks, with outbreaks reported in camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, as well as urban areas, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said.

Well, crap (no pun intended). It looks like when lots of people are forced from their homes while rebel militias rape and pillage, putting them all in one place with little access to clean water and healthy food leads to disease. Who knew?

Anyone who knows anything about science.

As I say nearly every Monday, the political finesse needed to get a lasting peace deal done is tricky. But, military power can secure borders in order for aid groups to distribute food and alleviate deteriorating medical conditions.

What is sad is that when people die from disease, their deaths will not usually figure into official body counts from the genocide. Never mind that these deaths ARE A RESULT OF THE GENOCIDE. If not for the government-backed Janjaweed, these folks would be living in their homes and not crammed with 50 others in a space smaller than my office.

Get a clue, America. Terrorism is happening right in front of our face and a few F-16s roaring overhead would scare the crap out of Khartoum enough so that they allows border access from Chad to prevent preventable diseases from breaking out in camps.

Thus, cholera is now also a tool of the Sudanese government, but is easily ignored because it's not as graphic as pitchforking newborns is.

Wake up and smell the dysentery, world.

Here's a great chronology about how everything has fallen apart since May's peace deal.

Source: Reuters

Things keep getting worse and now on one is going to want to help:

More aid workers have been killed in Sudan's Darfur region in the last two weeks than in the past two years, the United Nations and aid agencies say.

Source: BBC News

Here's a story about Darfur by someone who is actually on the ground, trying to bring what little aid she can to people who need so much more.

Best quote:

You hear these things almost everyday. And because of the fact that they are all invariably happening somewhere else, to someone else, the incidences themselves, sad as they are, become expected as part of your daily routine.

Source: Concern Worldwide

If you want to be a good global citizen, then mark your calendar (from Doctors Without Borders):

Guided by MSF aid workers, visitors to this outdoor educational exhibit are asked to imagine that they are among the millions of people fleeing violence and persecution in, for example, Afghanistan, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, North Korea, or Sudan.

An estimated 33 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes and live in temporary shelter, with nearly two-thirds of them displaced within their own countries. The exhibit is made up of materials used by MSF in its emergency medical work around the world, including emergency refugee housing, a food distribution tent, water pump, health clinic, vaccination tent, therapeutic feeding center, and a cholera treatment center. It addresses questions such as: Will I be safe? What will I eat? How do I find water? Can I get medical care? And where will I live?

The exhibit first appeared in the US in 2000, in New York, New Jersey, and Los Angeles, attracting almost 20,000 visitors.

Launched in France in 1995, A REFUGEE CAMP IN THE HEART OF THE CITY has since appeared in Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Holland, Japan, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates, and is scheduled to appear in Italy, and Hong Kong.

This exhibit will be in Nashville at Centennial Park on October 4-8, 2006.

Conditions will emulate what millions are currently facing in Darfur and other easily-ignored locales. But, at the end of your day, you'll return to your comforts. Many others cannot.

And, these are the type of events that will be listed on CoolPeopleCare. Get ready for the revolution. Sign up to receive an email when we go live real soon, and if you work for a nonprofit, we're happy to let the world know about you and your events.

Also posted on: Darfur Mondays, SamDavidson.net

Ordinary Opportunity + Your Gifts and Talents + Cause Larger Than Yourself = Change

See what I mean:

When Jill Frahm needed a speech topic last year for her communications class at Midland Lutheran College, she turned to the crisis in Darfur.

Soure: Fremont Tribune
Also posted on: SamDavidson.net

Here's an article that gives a run down of the International Criminal Court in relation to the genocide in Darfur. It's well worth the read.

Source: AllAfrica.com

The New York Inquirer does it again. Today, there's 'Darfur for Dummies,' a look at why the peace deal didn't work, what the aid situation looks like, and 'The Arab League's Impotence.' It's all good stuff, so take about 20 minutes and soak it all in.

Source: The New York Inquirer

There is a great editorial in today's New York Times. The article call out China for supporting the murderous government in Khartoum. Here's the best paragraph:

One reason Beijing stands behind Mr. Bashir is oil. China is trying to diversify its oil sources beyond the crisis-prone Middle East, and Africa is one obvious alternative. Already, some 7 percent of China's imported oil comes from Sudan.

The US needs to leverage its allies and put pressure on China to not use its UN veto so that troops and support can be approved to help fix this deadly problem.

Source: New York Times

The New York Inquirer continues its excellent reporting about the genocide in Darfur. Today's pieces are more in depth and technical than the others, but there is some great reporting. There is also an explanation about Minni Minnawi and his role in all of this.

Here's the best quote from the articles:

The US has given more than $1 billion in aid to the crisis in Darfur. Bush has taken a personal stake. Yet, the situation is no better than it was a year ago. Does the shell game move too quickly, and would a UN force do any better?

There's no quick answer to this, unfortunately. But at least it's the right question to ask.

Source: New York Inquirer
Also posted on: SamDavidson.net

In the wake of the departure of the administration's point man on Sudan, two leading human rights advocates in the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), today called for President George W. Bush to appoint a special envoy to Sudan so the U.S. can help push the peace process forward in Darfur and bring lasting peace and stability to Sudan.

I hope this happens. Read the rest of the article here. Such a a thing would be both easier and harder than you think.

Source: All Africa

Today's lead story in the New York Inquirer discusses why the story of Darfur has been spread so slowly. Again, these folks do their research and write great pieces.

There is also a map of villages that have been burned by militias.

This is an interesting paragraph:

Though a sudden agreement gave hope for peace in Darfur, the lack of support from small anti-government groups, the spillover of refugees into Chad and the opposition of the central government to UN peacekeepers mean that the conflict drags on. Lost in discussions about ending the Sudanese government's attacks on its people, however, is the acknowledgment of how the dispute began: Darfur may well be the first war influenced by climate change.

The article goes on to describe how scarcity of resources only worsens an already pathetic situation. If you don't care about global warming because you think your kids will have all the gas they need, at least care about it because some African kids can't have all the food they need.

Source: Seed Magazine

In just the last three weeks, there have been over 25,000 new refugees in Darfur. This is added to the already ballooning number of nearly 2 million. The Darfur genocide is clearly a crisis that cannot be ignored.

Source: United Press International

Today's in-depth look at the Darfur genocide by the New York Inquirer is well worth you ten minutes. There's a short article about the lack of funds to support the African Union peacekeepers, followed by timeline of the conflict. Go, spend a few minutes, and be ready to feel compelled to tell someone else.

Also posted on: SamDavidson.net

This news makes me want to throw up. In essence, the entire Darfur peace deal was shot to hell before it started. No one complied, everyone killed everyone else, and now things look bleaker than ever. A true vision and much sacrifice is needed by all.

Source: Reuters