Get Involved!
Here’s a summary of all the actions from i-ACT 5 (and more!). Keep the pressure on and strong!
Locally
- Tell 5 Friends (or more!) about i-ACT: Send them to our website and send them a story of one of our friends
- This coming weekend, bring the faces and stories of our friends to your place of worship. Say a prayer for Darfur, and make a commitment to actively end the violence.
- Engage your friends and representatives in a conversation about our United Nations Security Council Presidency, use Africa Action’s talking points.
- Host an i-ACTivist Viewing Party: Use this Guide (word, pdf)
- Join the Tents of Hope campaign, now in 9 countries!
- Dial 1-800 GENOCIDE and pressure your Senators and Representatives to take action.
- Write a letter to the editor or article for your local paper! Use the points included in this sample letter to a leader, and urge the media to bring attention to the voices of those who need our help!
- Help build a movement by connecting with other Darfur activists and advocacy groups. Brainstorm with other advocacy groups how you can work in solidarity on campaigns and projects to make more them more wide-reaching and powerful. Some groups to contact: STAND (ask for local chapters), Genocide Intervention Network, Stop Genocide Now, Jewish World Watch and Save Darfur.
Nationally
- Join the 100 Day Fast for Darfur that began on April 7th, the day of the Rwanda genocide and continues until July 15th. Each dollar donated to WFP will be matched.
- Using Africa Action’s talking points, write a letter, send an email or call the US Permanent Representative to the UN, Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad, here.
- Join the San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition and begin your weekly commitment to Darfur Fridays and Keep International Focus on Darfur.
- Read the joint statement of Presidential candidates Clinton, Obama, and McCain and thank them for condemning the government of Sudan.
- Urge Clinton, Obama, and McCain to begin their dedication to Darfur now and make protection of innocent civilians in Darfur and Sudan a priority in their first 100 days in office by sending them a message here.
- Participate in Tents of Hope Tents of Hope World Refugee Day Actions!
- Call the White House and demand that we call an emergency meeting on Darfur and Sudan at UN Security Council and that we do all in our power to Protect the Innocent Civilians of Darfur. Dial 1-800-GENOCIDE or 202.456.1111 to be connected to the President.
Internationally
- Participate in demonstrations at headquarters and retail outlets of the 2008 Olympic Sponsor
- Join Amnesty International in urging leaders to take action to release Darfuri prisoners.
- Use sample letter to your leader, and add in a picture and story the many listed here, or another you have connected with over the last week. Include a link that invites them to view a video of the refugees, attach a picture and a story from the camps.
- Write to the President of the United Nations Security Council (United States of America in June 2008), urging the Security Council to call on Sudan to enforce all International Criminal Court arrest warrants immediately. Stay connected at Wanted for War Crimes.
- Take Action to Divest in Chinese and other companies with investments in Sudan at Investors Against Genocide, which has a targeted Divestment Model for Institution, Council, or Legislature provided by Sudan Divestment
- Connect with the villages in Darfur that are under immediate threat and need your protection at Amnesty International’s Eyes on Darfur. Tell the ambassador that villages in Darfur and Eastern Chad need protection.
- Participate in the 2008 Olympic Games Sponsor Demonstrations, or write them urging their action for Darfur
Action: Lend your voice!
Your voice is Their voice – today they need you to stand up, stronger then ever, and tell their story.
For the past month and a half, violence throughout Sudan towards Darfuris has increased significantly with Darfuris in the capitol being pulled from their homes and executed in the street or arrested and taken to undisclosed locations, learn more at Reporters without Borders. Join Amnesty International in urging leaders to take action to release Darfuri prisoners NOW.
Tell the Media it needs to stop: write a letter to the editor or article for your local paper! Use the points included in this sample letter to a leader. More importantly, urge the media to bring attention to the voices of those who need our help!
