HOW WOULD YOU DO LIVING IN A REFUGEE CAMP?

DARFURI FAMILIES WITHOUT THEIR HOMES FOR SIX YEARS

Imagine being without electricity. When the electricity goes off for a few hours, it feels like an inconvenience. I reach for the light switch and remember there is no point.

Imagine being without food. Sunday I tried not to eat as a part of solidarity with the Darfuri people. And just because I felt like I couldn't go and get even a cookie, it brought an awareness of what it has to be like for the Darfuris who live day in and day out without the luxury to go to the cupboard or a refrigerator to grab something to answer the need to eat something.

Imagine being without water. No shower. No hand washing. No washing the clothes. Dishes. No water to drink.

Imagine being without plumbing. This would be the worst. No bathroom. It is such a convenience. Just to have your own bathroom. A toilet. Imagine not having a toilet. Ever.

Imagine having nothing.

Imagine not having a pharmacy to go to. Imagine not having a doctor to take your sick child to.

Imagine watching your child dying. Slowly.

Imagine no computers, no TV, no car.

It is hard to imagine.

Darfuri families don't have to imagine. They live it.

1-800-GENOCIDE

Source for Sisters Schools Program: www.darfurdreamteam.org

Students and Teachers

Are you a student or teacher? Do you want to become involved in the Sister Schools Program? Below are step-by-step instructions to help you get started.

Step 1. Join the Program : Sign up your school for the Sister Schools Program and link it with a school in a Darfuri refugee camp. Fill out our simple online form and our Sister Schools coordinator will contact you about the next steps.

Step 2. Get Started: After the Sister Schools coordinator contacts you, we will send you a welcome package. Each package contains information and videos to help you learn about your sister school, how the students live, the crisis in Darfur, and the current situation in Darfuri refugee camps in Chad.

Step 3. Start Giving: Visit our online registry make a pledge to support your sister school. You and your class can also use the registry to track progress toward your goal, plan events, and share status updates with family and friends. There are many ways you can raise money to support your sister school. You can have a bake sale, car wash, art auction, concert, or come up with your own fundraiser. Your support will build or repair school buildings, fund teacher training and salaries, as well as buy books, uniforms, sports equipment, and other supplies.

Step 4. Make Connections: Once you receive your welcome package, you will be able to reply to your sister school with a package of your own. You can include videos, pictures, and letters to share your story with the refugees and tell them about your school, community, and your lives. In 3-6 months, you will be able to video blog and share letters with your sister school regularly.

Step 5. Share your Story: Share your story to inspire and encourage others to take action and provide Darfuri refugee children with quality education. We would love to hear about your recent fundraiser, an event you hosted, and your interactions with your sister school. Share your story with us, and we will even feature it on our website.

Learn More: Enough, Participant Media, and Facing History and Ourselves have teamed up and created a teaching unit based on the book, Not on Our Watch, and the Movie, Darfur Now. Learn more about the teaching unit .Visit these sites and sign up for updates about the crisis in Darfur : Enough Project, Save Darfur Coalition, STAND, and the Genocide Intervention Network.

Ways to get involved with Sister Schools Program

• Students and Teachers
• Groups and Clubs
• Individuals

Coming Soon: In fall 2009, the Darfur Dream Team will debut an online community where U.S. schools will have profile pages on which they can blog, upload photos, view movies, join groups, and communicate with other U.S. schools about the crisis in Darfur.

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Report: Vlogging Darfur's People Away from their homes
Vlogging Darfur's Refugees

Text posted with the above video:

This is an update on the the current situation in Darfur. We also take a look at the social media activism about Darfur, including an interview with vlogger activist, Gabriel Stauring from Stop Genocide Now, who visits the refugee camps in Chad and uploads daily vlogs for a series called "iAct".

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Slideshow of Stop Genocide Now's Day 8 - iACT 7 trip to Darfuri refugees camp
March 31, 2009

This is Stop Genocide Now's most recent posting . . .

Day 8: March 31

Today the team visited the “Obama School” in Camp Djabal. Yuen-Lin worked his magic and connected the Darfuris with Washington D.C. in a streaming video conference using VSee.

ACTION

Today’s action challenges you to put your feet where your heart is. E-mails, phone calls, and letters do make a difference, but imagine taking it to the next level by delivering your message to your Senators in person, face to face. Click here to find out how.

Burnt Memories, Family and Path of Dedicated Action

Posted by Katie-Jay on March 30th, 2009

We enter Obama School for Co-education Basic just before classes begin. There is a nice breeze in the mornings, but not quite strong enough to naturally fend off the flies. Young children are filing blue buckets of water and taking them to classrooms. It takes two boys to carry one, but only one girl to carry it on her head. I can feel the harsh air against my skin and down my throat. Glancing to the hills nearby, I notice once again how cloudy the air is. Dust, sand, smoke.

Four students tell us their part of their stories. Sadly, the general themes run the same. None of their villages are standing anymore. The tukuls, markets, fences and possessions are all burned. All of them walked here, 2-3 days at a time, then a rest, then continuing on. They all know someone who was killed. Memories that I don’t think I could bare to talk about without some sort of process, they share as if it is normal.

I remember how upset I once got when my mother told me that my elementary school burned down. I remember taking a day to think of all my memories of the great halls of Coe Elementary with the, tall ceilings, grand staircases that went up four floors and strong wooden doors. My memories of racing on the playground, and of cracking my tooth on the cement are still clear. I was so upset at the news. I cannot even begin to imagine if all of my hometown was burned. Flames would replace memories of holidays, friends, bicycles and evening walks with my mom. How is that we have allowed flames and bloodshed to replace the memories of innocent children of an entire population?

