OurPledge

ACTION: A letter to China

[From the Save Darfur Coalition:]

36,451 Save Darfur Coalition activists have already called on their members of Congress to sign a letter to Chinese President Hu urging him to use China’s power to stop the genocide.

Recent news from the region is grim–violence is spilling out of Sudan into neighboring Chad. Every day, countless men, women, and children face violence, starvation, and disease.

12,000 Flee Darfur for Chad, U.N. Says

By The Associated Press
Published: February 10, 2008

GENEVA (AP) — Up to 12,000 refugees fled Sudan’s Darfur region to neighboring Chad over the weekend following air strikes by the Sudanese military and thousands more may be coming, the U.N. refugee agency said Sunday.

The agency was bringing emergency assistance to the Chad border where the Darfur refugees were giving detailed descriptions of air attacks Friday on three West Darfur towns.

The refugees are ”destitute and terrified,” said Helene Caux, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees headquartered in Geneva. ”They told of their villages being looted and burned, and encircled by militia.” Most of the new refugees in Chad are men and they told the U.N. that thousands of women and children are on their way, Caux added.

U.N. officials say the worsening situation in Darfur has been exacerbated by a recent rebel attack on the capital of neighboring Chad. Chad has accused Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir of backing those rebels in a bid to prevent deployment of a European peacekeeping force in the Chad-Sudan border region where some 400,000 refugees are living.

Oxfam: Three Weeks Away from Total Shut Down in Eastern Chad

Oxfam International (Oxford)
PRESS RELEASE
8 February 2008
Posted to the web 8 February 2008

Oxfam International warned today that its aid effort in eastern Chad is three weeks away from total shut down when it will be forced to turn off the water for more than 100,000 people. Fighting in the capital N’djamena over the weekend has cut supply lines going to the east, where 470,000 refugees and displaced people are dependent on humanitarian aid. The agency is calling on the UN and donors to open up an airlift of aid and alternative land link to get the aid through.

“If we don’t get more fuel for the water pumps and fresh people in to run the aid effort, we will be forced to turn off the taps for 110,000 people within the next three weeks at best. We are calling on the UN and donors to organise an air lift from neighboring Cameroon and a reliable food and fuel supply line in order to keep providing clean water and humanitarian aid to refugees and displaced Chadians”, said Nick Roseveare, Regional Director for West Africa.

ACTION: Speak out against the promotion of a high-level Janjaweed leader

[From the Save Darfur Coalition:]

What did Sudanese President Bashir do with a world-infamous war criminal? He gave him a promotion.

Bashir has appointed the militia leader who helped orchestrate genocide in Darfur as a senior adviser on ethnic affairs.

This brash and consistent defiance of the U.N. won’t stop–not as long as Bashir has China to protect him.

We must tell China that enough is enough, and our representatives can help. Leaders in Congress are gathering support for an official letter to President Hu of China letting him know that his indifference toward Darfur is unacceptable.

Click here to urge your representative to sign on to this bipartisan letter and send a strong message to China.

Chad update

The AADG/OurPledge.org team is extremely relieved that the good folks over at StopGenocideNow.org are safe. If you haven’t been following their story, here’s the short of it: After Gabriel Stauring and team finished up their latest round of reporting from the Darfuri refugee camps in Chad, they got stuck in Chad’s capital Ndjamena, caught directly in the middle of an onslaught by rebel forces that were (and still are) trying to take over the Chadian government.

It’s important to remember that these rebel forces have been supported by the Sudanese government. The violence is another indication of Khartoum’s complete devaluation of innocent human life–while Gabriel and team were able to get out of Ndjamena, thousands of innocent Chadian men, women, and children are stuck or else have been forced to flee their homes.

Follow the news by visiting StopGenocideNow.org today.

[End of Post]

ACTION: Update on 24 Helicopters

[If you've already taken action, forward this message to your friends! Use the 'Share This' button above. An action alert from the Save Darfur Coalition:]

Thanks to you and 69,033 activists, President Bush heard the message loud and clear — peacekeepers in Darfur need 24 helicopters to succeed.

Your messages are making a difference.

Senators Biden and Lugar introduced a resolution [this week] urging world leaders to provide these helicopters. But they need to secure support from their colleagues to make sure the resolution passes.

Click here to urge your senators to cosponsor the Biden-Lugar resolution and help secure helicopters for the Darfur peacekeepers.