- How to Distribute a News Story for Maximum Media Exposure (This is a great starting point)
http://www.wikihow.com/Distribute-a-News-Story-for-Maximum-Media-Exposure - Daily Newspapers
http://directory.google.com/Top/News/Newspapers/Regional/United_States/
http://directory.google.com/Top/News/Newspapers/Regional/
http://dir.yahoo.com/News_and_Media/Newspapers/ - TV
http://directory.google.com/Top/Arts/Television/Stations/North_America/United_States/
http://dir.yahoo.com/News_and_Media/Television/Stations/By_Region/ - Radio
http://directory.google.com/Top/Arts/Radio/Regional/North_America/United_States/
http://dir.yahoo.com/News_and_Media/Radio/By_Region/ - Alternative Newsweeklies
http://aan.org/gyrobase/Aan/publicationDirectory - College and University Newspapers
http://dir.yahoo.com/news_and_media/college_and_university/newspapers/by_region/u_s__states/
http://dir.yahoo.com/news_and_media/college_and_university/newspapers/by_region/countries/
Action: Put on the pressure!
Last time we were in Camp Kounoungo, Adam thanked the American people for taking action, but encouraged us to do more. “We need action,” he said. As we always say at SGN, our leaders will not do the right thing, because its the right thing to do. We need to tell them what is important to us. Take State-wide action by dialing 1-800 GENOCIDE and pressure your Senators and Representatives. We also need to continue reaching out and educating people locally: join the Tents of Hope campaign, now in 9 countries! Take long term action to prevent future genocide by becoming a GI Net Rapid Response Member.
Remember this weekend to bring the faces and stories of our friends to your place of worship. Say a prayer for Darfur, and make a commitment to actively end the violence.
Action
This Friday, join the San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition begin your weekly commitment to Darfur Fridays and Keep International Focus on Darfur. This month use your weekly actions to ask President Bush to reconsider his plan to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games because of China’s relationship to Sudan. Click on this link to ask your Congressperson to co-sponsor House Res. 1093 making this request of the President. To date, only 20 Congresspersons have co-sponsored this resolution asking the President not to attend the opening ceremonies unless China (1) persuades Sudan to both end violent attacks in Darfur and allow for the full deployment of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur; and (2) takes steps to stop arms sales to Sudan.
Action: Urge the future President to make Darfur a priority
Senators and Presidential Candidates McCain, Obama, and Clinton issued a joint statement on the situation in Darfur and their commitment to continuing their current efforts to end the violence in Darfur and implement the Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Read their statement and thank them for condemning the government of Sudan. Please also urge the candidates to begin their dedication to Darfur now and make protection of innocent civilians in Darfur and Sudan a priority in their first 100 days in office by sending them a message.
Action: World Refugee Day
In the United States, 2008 is an election year. For the international refugee community, 2008 is the year of Protection. In one week, on June 20th, we celebrate World Refugee Day, and kick-off a year focused on the theme of protection: \prə-ˈtekt\ to cover or shield from exposure, injury, damage, or destruction. We, as Global Citizens, need to remind our leaders of our Responsibility to Protect. Remind President Bush of his responsibility to ensure full deployment of a full UNAMID force or call 1-800 GENOCIDE. Join STAND‘s Presidential Legacy Campaign.
Plan to take Action on June 20th, World Refugee Day:
- Host an i-ACTivist Viewing Party: Use this Guide (word, pdf)
- Participate in demonstrations to headquarters and retail outlets of the 2008 Olympic Sponsor
- Part of Tents of Hope? Participate in Tents of Hope World Refugee Day Actions!
Action: Lend your voice
After five years, the targeted and calculated violence towards innocent civilians in Darfur not only continues, but is worsening as you watch Stop Genocide Now and i-ACT field team members return to refugee camps in Eastern Chad for the fifth time. Our friends who made the treacherous journey across the border and to a refugee camp need your help. The thousands who are stranded at the border, at a time when Chad is no longer accepting new refugees, need your voice. And the more than 3 million Darfuris inside Sudan, who are at risk every day of death and destruction, need your protection.
Please take action today:
- Tell 5 Friends (or more!) about i-ACT: Send them to our website and a story of one of our friends.
- Join the 100 Day Fast for Darfur that began on April 7th, the day of the Rwanda genocide and continues until July 15th. Each dollar donated to WFP will be matched.
- This coming weekend, bring the faces and stories of our friends to your place of worship. Say a prayer for Darfur, and make a commitment to actively end the violence.
