In the words of Sudan analyst Eric Reeves, humanitarian efforts in Darfur are facing an “escalating war” by the ruling Khartoum regime.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) recently warned the international community that the Sudanese government has threatened to shut down MSF’s lifesaving activities in South Darfur. By all acounts, Omar al-Bashir remains absolutely confident that he can continue without punishment his brutal war of attrition against millions of internally displaced Darfuris.
Here’s what an MSF official said about the recent Sudanese government threats:
“We don’t understand why they are now trying to prevent us from providing medical aid to the population. It’s incredibly frustrating, when there are clearly still serious needs in Darfur.”
Over the last four years, Doctors Without Borders’ clinics and hospitals have treated hundreds of thousands of people in Darfur. At this urgent moment, MSF definitely needs all the help it can get from the advocacy and donor communities. Among other small but concrete actions, you can click here to help MSF win much needed funds from a TripAdvisor-sponsored contest.
Ultimately, though, donations and contests and vigilant humanitarianism aren’t enough. And that’s because they aren’t an effective answer to the source of all of these problems. The Sudanese government continues to get away with genocide. They are the executors of genocide. In this critical time, only a strict set of punitive measures — starting with (but no limited to) the imposition of targeted multilateral sanctions — can stop Khartoum’s now six-year-old campaign of slaughter.
Did you know that your family savings might be helping to fund the genocide in Darfur? Most people don’t. But when they find out, most people are horrified and want to ensure that their own personal savings are no longer connected to genocide.
There’s an easy way that you can help in the important work of convincing mutual fund companies to become genocide-free. Our colleagues at Investors Against Genocide are leading this effort and need mutual fund shareholders to submit a shareholder proposal to mutual funds in which they invest to help make them genocide-free.
If you have at least $2K invested in a mutual fund and have held that fund for at least a year, you are eligible to submit a shareholder proposal. The staff at Investors Against Genocide (IAG) will assist you in the easy submission process. It takes very little time and all the materials have been developed for you. You just will fill in a few blanks. You will not need to disclose any financial information to IAG or any third party.
If you don’t own any mutual funds, but have a friend or family member who does, please pass along this email to them.
The SF Bay Area Darfur Coalition has committed to getting hundreds of proposals submitted. If you are willing to put your 401(k), IRA or any other mutual fund investment to work for Darfur, please send an email to martinaknee –at– gmail.com with your full name, phone number, and email address. A member of the IAG team will contact you directly to answer your questions and help you get started. This personal information will not be used for any other purpose.
Help end investments in genocide and cut off the money supply to those who perpetrate crimes against humanity.
Sudan makes case abroad while still bombing Darfur President Omar al-Bashir says international interference will hamper peace. Darfuris ask: ‘What peace?’
By Heba Aly – The Christian Science Monitor – October 9, 2008
Tawila, Sudan – During the US vice presidential debate last week, Sen. Joe Biden (D) and Gov. Sarah Palin (R) found common ground on at least one topic: Both support imposing a no-fly zone in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region.
Some 6,000 miles away, Darfuris fleeing their homes welcome such talk, especially after a recent spate of indiscriminate government bombings.
“The government said it was only looking for rebels. It said it didn’t want to harm the people,” says villager Abdullah Isshac, who spent one week hiding in the countryside after a government attack on the village of Khazan Tungur. “But the rebels are out in the mountains, not in the village.”
To the outside world, Sudan’s government sings a different tune, claiming since July – when the International Criminal Court (ICC) sought an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide for his role in the Darfur conflict – that the prosecution of its leader would jeopardize the peace process. But as the situation on the ground here grows worse, Darfuris are asking: “What peace process are you talking about?”
