"If I Let You Go, You Will Grow Up"

On October 29, hundreds of armed militiamen in green uniforms attacked several villages and the Aro Sharow IDP camp near Jebel Moon, in West Darfur. At least 50 civilians were killed, including 26 children, most of whom were under the age of 10. According to survivor accounts obtained by UNMIS, the attackers told residents in one village "We have come to destroy you," and shouted "Come out, slaves!" One boy was heard pleading for his life, telling his attacker, "You have killed this other boy, so please let me go." The attacker responded, "If I let you go, you will grow up. I will not let you go." He then shot the boy. As many as 7,000 people in the area were displaced by the violence, many fleeing across the border into Chad.

The US State Department released its country reports on human rights practices on Tuesday, and the above paragraph is buried in the middle of the report on Sudan.  I read it and tears started flowing down my cheeks

Read on...

I went looking for news on Darfur to post an update here because I heard yesterday that two African Union (AU) peacekeepers were abducted and killed by one of the rebel groups, and I found the above report.  It’s 23 pages long and chronicles the fucked-up situation in Darfur and all across Sudan.  One instance after another of rape, murder, abduction, enslavement, conscription, detention without trial, torture... the list goes on and on.  But that one bit about that child pleading for his life, and the last words he’d ever hear were of a government-backed militia man telling he can’t allow him to grow up made my skin crawl.

Even if you just skim the report, you’ll get some background of this conflict that didn’t end when the civil war ended.  Our government called this genocide 4 years ago and since that time hundreds of thousands of innocent people like that child mentioned above have been slaughtered, and millions more have been driven from their homes.  They’re caught between government militias and soldiers who rape, murder and torture them, rebel groups who attack aid convoys and steal food and medicines meant for them, and rebel groups from Chad and Uganda who cross the boarders and attack them without mercy.

And if the men in uniform don’t get them, the landmines will.

SaveDarfur.org included an article from the China Post detailing some of the State Department’s report on the situation in Sudan, some of which follows...

"Genocide was the most sobering reality of all," the department said in the 2006 "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices," noting that mass killings continued to "ravage" Darfur nearly 60 years after the world vowed "Never again!" following the Holocaust.

Just days before senior U.S. diplomats expect to meet Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in Khartoum, the State Department lashed out at the Sudanese government, blaming its military and proxy militia for the genocide in Darfur, the western Sudan region which more than 200,000 people have died and some 2.5 million have been displaced, according to some estimates.

snip...

Tuesday's blunt criticism, particularly of Khartoum, comes two days before U.S. special envoy for Sudan Andrew Natsios is to see Bashir and a week before Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights Barry Lowenkron plans to meet the Sudanese president.

Ahead of those talks, expected to focus in part on the deployment of a hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force to Darfur, the State Department also noted that Sudan has continued to give mixed signals about its acceptance of the mission.

Mixed signals... yeah right.  Signals like using helicopters to bomb schools and destroy villages.  I’d say that was a pretty damn clear signal but nobody in Natsio’s office is asking me.

But I can still get the message across to him by contacting his office.

Meanwhile, our efforts are paying off.  The divestment campaign is making a dent in Sudan’s ability to sell it’s oil

  Billions of dollars are believed to be involved in indirectly funding Khartoum's war effort, which the student "task force" hopes to staunch, although some critics fear the population could suffer more than the regime.
   
   "Four years of diplomacy have not done the job everyone hoped," said Hamish Falconer, director of Sudan Divestment UK, which was founded in November.
   
   "With 60 percent of Sudan's oil revenues going into military expenditure, as oil revenues increase, so does Khartoum's capacity to carry out its military campaign in Darfur," he said.
   
   Some Sudanese economists put the percentage of oil revenue going to the army, security, and police force at well above 80 percent.
   
   The group aims to strangle that flow of money by targeting foreign firms that support Sudan's oil-dominated industry as well as the savers and pension funds that finance them.
   
   "Divestment aims specifically at removing flows that are facilitating the genocide," said Falconer.

This latest State Department report will be included in this resource list from now on.  If you read nothing else, read this.  It’s current information and it gives you history and the details of this genocide like little else can.

