where she was branded when she was raped.
Other women showed me where their tendons were sliced
and how they must hobble now." Mia Farrow
This is Kalma Camp - population 90,000. Not a blade of grass nor a single tree and, worst of all, there is no safety. The camps themselves are continually attacked. The reported incidents of rape at Kalma Camp are 10 per day. This, in an Islamic culture, where the victims of rape are held culpable. The World Food Program donates sorghum, which requires at least two hours of cooking on an open fire. Deforestation around an average IDP camp in 2006 was 10 miles, meaning a woman must go 20 miles for firewood. Thus firewood has become the crucial currency within the camps. On these excusions, she risks being raped, mutilated, or murdered. If the men go for firewood, they will surely be slaughtered.
The above picture and above text is taken directly from Mia Farrow's website.
Children of Kalma Refugee Camp. Despite the best efforts of aid agencies, there aren't enough water wells. There isn't enough clean water. Cholera is spreading through the camps. How would you feel living at this camp?
“We Are All The Keepers of Justice.” Sandra Hammel.. . . Because I am human and genocide will not be allowed to define me, my country or my world. . .
I post a lot about DARFUR . . . do you know enough about the story of Darfur?
It has been going on for over four and a half years….
“Its only words,
and words are all I have
to take your heart away”
(from lyrics of “Words”).
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
(Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.)
GENOCIDE STOPS WITH US. YOU AND ME.
Our government
has failed us
and so has the "Free" Press
who would rather tell us
about the same stories over and over
instead of telling us the world's news.
Be the Champion
your government direly needs you to be.
I write this on the USA thanksgiving day, November 22, 2007. And I just realized when I saw that date on the page here, that two years ago today, November 22, 2005, I spent 6 hours by myself at the Dachau Extermination Camp in Dachau, Germany. Destiny just keeps showing up when I take the path that would uniquely be for me.
A woman risking all to gather firewood. In the distant sky you can see an Antonov Bomber. LONDON, England (CNN) -- For the 2.5 million people who have fled the four-year conflict in war-torn Darfur, refugee camps in eastern Chad hold the promise of a safe haven.
But, once there, it's the women refugees' role to find wood and water. To do this, they have to leave the camps and walk for many miles, putting their very lives at risk.
Now, a small nonprofit organization is cutting the dangers faced by these women, by helping them to move away from firewood and cook using cardboard, tinfoil and the power of the sun.
And as well as saving lives, they're offering refugees hope, independence and economic opportunity.
The cost of solar cooking
Solar cooking is cheap, easy and relies on a few simple supplies. A $30 donation pays for:- Two solar cookers
- Two pots
- Two potholders
- A year's supply of plastic bags
- Skills training for refugee women and girls
Read the entire article about the solar-powered cookers at the link: http://edition.cnn.com/2007/TECH/09/12/solar.darfur/#cnnSTCPhoto%20
You know. I know. It is no different than what you and I would want if we had genocide being perpetrated on us, on our family.
Barack Obama said on Oprah " I always believe that ultimately, if people are paying attention, then we get good government and good leadership.
And when we get lazy, as a democracy and civically start taking shortcuts, then it results in bad government and politics." And in Des Moines, Iowa Barack Obama said “We need a democratic party that is “…led not by polls, but by principles, not by calculations, but by convictions… summon(ing) the entire nation to a common purpose, a higher purpose…”
We have a government right now as a result of not paying attention. And we need a revival of living from humane convictions.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
—Martin Luther King, Jr., 1929 – 1968
Darfur needs us now, in full force, in line with our call to be human in our most majestic way.
I am just an average USA citizen. Along with other average citizens, I recently organized a Darfur event for the state of Rhode Island as a part of the Dream for Darfur campaign (October 27, 2007). www.dreamfordarfur.org
http://www.savedarfur.org/page/content/torchrelay/ny/
*The Dream for Darfur goal is to protect civilians on the ground in Darfur. To achieve this, the government of Sudan must allow a robust civilian protection force into Darfur.
Beijing is the host of the 2008 Summer Olympics, an event that stands for peace and brotherhood. The Beijing theme is ONE WORLD, ONE DREAM. China is a focal point of the international and national Dream for Darfur Torch Relays because Beijing has unrivaled influence with Khartoum. China is a close business partner and fierce diplomatic supporter of the Sudanese regime and as such is complicit in the Darfur genocide.
Shame on China for not doing what they have the obligation to do to end the Darfur genocide. China buys Sudan's oil and then Sudan turns around and uses the oil revenue to buy military equipment and uses it to commit and perpetuate the genocide in Darfur with duplicity. China also sells weapons to Sudan and these very weapons are used in the genocide of the Darfuri people. The genocide has been going on for over four and a half years. The holocaust lasted 12 years before the world decided to do something about it.
