Saturday, May 19, 2007

Darfur Reminder

I ran this video in December but forgot about it.
Digging back through the archives collecting YouTube embeds all in one place, I came across it and knew it was time to run it again.



Recent comment, one month ago...

As sad as these images are, it still doesn't touch the suface of the horror that is going on in Darfur. You've done a great job though, anything that helps people become more aware of a world outside of their own bubble is a good thing. Well done.
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...three months ago...
these videos are not to put people on guilt trips, its to show the real pain that is going on. I have been to Darfur, i returned a month ago, and these images hardly pale in comparisson to what it is like there. Bodies lying dead on the side of the road, driving by people being killed that you cant help. It is trully sad to know that people can be so cruel.

Here is a link to the Save Darfur blog.

DIVESTMENT: The movement for divestment is gaining strength every day. Last week, Florida became the latest American state to enact legislation directing its pension funds to end investments in funds or companies whose activity in or related to Sudan generates funds that support Khartoum’s pursuit of genocide in Darfur. Ford announced that it will end the sale of Land Rovers in Sudan – Land Rovers have been used by the Sudanese government in its operations in Darfur. Recently, Rolls-Royce announced it would end all operations in Sudan due to the Darfur genocide. Pressure is growing on Fidelity Funds to end Sudan-related investments. And while a shareholder motion to force the giant investment fund Berkshire Hathaway to use its investments in Petrochina to leverage more Chinese pressure on Khartoum failed last week, the issue was debated at BH’s annual meeting, and the campaign generated extensive press scrutiny of BH’s and Petrochina’s roles in supporting the genocide.

This movement is spreading both in the United States and internationally. It has the potential to shake up both Khartoum and Beijing while mobilizing new activists worldwide. For further information on the US campaign, please visit the website Divest for Darfur; for more on the international campaign, visit Darfur Divestment Worldwide. Bookmark these sites and return to them often; this effort is just starting to gain momentum and your opportunities to join it will expand quickly. LINK

Bill Frist, a Nashville surgeon, is a former Senate Majority Leader from Tennessee. Each year he travels to Africa to serve as a medical missionary. This past February, Senator Frist retuned to Sudan to see first hand the unfolding humanitarian crisis. We have reposted some snippets from his blog; you can read the entire posts here and here. You can view photos from his visit in his photo gallery. LINK

This is part of a lengthy post by Senator Frist dated March 7, 2007:

The most significant new and somewhat unexpected thing we learned on this trip to Darfur was that the humanitarian situation remains on the brink of crisis. The position of the NGO workers in Darfur is becoming untenable. The fundamental new change is the targeting of humanitarian workers with violence.

We were told that morale against humanitarian workers is at an all time low. Humanitarian workers are becoming the objects of attack, both from the rebel factions and the government. Unless things improve and the Government becomes proactive in supporting the humanitarian operations, NGOs will have no choice but to withdraw. The humanitarian crisis would then rapidly escalate.

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