Reports
2006 US Department of State’s Report on the Human Rights Abuses in the Sudan.  If you read nothing else – read this.
Physicians for Human Rights Report Jan 2006

Groups
Save Darfur Coalition
Human Rights Watch
Sudan Watch (Timeline & other info)
Genocide Intervention Network
Amnesty International
Students Taking Action Now - Darfur STAND - Divestment Campaign
Africa Action
DarfurAlert.org

Organizations Providing Aid In Darfur
UN World Food Program
UNICEF (Canada)
OXFAM International
Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders)
Genocide Intervention Network
Partners In Health
UNHCR UN High Commission for Refugees.

Videos -
Darfur Diaries
Sudan - The Quick & The Terrible (PBS Frontline)
Peace Under Fire (the UN)
Video Testimonials (Amnesty International)

Photos
Darfur Eyewitness
Pysicians for Human Rights Photos
A Promise Unkept (NYT Photos)
Darfur - A Challenge for Us All (Center for American Progress)

Other Info
Africa Action Talking Points
Sudan By the Numbers (Center for American Progress - Feb 2005)
Darfur Scores (find out how your CongressCritters are doing)
Campaign to Send in UN Peacekeepers (Darfur Scores effort)
Info with Google Images of Darfur  (burned out countryside & all)

Get the Latest News
Save Darfur Coalition Newsroom
International Crisis Group A great conflict analysis group that has put out many conflict reports (30-50 pages each) on the war in Darfur, as well as many policy recommendations.
Online African Newspaper Sources from around the continent, in English and French
Strategic Analysis some of their Darfur stuff is decent
Reuters’ News Network for Humanitarian Orgs
United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks
Relief Web (looks like an amazing site)
CBC News In Depth - Crisis Zone, Darfur Sudan
BBC News Timeline
BBC News in Depth - Sudan, A Nation Divided

Contacts

Andrew Natsios - Special Envoy to Sudan -
Try Undersecretary for Political Affairs, Nicholas Burns (202-647-2471) or the Special Assistant for African Affairs, Economic Affairs, Environment and Science Affairs, Democracy and Human Rights, Counterterrorism Affairs -- Kara  McDonald (202-647-4315).  Either one will put you through to Natsios's office.

White House Comments Line - 202-456-1111

Capitol Switchboard (they’ll connect you to your CongressCritters) - 202-224-3121 or 1-800-828-0498

Sudanese Embassy in DC -
<http://www.sudanembassy.org>
2210 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20008
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail] <mailto:[e-mail]>.

Chinese Embassy  in DC -
2201 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Suite 110,
Washington D.C. 20007  
Tel : [phone]
Fax:  [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
(Believe it or not - they’re playing a part in preventing action to stop this genocide)

I know this is a lot of information to digest but go to these sites, bookmark them and get informed.  Then make a few calls, write an email or two and send a letter to the editor of your local paper(s).

I’ve posted this list of resources in the past and I’m going to keep doing it in the hopes that a handful of the good people here will read up on this genocide – and get involved.  If even a few of you take up this cause and help publicize this genocide, and efforts to bring it to an end by posting diaries of your own, talking to friends & family, writing LTEs to your local newspapers, and calling and writing to our government officials to do all they can to stop this shit, then I’ll have done a good thing today.

UPDATE

I doubt anyone will see this now that the diary's fallen off the recent diary list, but I just got the following note from Human Rights First telling us that the Chinese have taken steps to push the Sudanese government on this issue...

We just returned from the Sudan on a fact-finding mission that reinforced our strong commitment to bringing long-term peace to the region.

Thanks to the generosity of supporters like you, our colleague Julia Fromholz was able to meet with local NGOs and other organizations and people focused on Darfur to gather information first-hand that will help Human Rights First's efforts to resolve the crisis.

While the crisis continues, some promising developments have taken place since we last contacted you. The International Criminal Court named the first suspects in connection to crimes against humanity in Darfur - a Sudanese government minister and a Janjaweed militia leader - last week. And this week, China dropped Sudan from its list of countries with preferred trade status.  

These are certainly positive signs, but the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate. The killing of two African Union peacekeepers this week highlights the insecurity affecting the entire region.