It is late morning and the sun is getting hot, before we break for the hottest part of the day, we visit old friends, Adef and Achta. Once named, Hassan and Hissein, the two twin boys in Level 2 are now Bashar and Bashir. I tickle little Guisma’s tummy and she giggles. I snap pictures of the twins and show them, they laugh and eagerly follow us around with the camera’s hoping to catch a glimpse of themselves. Every so often I flip the view-finder, just to hear their laugh. Abdelmouni, once a very serious little boy, now walks around briskly playing with his brothers and attempting to wrestle Bashar to the ground. It feels so right to be connected to this family, almost as if they are an extension of my own. In many ways, they are.

Yesterday, the Obama Administration met with activist leaders, including John Prendergast, Jerry Fowler and Gloria White-Hammond. This may be a small step in the right direction, but in no way does it mean that we deter from our current path of dedicated, urgent action for Darfur. A meeting, and former President Bush had lots of those, does not change the situation on the ground. It does not bring aid. It does not bring peace. We must keep our actions consistent and on-going, or this meeting will only be lip-service to quiet the movement. Until there is tangible, visible change on the ground, we must be loud. For Adef, Achta, Guisma, Abdelmouni, and the entire population of children whose memories are of burnt homes, death, and displacement, please, please be their voice.

When you feel tired and hopeless, please turn to the voices of the Darfuris themselves. They have confidence in us. We simply cannot let them down.

Peace, ktj

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The Darfuri Djabal refugee camp in Chad - the manager of the Obama School

Uploaded by iACTivism March 30, 2009

Text posted with the above video: Today the team visited the Obama School in Camp Djabal. Yuen-Lin worked his magic and connected the Darfuris with Washington D.C. in a streaming video conference.

Day 8 Action: Arab League & Get to Know your Senators

Posted by Katie-Jay on March 30th, 2009

Urgent Action 1: The New York Times reported today that “Arab Leaders Unite Behind Bashir”, claiming that the ICC indictment against him is a violation of Sudan’s sovereignty. After spending the last 4 days talking to people who have suffered for 5 years or more as a direct result of this man’s government, news like this is very hard to read. Regardless of the type of government a country has, the opinion of its citizenry has an impact, especially when that opinion is shared by many. If you have friends, relatives or colleagues with links to countries represented in the Arab League, talk to them about Darfur. Point them to the i-ACT website. Share with them the voices of the refugees. TRUTH will prevail.

Action 2: Calling and writing our leaders is important, and provides consistency in our message that we will not accept genocide in Darfur any longer. But we also need to shift our actions to match the urgency necessary to stop the dying in Darfur. We need you and your community to bring Darfur to your Senate office. This would be an opportunity to thank them if they have acted for Darfur and share stories, photos or videos of Darfuris and ask them to be a Darfur advocate. Start to organize a sit-in at your Senators office by taking these easy steps::

1. Look up your Senators, and their offices. Are they on any special committees like Human Rights or Foreign Policy? Get to know their Darfur Score.
2. Discuss the opportunity with your friends, family and community. Gather a list of those who may potentially participate.
3. If you are interested in doing this action, send an email to i-actinfo[at]stopgenocidenow.org.

And as always, please continue to Wake Up, Brush your Teeth, Call your Leaders

Los Angeles Action: Please join us on Sunday, April 5th 1:00 pm for an Interfaith Sedar @ the LA Federal Building on Wishire Blvd! Download the updated flyer.

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Write to President Obama
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

You can also write to the President at:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

President Obama can be called:

202-456-1111
or
1-800-GENOCIDE

The White House comment line is available
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. weekdays

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Find USA elected politicians contact information at this link:
www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

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www.stopgenocidenow.org


www.enoughproject.org
www.savedarfur.org
www.eyesondarfur.org

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PRESIDENT OBAMA FINALLY SPEAKS ABOUT DARFUR. NADAL INTO ROUND 4 in MIAMI

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School in Camp Djabal

Darfuri refugee camp in Chad

The first picture is of the teacher preparing for class on the sand

Pictures from Stop Genocide Now's website at iACT Day 7

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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release March 30, 2009

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT

AFTER MEETING WITH SUDAN SPECIAL ENVOY SCOTT GRATION,

SUDAN ADVOCATES, AND MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

Roosevelt Room

5:24 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody. Obviously on a busy news day, I wanted us to make sure that we weren't losing sight of something that has been an ongoing international crisis, and that is the situation in Darfur.

As many of you know, there has been a longstanding humanitarian crisis there, prompted by displacement and genocide that has been taking place. There have been a series of negotiations around resolving this crisis in Sudan. It has not gotten resolved, and it is now worsening.

And so I wanted to publicly affirm the importance of General Scott Gration, who has been appointed as Special Envoy to Sudan, to work on a whole host of issues that I think are of importance to the international community and should touch the conscience of all of us.

General Gration is one of my top national security advisors. He's somebody who I've known for a long time. We've traveled together in Africa. He was a close associate during the campaign. And so I can't think of somebody who is better equipped to travel to Africa, the continent where he grew up, and communicate to Sudan a couple of important points: Number one, we have an immediate crisis prompted by the Khartoum government's expulsion of nongovernmental organizations that are providing aid to displaced persons inside of Sudan. And we have to figure out a mechanism to get those NGOs back in place, to reverse that decision, or to find some mechanism whereby we avert a enormous humanitarian crisis.

