What can we do?  According to Deng, one of the most important things we can do is to send a short note or email to our senators and representatives requesting that they take action to help the people of Darfur. Former Senator Paul Simon of Illinois said after the 1994 Rwandan genocide: If each member of Congress had received just 100 letters urging action, that would have been enough to get our political system to respond.

Deng is “living proof of slavery”. In Sudan human beings are still being bought and sold into slavery. He was abducted and enslaved when he was only 9 years old.

According to the Genocide Intervention Network:

At present (Jan. 2009) Darfur is experiencing the most intense fighting seen in the last year. For over 6 years, the most notorious genocide of the twenty-first century has devastated millions of non-combatant civilians in Darfur. Sudan continues to send its troops and Janjaweed proxy militias to systematically destroy the livelihoods of Darfurians by bombing and burning villages, looting economic resources, and murdering, raping, and torturing non-combatant civilians. Rebels in Darfur are also complicit in the recruitment of child soldiers and the commission of other acts of violence against civilians.

Senator Lamar Alexander, email
455 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Senator Bob Corker, email
455 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Representative Marsha Blackburn, email
217 Cannon House Office Building,
District of Columbia 20515-4207

President Barack Obama, email
The White House,
District of Columbia 20500

Hillary Clinton, email
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

For more information:

http://www.preventgenocide.org/action/alerts/darfur/

http://www.genocideintervention.net/

http://www.uusc.org/content/contact_senators_representatives_darfur

]]> http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2009/02/07/former-slave-speaks-at-apsu/feed/ 1 http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2007/12/15/darfur-genocide-us-needs-to-act/ http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2007/12/15/darfur-genocide-us-needs-to-act/#comments Sat, 15 Dec 2007 22:00:38 +0000 Beth Robinson http://www.clarksvilleonline.com/2007/12/15/darfur-genocide-us-needs-to-act/ Peace on Earth, good will toward men.

Have you heard these words this Christmas season? The genocide continues in Darfur. Resolutions are passed but there is no action to protect the people. 

This past week I watched the new HBO movie, Sand & Sorrow, narrated by George Clooney, who was trying to explain why the genocide continues. It prompted me to again contact my representatives urging them to support ACTION.

I have part of my 401k with Fidelity. I recently found out they have NOT completely divested their holdings in Darfur. If you have Fidelity holdings, you may also want to write the company asking that they divest completely. Here’s my letter:

To: Ms. Anne Crowley, Senior Vice President, Media Relations and Public Affairs
Subject: Darfur — Fidelity divest

Money makes the world go ’round. Stop the money. Stop the genocide in Darfur. Formally adopt a public policy against investing in companies that support genocide in Darfur. Please let me know your decision within the next week. I realize that my funds with Fidelity are not a huge amount but I will move my funds to another plan if you do not divest ALL holdings in Darfur. My Fidelity accounts are: 401(k): 79999 $99999 & 401(k): 89999 $99999.

While I am heartened by Fidelity’s initial steps to divest from PetroChina Co. and Sinopec Corp., I urge you to divest ALL of your holdings in these companies.

Fidelity’s continued investments in these companies are providing precious funds to the Sudanese government to continue its horrifying genocide of the Darfurian people. Moreover, your still-substantial holdings in these companies are sending a message to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir that Americans are willing to fund his genocidal campaign. Before any more people in Darfur are killed, raped, or forced to flee to insecure refugee camps, Fidelity should sell its remaining PetroChina and Sinopec shares on the New York Stock Exchange and divest all its holdings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Demand implementation of Darfur Peace and Accountability Act (DPAA)

TO: Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) , Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), & Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN 7th)

I heartily support any actions the US can take to stop the genocide in Darfur. Nearly two-thirds of Americans – 62 percent – support the use of asset freezes against Sudanese leaders guilty of organizing and executing the genocide, according to a poll by the Genocide Intervention Network.

The DPAA was supposed to go into effect in November 2006. There is no point in passing legislation without implementing it. Although the law is nonbinding, it should still be implemented to increase the pressure on Sudan’s genocidal government. Funding for UN troops to protect the people is very important. This tragedy has already gone on far too long. I urge you to push for swift action on S. 2271, the Sudan Accountability and Divestment Authorization Act of 2007. What can we say when asked “Where were you during the Genocide of Darfur’s non-Arab people”?

For more info: http://savedarfur.org

To take part simply call President Bush at (202) 456-1111, and tell him that you demand protection for innocent civilians in Darfur who are the targets of this intolerable genocide.

Talking points

On May 1, the United States will begin its rotating one-month presidency of the U.N. Security Council. The Bush administration should use this opportunity to launch an intense multilateral diplomatic effort to achieve real protection in Darfur. Tell President Bush to:

• Ensure that the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, is able to deploy an effective U.N. peacekeeping force on the ground in Darfur and eastern Chad.
• Set a timeline and benchmarks for implementation of a U.N. peacekeeping force in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1706, which was passed eight months ago.
•  Provide much-needed funding for African Union and U.N. peacekeepers to protect civilians and achieve stability in the region.

Your calls make a difference!

In early February, UUSC’s Drumbeat for Darfur campaign asked you to call your representatives to cosponsor a Sudan divestment bill introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). At that time, the bill had 45 cosponsors.

In the week that followed, 16 additional representatives signed on. There are now 101 cosponsors of the bill. Because of your calls, the message to take action for Darfur is reaching our policymakers!

But more than that, two technology companies — Swiss ABB and German Siemens — that were targeted in the Lee bill have since stopped their operations in Sudan: “Lee’s divestment legislation played a central role in Siemens’s and ABB’s pullouts from Sudan,” said a spokesman for Rep. Lee.

You can find out more about the campaign, by visiting http://hrdefenders.c.topica.com/maagjo5abx88uaBUph8e/, by emailing ">, or by calling 617-868-6600.

* UUSC – Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, http://www.uusc.org/

I’ve heard of Darfur but admit that I barely know where Sudan is except it is in Northern Africa. I’d guess alot of people said “I don’t know where Aushwitz is” before WWII.

Darfur is our 21st century Holocaust. Genocide. People are slaughtered. Families and children no longer have homes and are starving refugees.

There are days when I’d rather look the other way, change the channel, and pretend the problems don’t exist. After seeing a 60 Minutes piece about the horrors of Rwanda, I decided I must do something to help end this current human suffering.

Join me in contacting our representatives in Washington and tell them we care. We demand the US lead the international community to immediately send UN peacekeeping forces to stop the genocide in Sudan.

Get a pen and paper. Write that it is important to you that the US support a UN peacekeeping force in Sudan. Send your letter to President Bush, Senator Alexander, Senator Corker, Rep. Blackburn or others.

Be a part of the solution. Be a good Samaritan. It may be a small thing but it is something.

Peace to all this Christmas season.