On Monday the U.N. Special Envoy to Sudan noted a decrease in humanitarian operations and an increase in tribal fighting: "We are on the verge of a failure of the whole humanitarian operation," said Jan Eliasson.

We met with Mr. Eliasson yesterday to discuss the crisis facing humanitarian aid to the region and some next steps in the peace process. We fully support Mr. Eliasson's public call for immediate action: "We have now, therefore, to mobilize on all fronts and everybody has to act, both nationally, regionally and internationally. If we miss this opportunity, I'm extremely worried."

"Everybody" includes you. And everyone you know. Take THIS opportunity to help us build momentum! Ask your friends to stand up for the victims of Darfur by joining you in signing our petition.

Click here today to spread the word!

As we continue our work, we hope you will remain committed to being a voice for the victims of crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Sincerely,

Jill Savitt
Director of Public Programs
Human Rights First

P.S. We urge everyone to see "Beyond the Gates," a riveting film about the Rwandan Genocide that opens in select theaters across the country this weekend. The film's message is very pertinent to those of us concerned with the crisis in Darfur.

•  Forget the Tips - Please Recommend

  I've been asking this lately whenever I post something on Darfur.  I won't collect mojo because of genocide - I just want to see this shit stopped.

  So read up on this - write an LTE or three but before you do anything else, contact Natsio's office and tell him to give 'em hell in Sudan when he talks to them.

  by Alegre on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 10:23:08 AM PDT

  •  Both. Sad. Thank you. n/t

    by zic on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 10:36:14 AM PDT

    •  My Heart Aches for The Children

      That child mentioned above the fold speaks for the children of Darfur.

      We need to do whatever it takes to make sure their plea for life is heard by someone other than a heartless soldier.

      by Alegre on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 10:43:11 AM PDT

•  4 years after Darfur was declared genocide

  and nothing has changed.  What has happened to humanity as a whole?  Thank you for all the links.  There aren't enough hours in the day to do all the protesting against this that my heart wants me to do, but every letter I can write has to be of some use.  

  by seefleur on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 10:35:39 AM PDT

  •  So Much for "Never Again" Right?

    Four years and nothing's changed.  Except that the death count is higher and millions have been driven from their homes.

    As for that death count... that second report in my links - which came out this time last year puts the number of dead at 400,000 to 600,000 rather than the 200,000 that the AP generally uses in it's articles.  The 200K figure comes from the UN but a lot of what I'm reading now pretty much says that's outdated.

    Half a million dead and yet the world still refuses to hold the Sudanese government - and China, who does a lot of business with Sudan (oil) accountable.

    It's time we demanded better of the world's leaders.

    by Alegre on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 10:41:55 AM PDT

•  I've sent countless emails to

  [e-mail] but no response so far. Check this article if you haven't already:

  http://www.sudantribune.com/...

  They refer to the Olympics as the Genocide Olympics. That's an angle we could use to promote awareness, sadly lacking not only on this site but just about everywhere else. Keep it up, Alegre!

  by Asinus Asinum Fricat on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:04:40 PM PDT

  •  Genocide Olympics

    Outstanding suggestion.

    As long as China helps to prop up the criminals in Khartoum, they're responsible for this ongoing slaughter of innocents.

    by Alegre on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:09:50 PM PDT

  •  Excellent Link By the Way

    It rightly points out that China is the key to stopping this genocide.

    Keep up the great work AAF - well done.

    by Alegre on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:12:28 PM PDT

•  Interesting article here:

  http://www.mettacenter.org/...

  by Asinus Asinum Fricat on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:09:38 PM PDT

  •  Interesting Indeed

    I wonder how that trip went.  We sure didn't hear much about it here in the States.  I wonder if the NYT did a follo up on their initial story.

    by Alegre on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:16:27 PM PDT

    •  Nope. I checked. Wapo did a tepid

      oped last month.

      by Asinus Asinum Fricat on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:21:59 PM PDT

      •  Tepid

        is about all the WaPo is capable of these days.

        by Alegre on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:23:28 PM PDT

•  As this exposes the complicity of the Chinese:

  Hundreds of people waving banners welcomed Chinese President Hu Jintao on his first visit to Sudan on Friday when he arrived in the capital with a large delegation amid heavy security.