Even as we're dealing with that immediate issue, we can't take our eyes off the longstanding conflicts in Sudan that have resulted in all these persons being displaced. And that means that General Gration's task is going to be to see if we can reinvigorate the North-South agreement, make sure that it's implemented in an effective way, and that we are also exploring a mechanism whereby we can get talks between rebels and the Khartoum government that could help, once and for all, resolve the Darfur situation.

This is going to be a very difficult task. It will be a time-consuming task. We don't expect any solutions overnight to the longstanding problems there. Fortunately, what's happened in Darfur has touched so many people around the world, and we have seen such an extraordinary mobilization of advocates, many of who are sitting at this table -- we've got bipartisan interest on the part of members of Congress around this issue -- that I actually think that America can speak effectively with one voice and bring the moral and other elements of our stature to bear in trying to deal with this situation.

I can't think of a person who's better than Scott Gration to represent us in this critical task, and I am sending him off with my full confidence. He will be speaking for the administration, and he will be coming back to report to me very shortly about what he's found there and additional steps that we can take to deal with this situation.

So, thank you, Scott, for the great work.

GENERAL GRATION: Thank you, sir.

THE PRESIDENT: All right, everybody. Thank you. END 5:28 P.M. EDT

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From: Ashley Roberts
Sent: Monday, March 30, 2009 6:10 PM
To: All Staff
Subject: DARFUR ADVOCATES MEET WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA, SPECIAL ENVOY GRATION IN ADVANCE OF SUDAN TRIP

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: press@savedarfur.org

March 30, 2009

DARFUR ADVOCATES MEET WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA, SPECIAL ENVOY GRATION IN ADVANCE OF SUDAN TRIP

Save Darfur optimistic on administration’s Sudan commitment, calls on U.S. to lead multilateral effort to reopen humanitarian access

WASHINGTON – Following a meeting with President Obama and Special Envoy Gration at the White House, Darfur advocates expressed their optimism at the administration’s stated commitment to bring peace to Sudan and reiterated the need for urgent U.S. action to reopen humanitarian access to Darfur. Save Darfur Coalition president Jerry Fowler released the following statement:

“The coalition was reassured to hear the Obama administration’s commitment to bring peace to Sudan during a meeting at the White House today with Darfur advocates and congressional leaders. During his trip to Sudan this week, it is critical that Special Envoy Gration convey to the Sudanese government that they now face a fundamental choice as a direct result of President Bashir’s actions. They must choose between continuing policies which have thrown the lives of millions of Sudanese civilians on the fire and have placed Sudan on a path toward greater international isolation, or reversing those policies and reconciling with an international community whose support for Bashir, and thus for Sudan, will only grow weaker as time passes.

“The coalition is also hopeful that Gration will soon travel to key capitals to directly engage with leadership and garner support for multilateral efforts to convince – and if necessary compel – the Bashir regime to reopen humanitarian access and make real progress towards achieving a true peace in Darfur. Bashir’s recent decision to expel 13 international aid organizations has left millions of Darfuri civilians at immediate risk of starvation and disease. With this expulsion, approximately 1.1 million civilians will soon run out of food, nearly 1 million will soon run out of potable water, and 1.5 million will be denied medical attention.

“During his campaign, President Obama often touted the power and necessity of using transformational multilateral diplomacy to address international crises. Ending the current humanitarian crisis in Darfur and bringing peace to Sudan calls for exactly this type of complete and fully resourced diplomatic effort. Gration’s role will be vital and must continue to be supported by the president’s engagement.”

###

About the coalition: The Save Darfur Coalition – an alliance of more than 180 faith-based, advocacy and human rights organizations – raises public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and mobilizes a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of people throughout the Darfur region. The coalition’s member organizations represent 130 million people of all ages, races, religions and political affiliations united together to help the people of Darfur. For more information on the coalition, please visit www.SaveDarfur.org. To obtain footage from the Darfur border region, coalition events, various interviews, and more, please visit the Save Darfur Coalition media gallery at http://media.savedarfur.org. All footage may be previewed in non-broadcast quality and may be purchased in broadcast quality by filling out the purchase request form provided on the site.

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The head of Save Darfur, Jerry Fowler has the following response after being in the meeting with President Obama today:

Subject: Meeting with President and Special Envoy Gration

I came away from the meeting heartened by the President's direct engagement. It's obvious he has a lot of confidence in General Gration and that General Gration will have access to the President. All the participants underscored to both General Gration, and then to the President when he joined the meeting, the extreme urgency of the situation. In his public remarks, the President noted the extraordinary mobilization of advocates and the bipartisan interest in Congress (there were a half dozen Senators and members of Congress in the meeting as well). We need to maintain that mobilization and continue to insist on a sense of urgency. General Gration is off to Sudan tomorrow. I'll look forward to hearing his report when he gets back.

Below is from http://www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact7/day7

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Camp Djabal March 29, 2009

Gabriel, Katie-Jay and Yuen-Lin spent their day fasting and visited a school in Camp Djabal where the students share songs from their homeland.
Uploaded by iACTivism

Day 7: March 30

Gabriel, Katie-Jay and Yuen-Lin spent their day fasting and visited a school in Camp Djabal where the students share songs from their homeland.

Action

Today we are asking you to spend a little more time on your daily action. Write a letter to your leader outlining what needs to happen before we will be quiet and step down from our urgent campaigns. Click here to find out how.

