HOPE IS DRYING UP IN DARFUR

We had such hope in our newly elected president, President Obama

Now, we don't. It feels like he doesn't care as President how he cared as a Senator.

We know he is focused on the economy. But, we thought we were getting a President who would keep his word about Darfur.

"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.” Barack Obama spoke here about Darfur November 2007

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Video from Chad - Darfuri refugee camp March 27, 2009
Uploaded by iACTivism

Text from the video at Youtube
Today Yuen-Lin, Gabriel, and KT-J continued their work on the Darfur Dream Team - Sister Schools Program. They experienced the harshness of the hot, dry, and windy climate, and observed the wear it puts on the people and their clothes.

Text below taken from www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact/iact7/day5

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

Posted by Katie-Jay on March 27th, 2009

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.

YL’s journal (day 5)

Posted by Webmaster on March 27th, 2009

Dear friends and family,

I apologize for the short report today — we have an early start tomorrow morning to catch the kids as they go to school, so I should get some sleep to be as present as possible :)

Today, we found four kids who we will be profiling over the next few days. We recorded them introducing themselves. They also showed us around their homes and let us meet their families. Tomorrow, we will visit them at school. We are trying to capture in pictures, video and words all these aspects of their lives, so that students in the US can come close to meeting them in person. We hope to also do the same in the other direction. This is all on the belief that through these, friendships can blossom. And through those, many good things will transpire for both sides. When you have a good friend in Chad who deeply wants to further his or her education but has no access to a secondary (high) school, there will be an urge to help. Likewise, as your good friend in the US learns more about the challenges you face and the way you respond to them, that is bound to bring a very positive perspective on life.

The same as in 2007, I was very moved by the way the kids (and adults too, but there are just so many kids!) treated us. They would crowd around as we did our interviews, ask our names as we walked from place to place, wave good-bye as we left for the day. I’m a nobody, but entering the car today, so many kids wanted to shake my hand that for a moment I felt like a VIP :) I feel a strong sense of community here; it seems that the notions of stranger vs. friend are a little less carved out that in some other societies I’ve been in. I remember chatting with a friend living in San Jose not long back, who remarked that he sometimes felt very lonely despite living close to many people. I think there is a lot that we in the West and West-influenced world can learn from other societies.

One thing I felt today was that the situation of the refugees here brings out two polar opposites. On one hand, you have a living tribute to some of the best things about humanity — that despite the large hurdles of survival here that seem present at every corner, the refugees have managed to continue living and smiling. In no small part thanks to the heroic efforts of the humanitarian workers. On the other hand, there is no mistaking the fact that while they will almost always find a way to live and smile, the refugees continue to experience a reality that should make the rest of us immediately feel outraged and ashamed. That they are almost entirely dependent on food aid, despite being some of the world’s toughest and most skilled farmers. That from leading very dignified lives in Darfur, their kids now go around in tattered clothes, and on bare feet. To those looking for the motivation to continue advocating, continue raising awareness, continue expressing outrage to the highest levels of power — look no further but to know the day-to-day life of the refugees, and then ask yourself the question: if these were my children, my father, my mother, my friend, what would I do?

Thank you all who have followed our journey so far. We will continue working hard to bring you, in ways beyond this website as well, the faces and voices of the people on the ground.

Yuen-Lin

Comment:

Dear Yuen-Lin,

I so appreciate your writing, as well as Katie-Jay’s and Gabriel’s. I wish I could tell them that they give me strength in my daily life. I wish I could tell them I want for them what they want for themselves… freedom to go home, an education and the respect from others that is their right. Since the Rwandan genocide I sponsor a sister each year through www.WomenforWomen.org and I get to write to my sister there. And recently I wrote a song for all my Rwandan sisters. Here are the lyrics:

Our Shared Breath

Oh, sister divine, I feel your spirit,
I am inspired by strength in your life’s response.
We find a bond in the hope we ride,
forever true to Our Shared Breath.

And in honor of our brothers:

Oh, brother divine, I feel your spirit,
I am inspired by strength in your life’s response.
We find a bond in the hope we ride,
forever true to Our Shared Breath.

I offer this for the Darfuri people, too – also our family members.

If ever appropriate, pass on to the mothers and the substitute mothers, the fathers and substitute fathers and the children that they give us strength. How could it be otherwise? On a daily basis, I only have to think of them and their many things to overcome every minute of the day and night and my problems get into their proper place. I draw strength from their spirit to keep on going.

If appropriate, please tell them we are thinking of them and we will continue to reach our leaders so that our governments will finally rise to the needs of our Darfuri brothers and sisters.

Our love is with you,

Sandra

Old Friends

Posted by Katie-Jay on March 27th, 2009

The thick layer of sand and smoke hangs in the air. My throat raw and scratchy from the days we have breathed in the Chadian air. Every visit has fallen at a different time of year: Jan, February, now March, June and August. And each one feels entirely different. I am parched and dry. The hot sun forces re-application of sun screen, followed by aloe in the evening. The wind was strong today, carrying small tornado like wind storms that tore one roof of a tukul near Zaineb’s house. Chad is the harshest and most unforgiving environment I have experienced.

Regardless, today was a great day of rejoining with old friends. We met Oumar again whom we had met last year. He was very obviously thinner and sicker looking than before. His youngest brother, hardly one when we met him, didn’t look as if he had gained much weight either. He was shy at first but opened up eventually, laughing by the end of the day.