  Thousands of Chinese expatriates live in Sudan, working on construction projects and in Sudan's budding oil industry, and Khartoum's main streets were lined with Sudanese and Chinese flags.

  "Welcome Hu Jintao, welcome to Sudan," read the banners held up by crowds lining the streets.

  Sudan's Islamic government, under heavy US sanctions, has relied heavily on its unlikely Asian, communist ally to expand its oil production to 330,000 barrels per day and build key infrastructure like dams and roads. Sudan's economy is expected to grow by 13% this year.

  China's "no strings attached" aid policy has infuriated many in the West who want China to use its economic muscle to persuade Khartoum to end atrocities in its violent Darfur region, where four years of war have killed an estimated 200,000 people and driven 2.5 million from their homes.

  Sudan sells much of its crude to China and buys weapons from the energy-hungry country. Chinese arms are used by all sides in the Darfur conflict, despite an arms embargo on the region.

  Few believe Hu will use his first visit to Sudan to press his hosts on rights abuses. On Friday he will travel to a Chinese-built oil refinery and is also expected to sign trade agreements.

  China is due to host the 2008 Olympics, and activists are campaigning for a boycott of the Games if China does not use its permanent seat on the UN Security Council to put pressure on Sudan to accept UN peacekeepers in Darfur to end the violence.

  "Unless the international community - in particular China, host of the 2008 Olympics - finds the will to confront Khartoum over its intransigence, a savage genocide by attrition will continue indefinitely," said Eric Reeves, a US academic and Darfur expert.

  Washington calls the rape, killing and pillage in Darfur genocide, a term Khartoum rejects. The International Criminal Court is investigating alleged war crimes in the region.

  by Asinus Asinum Fricat on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:14:15 PM PDT

  •  You've Got Me Hoping For Some Sort of "Accident"

    at those oil fields.

    If what that second article you linked said is true, China will take their time and use "diplomatic" channels to pressure Khartoum.

    Maybe we'll see an end to this slaughter in 5 or 10 years - after China's gotten all the oil they want out of Sudan.

    by Alegre on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:19:24 PM PDT

    •  Of Course - I'm Not hoping for any accidents

      It just flashed in my minds's eye for a brief moment.

      Violence is never the way forward.  Peacekeepers yes - but violence is the way of the enemy in this case.  Not ours.

      by Alegre on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 02:32:22 PM PDT

•  The key to this would be to embarrass the

  Chinese authorities by bombarding them with thousands of emails threatening a massive boycott of the Olympics, not just from the USA but worldwide. Can be done if we put our heads together and plan accordingly a series of actions diaries...I have a little bit of free time in the next few weeks.

  by Asinus Asinum Fricat on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:19:44 PM PDT

  •  A few years after I moved to DC, the Chinese

    attacked and killed hundreds on Tianamin Square (sp?).  There were protests outside the embassy on CT avenue 24/7 with people blasting their horns as they drove by (busy street) in support of the protesters.

    Maybe it's time we organize something similar to that in DC again.  I know there are groups here who hold vigils and protests at the Sudanese Embassy on Mass. Ave - might be worth an email and a couple of calls to Africa Action and some of the Unitarian churches in the area.

    by Alegre on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:26:02 PM PDT

    •  This is another good link to add to your list:

      http://www.darfuralert.org/

      by Asinus Asinum Fricat on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:39:13 PM PDT

      •  Done

        Thanks for the suggestion!

        by Alegre on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:42:48 PM PDT

•  That too. A series of diaries titled

  "Welcome to the Genocide Olympics" or something like that would exert some pressure and, with luck, could get picked up in the MSM (though won't hold my breath for them) and the blogosphere in general. Worth a try.

  by Asinus Asinum Fricat on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:32:20 PM PDT

  •  You want to take the first shot at it?

    Maybe we could enlist the help of others around here who have shown an interest in stopping this genocide.

    I think my next diary on Darfur will be one asking for volunteers to take part in this effort.

    by Alegre on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:39:26 PM PDT

    •  Good idea. Volunteers are badly needed.