Day 7 Action: Write your Leaders

Posted by Katie-Jay on March 29th, 2009

We must demand that our leaders pay more attention to Darfur. We need our MESSAGE to be loud and consistent. Today we are asking you to spend a little more time on your daily action. Write a letter to your leader outlining what needs to happen before we will be quiet and step down from our urgent campaigns. It’s simple - the Enough Project has outlined the policy asks ( Download this sample by Sandra Hammel from earlier this month. Make it personal, print off a picture of a Darfuri or add information about the camps from our recent journals. Stamp it and send. You can also paste it into this web form for President Obama. It’s easy.

Find your leaders:
United States
Canada
Australia Prime Minister
UK Members of Parliament

If you have information about leaders in your country not listed here, please send a comment below. We will add it!

As a default, you can always Wake Up, Brush your Teeth, Call your Leaders!

Letters from Darfur refugees

Posted by Katie-Jay on March 29th, 2009

After spending some time with students and teachers at the one of the schools in Camp Djabal, we gave them a book of letters written by a school in Georgia as part of their Save Darfur Club. We also told them about the Darfur Dream Team Sister School Program. Here are the two letters we were given to bring home with us (with minor spelling and grammar errors corrected).

*******

March 28, 2009
Dear all members of Save Darfur Club,

We are the family of New Sudan School co-education for basic at camp of Djabal in Eastern Chad.

We hope that all the family of Save Darfur Club is very well and that your health is very good.

We send to your our greetings and regards. If you ask about us now, we are well, but have lost our homes. We were Sudanese citizens, but now we are refugees and this is a very bad thing.

Our friends in U.S.A in Save Darfur Club, I know you are doing very hard work so as to help us in the camp. This is a very good feeling.

Thank you very much for your letters.
*******

28/3/2009
New Sudan School Co-education for Basic
Letter to U.S.A from Sudanese refugee students

Our requests to students in U.S.A from students in Djabal camp of Sudanese refugees:
1. Clothes for the very weak students
2. Shoes
3. Culture and Sports tools
4. Piano and other musical instruments
5. Computers and cameras
6. Dictionaries
7. Forms
8. Libraries
9. Place to play sports
10. Also we need high secondary school
11. Scholarship for teachers and students

Thank you so much for your humanity. We have great confidence in you to help us.

My name is Sulieman Yahia Sulieman, English Teacher in School

*******
There are two ways you can donate to education in Camp Djabal. If you are part of a school, please check out Darfur Dream Team Sister School Program and their registry for donations.

If you are not part of a school, but would like to send money, you can send a check for USA for UNHCR with SGN/Djabal in the memo line to:
SGN
1732 Aviation Blvd #138
Redondo Beach, CA 90278

We will forward it to USA for UNHCR and make sure that 100% of your donation goes towards education.

Some laughing and some singing, on an empty stomach.

We got to laugh quite a bit today. At New Sudan School, we spent time with students again. I asked if anyone knew a joke. A girl in blue stood up and started singing. The whole class erupted in laughter. I was laughing without knowing what the song was about. The song was in her tribes vernacular. She then translated it in to Arabic, and the laughter in the room got louder! Finally, they told me in English. The song talked about how she “would rather marry an old man, than that white teethed boy with the neck of a camel.”

Also on the video, a boy and girl perform a beautiful duet. It is a song about being respectful of your parents and following their directions. I really liked the voices of these two good looking kids.

If I remember correctly, the classroom that is singing together, are singing a song about going back to Darfur; but, I did hear a lot of songs yesterday, so I could be mistaken about the meaning of that one. I don’t have Bouba around right now to ask him.

It was fun, except for when I asked that same classroom that sang for anyone that had eaten anything that morning to raise their hand. Out of 52 students, only 8 raised their hands. Not funny at all.

Peace, Gabriel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Write to President Obama
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

You can also write to the President at:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

President Obama can be called:

202-456-1111
or
1-800-GENOCIDE

The White House comment line is available
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. weekdays

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Find USA elected politicians contact information at this link:
www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

www.stopgenocidenow.org


www.enoughproject.org
www.savedarfur.org

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TENNIS

SINGLES

Rafa beat Frederico Gil 7-5, 6-3 in Round 3

Monday, March 3, 2009 in Miami.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Round 4 Rafa Nadal's singles match

is scheduled to be played on Stadium Court

Tuesday, March 31,

not before 9:00 p.m. USA EDT

He will play Stanilas Wawrinka

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DOUBLES

March 30, 2009

M Lopez (ESP) and R Nadal (ESP) vs B Soares (BRA) and K Ullyett (ZIM)

DOUBLES

Rafa and his friend Marc Lopez had a difficult challenge lined up for today's second round of doubles against B. Soares and K. Ullyett.

The pair had more experience than the Spaniards and at the end they prevailed in two stes, 6-3, 6-4 after and hour and 18 minutes of play. From www.rafaelnadal.com

(Rafa and Marc won Round 1's doubles match, 6-2, 7-6(5), against Brunstrom and Rojer.)

Order of Play.