As the Games approach, Darfur advocates like me have an extraordinary opportunity to reach out to the Chinese government, in its role as host, to urge Beijing’s leaders to use their considerable influence with Sudan.
Because of China’s extensive economic interests in Sudan, leaders in Beijing are in a unique - indeed unrivaled - position to persuade Sudan to consent immediately to a true and robust U.N. operation in Darfur.
We will know when we have succeeded when a robust peacekeeping force is in Darfur and there is security for civilians and humanitarian workers. (*some words from Dream for Darfur website)
WHICH OLYMPIANS WILL USE THEIR LIMELIGHT TO SHINE A LIGHT ON GENOCIDE IN DARFUR? Joey Cheek, the speed skater, did in the 2006 Torino, Italy Olympics.
At our Providence, Rhode Island Torch Relay I stated "’Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.' (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) We are here to say we are not silent about Darfur."
On December 10, 2007 the national Torch Relays will culminate in Washington, D.C. on International Human Rights Day. We need the world to pay attention. We need you to be a voice for the voiceless in Darfur. Our leaders’ actions have rendered us powerless. But we are not powerless. Because as long as we have voices we have power.
Please, be a voice for the Darfuri people and for humanity.
The baby has not made a sound since the day their parents were slaughtered and the village burned. Why is this acceptable to us?
TO END THE HUMANITY OF THE HUMAN RACE?
SHAME ON US ALL.
WE ARE DEFINED BY THIS ONE HUMAN BEHAVIOR THAT
WE ALLOW TO HAPPEN
AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND....
Route for the Torch Relay (August 2007 - January 2008):
- Darfur - August 9 (press release; photos; video)
- Kigali, Rwanda - August 15 (press release; photos; video; press conference audio and transcript)
- Yerevan, Armenia - September 25 (press release; photos; video; press conference)
- Berlin, Germany - November 29, 2007
- Sarajevo, Bosnia - December 6-7
- Phnom Penh, Cambodia - January 18-20, 2008
- People's Republic of China - January, date To be determined
http://www.dreamfordarfur.org/TorchRelay/PhotoGallery/tabid/237/Default.aspx
BRING THE OLYMPIC DREAM TO DARFUR
"ONE WORLD, ONE DREAM"
is BEIJING'S 2008 OLYMPIC THEME
http://www.dreamfordarfur.org/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx
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http://youtube.com/watch?v=CZWEAq2wRvI
Ira Newble, at an internal displacement camp in Chad,
asks presidential candidates about crisis in Darfur.
Wall Street Journal
BEIJING -- Concerns are mounting that the Beijing 2008 Olympics could face a rash of bad publicity. If so, how can corporate sponsors avoid getting hit?
Read the article at the link:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119507831521693252.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
The 'Genocide Olympics' By RONAN FARROW and MIA FARROW
Published in The Wall Street Journal, March 28, 2007
http://www.miafarrow.org/ed_032807.html
All pictures on this post are from Mia Farrow's website.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act of 2007, S.2271
SADA is currently being held up in the Senate.
It has been put through a hotline process, which means that it must be approved by all Senators, of both the majority and the minority.
**It has not been cleared because a hold has been placed on the bill.
We need Senators to remove their holds and clear the bill through the hotline.
Special focus is needed on Senators Hagel and McConnell to remove and oppose holds on the bill.
The House version of the divestment bill, known as HR 180 or the Darfur Accountability and Divestment Authorization Act, passed the House on July 31, by a 418-1 vote. The Senate divestment bill, S.2271, the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Act of 2007 (SADA), passed the Senate Banking Committee by a unanimous 21-0 vote. SADA is currently awaiting a vote on the Senate floor. Action is still needed to make sure it passes the Senate in a timely fashion and is not weakened or delayed. Special focus is needed on Senators Hagel, McConnell, Kyl, and Lugar to make sure they do not block this bill.
Action needed by you and me:
- NE: Senator Chuck Hagel, Washington D.C. Senate Office: (202) 224-4224
- KY: Senator Mitch McConnell, Washington D.C. Senate Office: (202) 224-2541
- Call 1-800-GENOCIDE
- SOURCE: http://www.savedarfur.org/page/content/HR180/
- ** . . . More of politicians playing politics regarding issues of conscience.
The moral thing to do would be to act morally. In the time of GW Bush’s power, however, we have lost our way. Bush has said he is against this bill.
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