      I still don't know how to deal with tags hence my lack of diaries. I used to post hundreds of them years ago in Salon as it was relatively easy but this site has me  stumped...well I gotta try eventually!

      However, I'm good at digging through the morass of the "internets" and will provide additional links & email addresses.

      by Asinus Asinum Fricat on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:52:21 PM PDT

    •  Waking a Sleeping Giant

      Working title.

      We're tried tickling your conscience.

      We've tried shouting.

      We've tried pleading & begging.

      We've even tried posting pictures of the suffering children.

      Most of the time the pleas fall on deaf ears unless some front-pager gets involved.

      Well we need your help with a new project around here so make the jump...

      Many of us have been posting information about the ongoing genocide in Darfur for several years now but things are getting progressively worse as this genocide enters its 4th year.  The world ignores it as the Sudanese governemt and their henchmen in the Janjaweed commit ethnic cleansing and there's a reason.

      The Chinese buy a lot of oil from Sudan and nobody wants to take them to task for propping up this criminal government.

      So here's the plan... we're going to start a series of diaries aimed at waking up this sleeping giant of a community in an effort to get folks to pressure the Chinese government.  They'll be hosting the Olympics soon and the best way to enlist their help is to threaten a boycott of the olympics.

      No pressure on Sudan - no big $$ during the Olympics.  That along with the divestment campaign targeting companies who do business with Sudan might go a long way toward getting Khartoum to stop this genocide and work with the UN and AU peacekeepers, and the aid workers on the ground there.

      ... just a start but here's hoping it takes off.  What do you think?

      by Alegre on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:52:40 PM PDT

      •  That's the stuff! Make sure you write the tag

        Genocided Olympics as this should be the main target. I'm pretty sure the Chinese will respond to international pressure. They can call the shots in Darfur, let's not forget. Where are the celebrities on this? I mean apart from Clooney (bless him, my girlfriend thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread!) who's out there batting on behalf of these poor people?

        by Asinus Asinum Fricat on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 01:58:49 PM PDT

        •  Just Got Word on the China Front

          Human Rights First just sent out an email and it looks like our efforts are paying off where China's concerned...

          While the crisis continues, some promising developments have taken place since we last contacted you. The International Criminal Court named the first suspects in connection to crimes against humanity in Darfur - a Sudanese government minister and a Janjaweed militia leader - last week. And this week, China dropped Sudan from its list of countries with preferred trade status.  

          These are certainly positive signs, but the situation on the ground continues to deteriorate. The killing of two African Union peacekeepers this week highlights the insecurity affecting the entire region.

          by Alegre on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 02:12:03 PM PDT

          •  This is a massive link with addresses, alas no

            emails. I tried consulates in my search and found this:

            http://www.prcstudy.com/...

            by Asinus Asinum Fricat on Thu Mar 08, 2007 at 02:21:06 PM PDT

•  Genocide in Iraq

  Still waiting for a comment about the genozide the U.S. has cause in Iraq - with some 850,000 dead and millions fleeing.

  The U.S. sec state doesn't mention that in its human rights report - does it?

  And what about the oil in Dafur? Who is working to get a hand on that?

  And what about desertification that makes the sheep herders and the farmers in Dafur fight for the few lands left to have enough water.

  Blame the Chinese, send troops, but don't look at causes and effects.

  US liberals, indeed.

  by Bernhard on Fri Mar 09, 2007 at 05:29:40 AM PDT

  •  You Lost Me Bernhard

    Waiting for a comment?  I don't understand why you're directing that one at me.  I wrote a diary about the genocide in Darfur.  I'm not sure why you're demanding comment here about Iraq.

    Yeah I'm blaming the Chinese, and anyone else who does business with the government in Khartoum.  That's what divestiture is all about.  It worked in South Africa and it'll work in Sudan if we can get enough support from the business community.

    And I'm sorry if you have a problem with sending in UN troops but they're needed if anyone's going to protect the civillians caught in this bloodbath.  There are about 7,000 AU troops - who aren't allowed ot engage anyone - just observe - on the ground there right now.  Not nearly enough for 2.5 million living in camps in the region right now.  The UN's approved 22,500 more peacekeepers but that was back in September.  It'd be nice to see that actually matrerialize on the ground there.