March 31, 2009

STADIUM start 11:00 am
[21] T Berdych (CZE) vs [3] N Djokovic (SRB) - ATP

Not Before 1:00 PM
[8] S Kuznetsova (RUS) vs [13] C Wozniacki (DEN) - WTA
[5] A Roddick (USA) vs [9] G Monfils (FRA) - ATP
[Q] T Dent (USA) vs [2] R Federer (SUI) - ATP

Not Before 7:00 PM
[11] V Azarenka (BLR) vs S Stosur (AUS) - WTA

Not Before 9:00 PM
[1] R Nadal (ESP) vs S Wawrinka (SUI) - ATP

GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
[7] G Simon (FRA) vs [10] J Tsonga (FRA) - ATP
[4] A Murray (GBR) vs V Troicki (SRB) - ATP

Not Before 2:00 PM
[12] F Gonzalez (CHI) or [18] R Stepanek (CZE) vs [32] F Lopez (ESP) or [8] F Verdasco (ESP) - ATP
[11] D Ferrer (ESP) or [17] M Cilic (CRO) vs [6] J Del Potro (ARG) - ATP

Singles Draw Doubles Draw Sony Ericsson Open Official Site

To See Tennis LIVE

Watch live streaming (not free)

Try this for free live streaming online at

http://www.channelsurfing.net/watch-wabuk-1.html

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Round 3 Miami Rafael Nadal defeated Frederico Gil March 30, 2009

7-5, 6-3

Part 6 of 6

Uploaded by merikob

Part 1 of 6
Part 2 of 6
Part 3 of 6
Part 4 of 6
Part 5 of 6

These could be removed eventually, as often happens after posted.

Nice Picture of Rafa during Round 3 match - Miami 2009 - March 30

Pictures of Round 3

Rafael Nadal shows his undiminished drive

An interview with Rafa after Round 2
NADAL d Gabashvili
6-2, 6-2

Rafa's original forum before NIKE took over and created a newer forum:
http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=84197

A Fan Website for Rafa
vamosbrigade.com

NOTE

I am having huge problems with my computer and can load no more pictures at this time.

My computer just crashed because of major problems that hopefully will be fixed tomorrow. I am going to post this as is. Thank goodness blogspot had automatically saved my work otherwise I would have nothing at all.

z

WHAT IF PRESIDENT OBAMA CARED ABOUT THE PEOPLE OF DARFUR?

WOULD HE DO SOMETHING?
To STOP this MASS MURDER IN PROCESS

THE WONDERFUL people at http://www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact7/day6
are making it all real for us to understand on a human to human basis what it is like to try to stay alive during a genocide. And they are asking us to act each day to get a hold of our leaders and say YOU ARE FAILING. SINCE 2003, THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON. IT IS NOT ALL RIGHT AND WE WANT YOU TO START DOING WHAT IT TAKES TO BEGIN TO END THIS MASS MURDER IN PROCESS.

The following is taken from their website:

"Wake Up, Brush your Teeth, Call your Leaders"

Each day we will have a new action item for you to participate in during i-ACT. However, we are also offering a single action, for each of the 10 days, that you can take. As part of an Urgent Call-in Campaign to pressure the Obama Administration we want to keep the phone lines busy. 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. Support an effective Peacekeeping Force. Support the ICC. ”

Make the pledge by commenting below. Tell us how many times you will call and with whom during i-ACT. If you are a teacher call with your students. If you are a student, maybe use the loud speaker at school. Get creative in your pledges and actions. We need more people to call. Each and every one of us counts, and the people of Darfur are counting on us.
If you are from another country and have a phone number for our leader, please share it here and we will post it on the full action item!

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Day 5 Action: Ban ki-Moon, Don’t Do it!

John Norris from ENOUGH has brought to our attention in a recent post, Bad Moon Rising, that the United Nations Secretary General BAN KI-MOON is thinking about meeting with Sudan’s indicted war criminal, President Bashir. We need to act fast to make sure that this does not happen at the Arab League Meeting in Doha. Inevitably, as Norris notes, pictures will be leaked and a media blitz from Bashir and his colleagues will follow. Contact Secretary General Ban ki-Moon and send him the message: Don’t meet with Bashir, an indicted war criminal, you will be legitimizing his regime and their actions.

Contact him the following ways:

1. Leave a message on the United Nations general comment line: 212-963-4475 and Press * to leave a message.
2. Contact Ban ki-Moon’s Special Assistant on the Prevention of Genocide, Francis Deng, and urge him to pressure the Secretary General not to meet with Bashir. Phone: 917-367-2078; Email: DengF@un.org.

Today, when you Wake Up, Brush your Teeth, Call your Leaders, add the above ask to your message! Pressure from all sides must come.

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i-ACT 7: Day 6, Reunion with Adef's family
Uploaded by iACTivism


Action to take
DAY 6 Action - Fast For Darfur

NOTE: this action is for March 29 - Sunday

Posted by Webmaster on March 28th, 2009

For today—Sunday’s—action, we are reverting to what feels symbolic and trivial, compared to what is happening to the people of Darfur. The team here will be fasting, in solidarity with the children in this camp and the more than one million people that will go without food soon inside of Darfur. We will also make a small donation ($25 each) towards nutrition, through USA for UNHCR.

We are requesting that you join us in the fast and also send in the donation towards nutrition. Besides this, in order to work on the political will that is missing, we would like you to call your Senators’ office and tell them about your fast, and that you expect them to be your LOUD voice in Washington. Action is needed now. Click here to find the phone number for the Senator of your state.

Please donate to improve nutrition in the camps:
Make checks out to: USA for UNHCR
On memo line, write: SGN - Fast for Darfur

Send to:
Stop Genocide Now
1732 Aviation Blvd. #138
Redondo Beach, CA 90278

100% of tax-deductible donation will go to UNHCR’s work to improve nutrition at Darfuri refugee camps.