We saw again Ali, our futbol team mate from last time! He speaks a little English now and is very smart. His mother referred to him as clever, as she pointed out the blackboard at their house that he uses to teach Amouna how to spell her name in Arabic. He also brought out his drum for a small crowd that had gathered at his house. Young girls began to jump and dance, Bahtun began to sing in their local dialect, Doja. To see the Darfuris singing and dancing was unique. For a moment it seemed like we had all forgotten where we were.

We spent most of the entire day in the camp, taking an afternoon break during the hottest hours. I continue to think about how I would struggle to survive in such a harsh environment without the amenities I am used to. The water would be the first. In the last few days I have developed a sore throat and sneezing. I am lucky to have cough drops, vitamins, and an anti-biotic at my fingertips. The refugees have very little, if any, of these, and probably none for the common cold I am experiencing.

I don’t think I would survive in the conditions they have been forced to live in. And, of course, they all wish to return home to Darfur. Zaineb is going to be a Doctor. Ali wants to go to University and be a teacher or administrator. All the children want to be more than what they are at this very moment.

I hope that we can help them succeed in their dreams.

ktj

Comment:

Katie-Jay,

Thank you once again for your report, the pictures and video. You bring it to us in such a way that we get a better understanding of how life is for our fellow human beings. I especially liked the children’s chatter while the drumming and dancing was spontaneously done. This sentence “All the children want to be more than what they are at this very moment” just emphasizes we are all connected. And what happens to them in their time of need is a reflection on each one of us.

Could your daily journal entries’ texts, videos and pictures be placed on a dvd and sent out to journalists and our politicians (once you are home)? I keep thinking “how do we get the attention of those who are choosing to bypass this story?” We may have to raise the funds to do it, but it is a thought.

I think we have to put it in their faces until they feel the pressure to do what is right.

Our love is with you,

Sandra

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From sub existing lives to the sublime...

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Saturday March 28 tennis in Miami:

UPDATE: I have no TV station airing Rafa's match.

You can see it free online at

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

Or pay at

http://www.tennistv.com/

March 25, - April 5, 2009 Miami Tennis Tournament

Singles - Rafa Nadal had a bye in Round 1

Doubles -
Rafa and Marc Lopez defeated Brunstrom and Rojer in Round 1

6-2, 7-6(5)

www.sonyericssonopen.com

Order of Play - OoP

Printable Saturday Order of Play (PDF)

ORDER OF PLAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2009

STADIUM start 11:00 am
[Q] B Becker (GER) vs [8] F Verdasco (ESP) - ATP

Not Before 1:00 PM
[1] S Williams (USA) vs [WC] A Glatch (USA) - WTA
[4] A Murray (GBR) vs J Monaco (ARG) - ATP
S Peer (ISR) vs [5] V Williams (USA) - WTA

Not Before 8:00 PM USA EST [1] R Nadal (ESP) vs T Gabashvili (RUS) - ATP
[3] J Jankovic (SRB) vs G Dulko (ARG) - WTA

GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
V Troicki (SRB) vs [14] D Nalbandian (ARG) - ATP
[11] D Ferrer (ESP) vs [Q] J Isner (USA) - ATP
A Seppi (ITA) vs [16] S Wawrinka (SUI) - ATP
[24] R Gasquet (FRA) vs A Montanes (ESP) - ATP

Not Before 5:00 PM
[Q] A Delic (USA) vs [17] M Cilic (CRO) - ATP
M Vassallo Arguello (ARG) vs [6] J Del Potro (ARG) - ATP

TV Schedule

FSN	Broadcast Times	Live or Taped Delayed
Saturday, March 28	1 pm - 5 pm	Live
Sunday, March 29	1 pm - 5 pm	Live
Monday, March 30	1 pm - 5 pm	Live
Tuesday, March 31	1 pm - 5 pm	Live
Wednesday, April 1	1 pm - 5 pm	Live
	9 pm - 11 pm	Live
Thursday, April 2	1 pm - 5 pm	Live
	9 pm - 11 pm	Live
Friday April 3	1 pm - 3 pm	Live
	7 pm - 9 pm	Live
TENNIS CHANNEL	Broadcast Times	Live or Taped Delayed
Saturday, March 28	8 pm - men’s singles second-round match	Live
Sunday, March 29	9 pm - men’s singles third-round match	Delayed
Monday, March 30	7 pm men’s singles third-round match	Live
Monday, March 30	9 pm – women’s singles round-of-16 match	Live
Monday, March 30	11 pm – women’s singles round-of-16 match	Delayed
Tuesday, March 31	7 pm – women’s singles quarterfinal match	Live
Tuesday, March 31	9 pm – men’s singles round-of-16 match	Live
Wednesday, April 1	7 pm – women’s singles quarterfinal match	Live
Thursday, April 2	7 pm – men’s singles quarterfinal match	Live
CBS Sports	Broadcast Times	Live or Taped Delayed
Saturday, April 4	12:30 pm - 3 pm	Live
Sunday, April 5	1 pm - 3 pm	Live

Before Miami Rafa won the Championship Match
Here is a slideshow
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Rafa defeated Andy Murray at Indians Wells
Final - Championship Match Score 6-1, 6-2
March 22, 2009
Photo credits: Photo Agency, Jeff Gross and Matthew Stockman both of Getty Images and unknown

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Rafael Nadal and Ana Ivanovic at Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne
prior to the Sony Ericsson Open on March 24, 2009 in Key Biscayne, Florida.
Photo credits: Marc SerotaGetty Images for Sony Ericsson