Today’s Action

Call the President. 1 (202) 456-1111

Use this script (or your own words)

“Hi. My name is ______, from ______, I am calling to encourage the President to take stronger measures to support civilian protection in Darfur. I feel the U.S. is neglecting its responsibility to protect innocent victims of violence in Darfur. President Bush should lead the world in a strong response to this terrible humanitarian crisis, by putting pressure on the Security Council and other nations to create the means for civilian protection in Darfur and address this humanitarian catastrophe.”

Take the Darfur Pledge: Commit to calling or e-mailing the President DAILY.

Go to www.darfurpledge.org and sign up.

Commit to two calls per week. Go to www.darfurcalls.org

–Rachel

Tomorrow, we will show you life in Abeche. This city has grown tremendously due to the influx of NGO’s coming to work with the Darfur refugees. The hope of employment here brings people from all over Chad to this town in the sand.

Among these job seekers, we found Akaye, our translator. He will travel with us to the camps. He speaks French, Arabic, and English. His English, he picked up while studying in Gana; he had to stop studying when his brother, who was supporting his studies, came into difficult financial times. I’m sure you’ll get to see Akaye soon.

We also have a car and driver now, so the i-ACT team on the ground has doubled in size overnight!

We decided to stay in Abeche one extra day, so we could meet with some NGO officials and buy provisions for out trip north. There is nowhere to buy food or water once we leave Abeche. We also wanted to show you Abeche, which will come in Day 4.

Paz

NOTE: THIS ENTRY IS POSTED ON BEHALF OF GABRIEL

If someone could volunteer a little time, I have the following request that will help everyone reading this blog, and me, put things into context.

I would like for someone to do a little research on Chad. It does not have to be extensive, just some of the basics, some bullet points on poverty, health, education, and other information that jumps out. As I stated in another entry, Chad continues to take in refugees through their borders with different countries, while having its challenges for meeting the needs of its population.

Please e-mail information to contactus@stopgenocidenow.org, and Michael or Rachel can post here for all of us to see.

Paz

NOTE: THIS ENTRY IS POSTED ON BEHALF OF GABRIEL

I miss my family. My wife, Zahara, has been sending me text messages to our satellite phone and e-mails to the one account we download now and then.

I’ve been away for a week now. It is the first time in four years that I miss Mimi’s soccer game. Zahara told me that she scored the last goal of the season, and her team went undefeated. Esa es mi hija! You should see Gabo (only 2 and half years old) play! People tell me that he’s going to make me some money :)

Martin and S told us that during the violence in Darfur, many families became separated, with family members scattered between different camps. There are too many children alone that, when asked about their family, they answer, “back in Darfur.” That can mean one of two things, either they are in another camp, or they are dead.

Paz

NOTE: THIS ENTRY IS POSTED ON BEHALF OF GABRIEL

The kind people at the WFP assisted us in getting on their N’Djamena to Abeche flight. As I’m writing this, I’m sitting on the right hand seat of row six, right over the wing of this eighteen seater. On Chris’ side of the plane, you can see “United Nations” on the wing.

It feels so good to be in the air, and the not having slept last night might add to the feelings of euphoria. Once in Abeche, we’ll be only a few hours drive away from our first camp.

I know that you are seeing the videos on a small screen, but I hope you are still getting a feel for what is out here.

Paz

NOTE: THIS ENTRY IS POSTED ON BEHALF OF GABRIEL

It is too late, or too early, to go to sleep now. We stayed up setting up the upload for day two of i-ACT. Before that, we did the final edits. It has not been easy here in N’D.

The city rations the electricity, so we have to be very careful about always charging our multiple electronic devices when there is the chance.

One of the challenges here at the guesthouse is that we are surrounded by high walls, so the signal from the satellite cannot get through. To fix this, we climb a wooden ladder to the top of the patio wall, and we set up our equipment there. We did part of day one from the roof next door, but we could not get up there tonight.

A driver comes to get us at 5:45, and we’re off to the airport to see if we can get on the WFP flight to Abeche.

Paz

NOTE: THIS ENTRY IS POSTED ON BEHALF OF GABRIEL