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From the journal entries from Chad
We Hope for Stronger, Not Weaker

Posted by Katie-Jay on March 28th, 2009

It’s hard to see it when I am in front of them. When I return to our little compound at night and look through past slides, it becomes apparent. When I toggle between pictures from today and from last January of our friends here in camp Djabal, the difference is like night and day. The children are growing smaller, sicker, and more fragile as they age, not stronger as we hope for all children.

Oumar seemed skinner, as if he had been sick for a sometime, but we don’t know for sure. When I saw his mother again, Genie, she had Hydar with her. In a little over a year, he looks no bigger or stronger; his little shoulder poking through a tank.

Gabriel and Yuen-Lin saw again our friends Adef, Achta, and their children. Well, some of them. Marymouda died. She got sick. When they took her to the clinic there was nothing they could do for her. Guisma was not smiling and laughing as she was last year. Her giggle was contagious and she would get her twin brothers rolling. Achta, their mom, said she had been sick too, but healed. It seems her sole and laughter have not returned.

One of Guisma’s twin brothers looks so different.

The lucky ones who made it here are still struggling to survive on the little that we, as the international community, have been able to provide. Food distribution starts next week. That means that many of the people we have visited in the last few days have no food, as it usually runs out before the end of the month.

Please join Gabriel and Yuen-Lin as they fast in solidarity with the refugees. It can be whatever type of fast that works for you. I will not be joining them myself, as I have developed a small ear infection that kept me from the field this afternoon. I hope to return with full strength tomorrow. Nobody worry, I am fine! I just keep thinking, what if I were a refugee and felt like this?

Peace, ktj

With the children

Posted by Webmaster on March 28th, 2009

This is the third day we visited refugee camp Djabal. We are doing work for the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program, which will connect students in the US with students in the refugee camps in Eastern Chad, starting with camp Djabal. It is fun collecting the profiles of Darfuri children and spending time with them at school and at their homes. They are so much like the children I’ve worked with in the US. They’re very much like my own kids.

There is one huge exception, though. All of the children we’ve been talking to have to grapple with some facts and memories that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. They’ve all seen their villages destroyed; they say nothing is left standing, where it was once their homes. They’ve all seen families and friends killed, leaving voids that we visitors just cannot see. They’ve had to walk weeks across the desert, with some not making it. They’ve had to settle in to a life of receiving and survival, when they really want to produce and thrive.

At times I feel powerless and ineffective. What can I do that goes beyond the symbolic and seemingly trivial? I really wish I knew what it took to bring about change for these children, even if it seemed almost impossible to reach. That way, we could go all out and exhaust ourselves, but going in the right direction. For now, I truly believe that our leaders and experts could bring about change, but the political will is missing. It is not easy to pin down how we can create that will.

For today—Sunday’s—action, we are reverting to what feels symbolic and trivial, compared to what is happening to the people of Darfur. The team here will be fasting, in solidarity with the children in this camp and the more than one million people that will go without food soon inside of Darfur. We will also make a small donation ($25 each) towards nutrition, through USA for UNHCR.We are requesting that you join us in the fast and also send in the donation towards nutrition. Besides this, in order to work on the political will that is missing, we would like you to call your Senators’ office and tell them about your fast, and that you expect them to be your LOUD voice in Washington. Action is needed now.Thank you for standing with these children.

Peace,Gabriel, for the i-ACT team

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This is my United States Postal Service version of my letter to President Barack Obama, which I mailed Saturday, March 28, 2009

GENOCIDE FLOURISHES WITH OUR COMPLICITY

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Obama,

The last time (March 12, 2009) I wrote a letter to you about the emergency regarding the Darfuri people and the NGOs being expelled from Sudan since March 4, 2009, I received a response that you are working on the economy. I found this very disappointing that my letter received a response that had nothing to do with my letter's subject. I wrote using the http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact form. And I also sent a second copy through the United States Postal Service to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

Please, tell me if there is contact information for the Sudan Special Envoy Scott Gration.

President Obama, two United States citizens and a Malaysian citizen are together in Chad (starting March 23) through April 1st including a trip to a Darfuri refugee camp, camp Djabal. They post daily journal entries, photographs and videos from there. The videos are posted on their website, as well as on Youtube. They are Gabriel Stauring, Katie-Jay Scott and Yuen-Lin Tan. Here are links to Day 4, 5 and 6 of their time there: http://www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact7/day4
http://www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact7/day5
http://www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact7/day6

They are also on Twitter: http://twitter.com/iact

We are so very grateful that Gabriel, Katie-Jay (their seventh trip) and Yuen-Lin are doing this for the Darfuri people and for us to be better informed. I so wish you, President Obama, could be there with them. Or at least following them online on this trip. March 26th in your online “town meeting” while talking about health care, your mother and your appreciation for nurses, you mentioned your daughter Sasha having meningitis when she was younger. I know that meningitis is one of the diseases that is spreading through the IDP camps. This is a connection that you have personally with the Darfuri people. But may I respectfully point out that your family wasn’t living in a refugee camp with doctors ordered to leave?

I so appreciate reading the daily journal entries from Chad of these three dedicated citizens who care so genuinely for our Darfuri brothers and sisters. It helps me - brings me closer to understanding what it is really like there for the Darfuri people.

Genocide has never happened without the complicity of millions or billions of human beings going about their daily business.

