A 2009 recap from our partners at the San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition:
As we begin a new decade — hopefully one that brings peace, security and growth to Sudan — the SF Bay Area Darfur Coalition (SFBADC) would like to thank you for your past participation, activism and support and urge you to remain committed in the upcoming crucial year for Sudan. We also want to highlight a few of our 2009 activities, emphasizing awareness, education and advocacy.
Our awareness events — always free and open to the public — included talks by Omer Ismail of Enough, a panel discussion with Adeeb Yousif, a Darfuri human rights activist in Darfur and in the U.S., a screening of The Reckoning, (a film following the work of ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo), Exhibit Darfur at the San Francisco State University downtown campus, and a San Francisco Civic Center rally organized by our summer interns. We obtained thousands of anti-genocide pledges in the the Genocide Intervention Network’s Pledge2Protect campaign.
We made numerous presentations to middle and high school students, colleges, civic organizations, and faith-based groups, including at Aragon High School in San Mateo, Larkspur Library in Marin County, Las Positas College in Livermore, Kipp King Collegiate Prep High School in San Lorenzo, Mercy High School in San Francisco, the Board of Directors of the SF Chapter of the Red Cross, University of San Francisco, and many more. Our President, Mohamed Suleiman, spoke at several venues in Redding in collaboration with our dedicated friends of Genocide No More – Save Darfur.
SFBADC leadership continued to build our relationship with members of Congress. In addition to writing letters throughout the year, we met with aides to Senators Feinstein and Boxer, Speaker Pelosi and Bay Area Representatives Eshoo, Honda, Lee, Lofgren, Miller, Speier, Stark, and Woolsey both in the local and Capitol Hill offices. We also met with staff in the office of the US Special Envoy to Sudan, General Scott Gration.
Senator Feinstein, a leader in the Senate on issues of genocide and mass atrocities, signed on to a Senators’ letter to UN Ambassador Susan Rice regarding enforcement of the Darfur arms embargo and co-sponsored bills requiring disclosure by US importers of Congo minerals (S.891) and developing a strategy for ending terror in Sudan, Congo and Central African Republic by the Lord’s Resistance Army (S.1067). Senator Boxer, a longstanding advocate for Sudan on the Hill, co-chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women’s Issues hearing on “Confronting Rape and Other Forms of Violence against Women in Conflict Zones Spotlight: DRC and Sudan.”
Speaker Pelosi continued her commitment to the people of Sudan in highlighting Darfuri refugees in Chad and internally displaced persons in Sudan in her statement on World Refugee Day on June 20. Congresswoman Eshoo signed a Congressional letter to President Obama asking him to raise the issue of Sudan on his visit with President Hu of China. Congresswomen Lee and Woolsey, members of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and early pioneers in advocating for Sudan, questioned the US Special Envoy to Sudan during his tetimony before the House Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health. Congresswoman Woolsey was one of only two members of Congress who spoke at a Darfuri rally at the White House in July 2009.
We pledge to you that we will continue our work in 2010 and ask that you participate whenever possible, including taking the weekly Darfur Friday actions. If you have suggestions of any kind for us or would like to volunteer, please email us at info [at] darfursf.org.
Again, thank you for all you do.
SF Bay Area Darfur Coalition
www.darfursf.org