    THAT's what diaries like this are all about.  Getting help to the people who need it.

    by Alegre on Fri Mar 09, 2007 at 10:21:05 AM PDT

•  Please do not construe my comments

  as minimizing the horrific nature of the violence against civilians in Darfur!  What is happening there is terrible and the entire world should work towards halting the slaughter.

  However, Bernhard (above) has a point!

  Furthermore, if the conflict in Darfur is so terrible (which it is!), then where was the concern during the conflict in the Congo which makes Darfur pale by comparison?

  ...how could it be that many of those calling for an end to the American and British intervention in Iraq are demanding an intervention in Darfur? It’s tempting to think that the advantage of Darfur lies in its being a small, faraway place where those who drive the War on Terror do not have a vested interest. That this is hardly the case is evident if one compares the American response to Darfur to its non-response to Congo, even though the dimensions of the conflict in Congo seem to give it a mega-Darfur quality: the numbers killed are estimated in the millions rather than the hundreds of thousands; the bulk of the killing, particularly in Kivu, is done by paramilitaries trained, organised and armed by neighbouring governments; and the victims on both sides – Hema and Lendu – are framed in collective rather than individual terms, to the point that one influential version defines both as racial identities and the conflict between the two as a replay of the Rwandan genocide. Given all this, how does one explain the fact that the focus of the most widespread and ambitious humanitarian movement in the US is on Darfur and not on Kivu?

  As usual, things are more complex than they first appear, as is evident in the article I am citing:

  The dynamic of civil war in Sudan has fed on multiple sources: first, the post-independence monopoly of power enjoyed by a tiny ‘Arabised’ elite from the riverine north of Khartoum, a monopoly that has bred growing resistance among the majority, marginalised populations in the south, east and west of the country; second, the rebel movements which have in their turn bred ambitious leaders unwilling to enter into power-sharing arrangements as a prelude to peace; and, finally, external forces that continue to encourage those who are interested in retaining or obtaining a monopoly of power.

  The dynamic of peace, by contrast, has fed on a series of power-sharing arrangements, first in the south and then in the east. This process has been intermittent in Darfur. African Union-organised negotiations have been successful in forging a power-sharing arrangement, but only for that arrangement to fall apart time and again. A large part of the explanation, as I suggested earlier [My note: read the entire article!], lies in the international context of the War on Terror, which favours parties who are averse to taking risks for peace. To reinforce the peace process must be the first commitment of all those interested in Darfur.

  The camp of peace needs to come to a second realisation: that peace cannot be built on humanitarian intervention, which is the language of big powers. The history of colonialism should teach us that every major intervention has been justified as humanitarian, a ‘civilising mission’. Nor was it mere idiosyncrasy that inspired the devotion with which many colonial officers and archivists recorded the details of barbarity among the colonised – sati, the ban on widow marriage or the practice of child marriage in India, or slavery and female genital mutilation in Africa. I am not suggesting that this was all invention. I mean only to point out that the chronicling of atrocities had a practical purpose: it provided the moral pretext for intervention. Now, as then, imperial interventions claim to have a dual purpose: on the one hand, to rescue minority victims of ongoing barbarities and, on the other, to quarantine majority perpetrators with the stated aim of civilising them. Iraq should act as a warning on this score. The worst thing in Darfur would be an Iraq-style intervention. That would almost certainly spread the civil war to other parts of Sudan, unravelling the peace process in the east and south and dragging the whole country into the global War on Terror.

  by maracatu on Fri Mar 09, 2007 at 06:03:51 AM PDT

  •  So What Would You Propose Then

    if they don't send in peacekeepers / observers?

    Reporters are being killed.

    Aid workers are being targeted and killed.

    And now AU troops are being abducted and murdered.

    What's the solution?

    by Alegre on Fri Mar 09, 2007 at 10:23:09 AM PDT

    •  We can begin by

      recognising how our government is part of the problem.  Until we realize this and act on it, whatever we propose to do for Darfur (or anywhere else) will be for naught.

      by maracatu on Fri Mar 09, 2007 at 12:43:09 PM PDT