Two days ago, a comment was left at my “Dear President Obama – A Letter sent March 12, 2009” on Youtube regarding Darfur http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XBDP3ZdmEE by a 24 year old which reads: “As important as this is President Obama needs to sort out our economy before we go trying to save other countries”. I respectfully disagree wholeheartedly. I believe President Obama, you are quite capable of doing both.

There is not enough money in the world that can give us back our dignity if we continue on the path of least resistance regarding this human disaster of the Darfuri people that now has heaped upon it another disaster with the expulsion of the humanitarian aid men and women.

I plead with you, please, do read this letter. Please do not send a response about all the other deeply pressing issues that we face in the United States of America. Genocide will stop when enough leaders use their will to make ways to end it. My hope is that you, President Obama, will reach into your heart and realize that although “’we’ are the ones we’ve been waiting for”, we need your leadership to help we citizens move forward on this true crisis of our existence as the human race. Genocide never happens when we have an opening in our schedule to add something to our “to do” list. We are counting on you, Mr. Obama, to do what you said:

"The United States has a moral obligation anytime you see humanitarian catastrophes…we have the most stake in creating an order in the world that is stable...in which people have hope and opportunity and when you see a genocide whether it's in Rwanda, or Bosnia or in Darfur - that's a stain on all of us, that's a stain on our souls...I was the first along with Senator Brownback to focus on ratcheting up sanctions and getting an envoy in there who was serious. We worked diligently to get the Darfur Peace and Accountability act passed…I think the level of commitment and the way that I’ve spoken out on this issue indicates not only knowledge, but also passion in bringing an end to this crisis. It’s very encouraging to see activism based not on self-interest, but on moral imperative and it’s especially heartening to see young people engaged in expressing their idealism through this movement …We can't say 'never again' and then allow it to happen again. And as President of the United States I don't intend to abandon people or turn a blind eye to slaughter.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEd583-fA8M November 2007

With much respect,

“The Most Important Office is That of Private Citizen” Louis D. Brandeis
“Now, Let’s Go Change the World”. Barack Obama

P.S. I am not one of the “young people engaged in expressing my idealism through this movement”, as I will be 60 years old April 2nd.

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Source for the following article:

http://www.cfr.org/publication/18908/stopping_bashir.html?breadcrumb=%2F

Stopping Bashir: Obama's "Never Again" Moment of Truth

Authors:	Stewart M. Patrick, Senior Fellow and Director, Program on International Institutions and Global Governance Kaysie Brown, Deputy Director, International Institutions and Global Governance

March 23, 2009

During the presidential campaign, candidate Barack Obama called the crisis in Darfur a "stain on our souls," promising vigorous action to save its victims if elected. But since taking office he has been more cautious than President George W. Bush. Overwhelmed by the global economic downturn and internally divided over this issue, his administration has been slow to react to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's most recent provocation: expelling humanitarian aid groups in retaliation for the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant against him for crimes against humanity.

Bashir's defiance is staggering--the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the United Nations can't even touch an eyelash of his, or so he says--and his intent is clear. By expelling aid workers in Darfur, he hopes to divide the international community and blackmail the UN Security Council into deferring the ICC's indictment. This gambit creates a moment of truth for the Obama administration.

Beyond resisting calls for a deferral, Washington must regain the initiative it has lost to Bashir. Although President Obama has appointed a special envoy for Darfur, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has publicly promised to hold Bashir accountable for every innocent death, the president has postponed more forceful action pending a comprehensive review of Sudan policy.

Unfortunately, the crisis is not standing still. The president must begin dictating rather than merely responding to events. The boldest way to do so is to declare Bashir beyond the pale, launch a full-bore campaign to isolate him diplomatically, and ultimately bring him to justice.

Some, positing a trade-off between peace and justice, recommend deferring the ICC indictment, as permitted under the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the court. Proceeding with Bashir's prosecution, they warn, will jeopardize prospects for peace in Darfur and the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended the long-running civil war between northern and southern Sudan in 2005.

This argument represents a triumph of hope over experience. It flies in the face of what we know about and can expect from Bashir and exaggerates the prospects of peace in either place without regime change in Khartoum.

In fact, support for Bashir's arrest and prosecution reflects realism, not idealism. The United States has three national interests in Sudan: stopping mass atrocities in Darfur; ensuring stable peace between northern and southern Sudan; and preserving intelligence cooperation with Khartoum in the struggle against global terrorism. The best way to advance all three is to arrest Bashir and to transfer him to The Hague, not to bargain with a known killer who has no record of keeping his word.

Bashir is committed to total victory in Darfur, where five thousand people already die each month, according to ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. That number could now surge, as one million victims lose access to food aid and medicine. An indicator of Bashir's callousness toward Darfur is his 2006 appointment of the genocidal Ahmed Haroun, former minister of the interior, as minister for humanitarian affairs. This is akin to naming Joseph Goebbels as head of concentration camp welfare. Haroun was indicted by the ICC in 2007 for crimes against humanity and war crimes, after which Bashir appointed him to lead an investigation into human rights abuses in Darfur.

Nor can Bashir be counted on as a faithful custodian of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Since its signature in 2005, Khartoum has worked to undermine its terms, fomenting violence in the strategic oil-rich region of Abyei and sabotaging the planned referendum on southern independence, scheduled for 2011. This includes delaying steps necessary for a functioning national election this year. It is nave to imagine that Bashir, freed of indictment, would suddenly live up to his side of the bargain.

Finally, Washington cannot hope to maintain an effective intelligence-sharing arrangement with Khartoum if Bashir remains in power. Such a relationship is critical, given ongoing threats from al-Qaeda affiliated groups in North Africa and the Horn. Unfortunately, the steady deterioration in Sudan-U.S. relations jeopardizes such cooperation.

A hard line from Washington is essential to stiffen the resolve of wobbly members of the international community, and to embolden fence-sitters within Sudan's ruling National Congress Party who may be in a position to depose Bashir. But those individuals are unlikely to help remove him unless the world community stands firm on the ICC indictment, ratcheting up pressure on a regime whose days they make clear are numbered.

President Obama can take five concrete steps to regain the initiative in the face of Basir's intransigence. First, he should openly dismiss any possibility of Security Council deferment and insist that any country that is able to do so should remand Bashir to the court. This includes U.S. ally Qatar, host of the 2009 Arab League summit, which Bashir plans to attend. Second, Obama should engage Beijing on tighter UN sanctions for Bashir's criminal regime, which by its actions is now endangering long-term Chinese interests in Sudan. Third, he should welcome the African Union's creation of a new Darfur panel under former South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has promised that "war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other abuses will be punished resolutely." Fourth, he should commit U.S. logistical support for the UN peacekeeping mission and jointly with Europeans, declare a no-fly zone in Darfur enforced by Western warplanes. Finally, he should shore up the ICC's global standing, by signaling willingness to consider eventual U.S. membership, pending a bipartisan review of its performance and adequate safeguards.

As Pulitzer Prize winner and current National Security Council official Samantha Power observes, mass atrocities present the United States with a "problem from hell." But it is not one we can wish away. Rather than negotiating with Bashir, Washington needs to lead an all-out push on the Security Council and among Arab and African countries to isolate the Sudanese leader and ultimately remove him from power.

Stewart Patrick and Kaysie Brown are director and deputy director, respectively, of the Program on International Institutions and Global Governance at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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END THE GENOCIDE

"The United States has a moral obligation anytime you see humanitarian catastrophes.. we have the most stake in creating an order in the world that is stable...and when you see a genocide whether it's in Rwanda, or Bosnia or in Darfur - that's a stain on all of us, that's a stain on our souls... I was the first along with Senator Brownback to focus on ratcheting up sanctions and getting an envoy in there who was serious. We worked diligently to get the Darfur Peace and Accountability act passed…I think the level of commitment and the way that I’ve spoken out on this issue indicates not only knowledge but also passion in bringing an end to this crisis. It’s very encouraging to see activism based not on self-interest but on moral imperative…We can't say 'never again' and then allow it to happen again and as President of the United States I don't intend to abandon people or turn a blind eye to slaughter.” November 2007 Hear Barack Obama say these words.

Write to President Obama
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

You can also write to the President at:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

President Obama can be called:

202-456-1111
or
1-800-GENOCIDE

The White House comment line is available
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. weekdays

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Find USA elected politicians contact information at this link:
www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

www.stopgenocidenow.org


www.enoughproject.org
www.savedarfur.org

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Monday, March 30, 2009
UPDATE:

Order of Play

STADIUM start 11:00am
J Tipsarevic (SRB) vs [6] J Del Potro (ARG) - ATP

Not Before 1:00 PM
[1] R Nadal (ESP) vs [Q] F Gil (POR) - ATP
[4] A Murray (GBR) vs N Massu (CHI) - ATP

Not Before 4:30 PM
[1] S Williams (USA) vs [17] J Zheng (CHN) - WTA

Not Before 7:00 PM
[12] F Gonzalez (CHI) vs [18] R Stepanek (CZE) - ATP

Not Before 8:30 PM
E Makarova (RUS) vs N Li (CHN) - WTA

GRANDSTAND start 11:00am
[13] C Wozniacki (DEN) vs [4] E Dementieva (RUS) - WTA
[10] A Radwanska (POL) vs [5] V Williams (USA) - WTA

Not Before 2:00 PM
[11] D Ferrer (ESP) vs [17] M Cilic (CRO) - ATP
[20] I Andreev (RUS) vs [16] S Wawrinka (SUI) - ATP
[32] F Lopez (ESP) vs [8] F Verdasco (ESP) - ATP

Not Before 5:30 PM
[WC] M Lopez (ESP) / R Nadal (ESP) vs [6] B Soares (BRA) / K Ullyett (ZIM) - ATP

Link to pictures to Rafa's match with Gabashvili

End of UPDATE.

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It just feels wrong, to put this here. My mind is on the above issue. I am a tennis fan, particularly a Rafa Nadal fan.

And I am a college basketball fan, too. However, I have watched no basketball games during the best time of the college basketball season, so far.

Here's a bit from Miami...


Photo credits: unknown of above two pictures of Rafa at a press conference

Rafa and Richard Gasquet while at a practice session
I read that Gasquet pulled out of Miami

By the way...

Miami - Tennis

Round 2 March 28, 2009

Rafa Nadal won over Teimuraz Gabashvili

6-2, 6-2

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Rafa will play Gil in Round 3

www.sonyericssonopen.com

Free live streaming online at

http://www.channelsurfing.net/watch-wabuk-1.html

Or pay at

http://www.tennistv.com/

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Now to add to the mix on this post

here is a video by Peigi McCann

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See it in big screen

The wonderful interaction between Frankie and The Stranger

from the movie Dear Frankie

set to the Scottish Donovan Leitch's song, Happiness Runs

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DO SOMETHING TO STOP A CRIME

Call 1-800-GENOCIDE