VP Biden in Africa: HOPE?

Our team, and most of the other Sudan advocacy groups, has been paying attention to Vice President Biden’s trip to Africa this week, seeing it as an opportunity for the U.S. government to change course on its Sudan policy implementation. U.S. Sudan policy implementation under General Gration is (and I have to censor my language here) ineffective and often…bumbling.

Does VP Joe Biden offer us and the millions of people in danger in Sudan any hope? I’m not sure. Is all the passionate speech he yelled out as a Senator and candidate in support of protecting civilians in Darfur just that, empty rhetoric?

On my third trip to Darfuri refugee camps back in 2007, we had the opportunity to ask a question during the Youtube Democratic Presidential Debate. I asked, more or less, tell us what you will do to bring peace, but don’t just give us more b.s. Mean what you say! Of course, Biden was the loudest.

Three years later, the words of Biden, Clinton, and Obama have not turned into action. Instead, they have handed over the reins of this important policy to the good General, who wanted to be appointed to NASA and focus on space before being put in charge of policy involving the lives of millions of innocent civilians.

I’m not sure I can put hope on Biden, but we’ll be loud in letting him know he’s not living up to his rhetoric, and we’ll keep asking and pressuring for someone to own and take responsibility on building true and lasting peace and justice in Sudan.

UPDATED ACTIONS:

• Print and mail this Thank You Note to Vice President Biden. Mail to:

Vice President Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington DC 20500

• Post the video above on the WhiteHouse Facebook Page
• Write a Letter to the Editor for World Refugee Day!
• Tweet this: Thanks VP #Biden. We agree #Sudan demands urgent attention. Tell @barackobama to act on Sudan now. @whitehouse http://bit.ly/bZ0KpV

World Refugee Day: June 20, 2010

There are over 40 million people displaced worldwide, many of them having been forced brutally out of their homes. June 20th is not only World Refugee Day, but it is also Father’s Day and an opportunity to learn, teach, and take action for the men, women, and children that yearn for a return home.

Here are a few things you can do for WRD, starting today!

1. Write a Letter to the Editor for your local paper using this easy online tool! All you need is your zip code. There is a draft letter ready for you to use, which you can then edit if you wish. Be sure to include details of any local events you are participating in!

2. Genocide Intervention Network and Save Darfur are helping coordinate dozens of “meet-ups” between activists and Sudanese Diaspora. Find one near you! Don’t forget to order your World Refugee Day DVD below!

3. Last year the i-ACT team partnered with the United Nations Refugee Agency and Vsee to bring you live, online events from Darfur refugee communities in Chad. You can view highlights from our 2009 World Refugee Day Live events and get ready to log in and participate on Sunday!

MY HOME: A Walk Through Children’s Memories of Darfur

Take 5 minutes. Give $25. Help millions. Your $25  gift will help us build MY HOME.  Be a part of telling Darfuri children’s story.

Will you help us raise $2,500 to build MY HOME by August 19, 2010? Each and every dollar will go towards the creation of this exhibit, which will include Darfuri chidren’s drawings, pictures and video from our trips, and more.

Our goal is to launch MY HOME on September 19th, 2010, which will be a Global Day of Action and also coincides with the UN General Assembly being in session.

$2,500 is not peanuts, especially in our current economy. $25 is not peanuts either, but 100 people giving $25 each will build MY HOME. Help us build MY HOME by being part of the 100 people who will help tell this important story.

MY HOME will tell the story we’ve heard during our many visits to camps on the Chad-Darfur border, a story about children’s homes, homes destroyed, temporary homes found, and a longing for a return-home.

Our i-ACT team has always been uncomfortable with spending too much energy asking for donations, but we really believe that MY HOME will move and inspire people to act for the children whose stories they are experiencing through the exhibit.

This “Help Us Build MY HOME” Campaign will go on for one month, July 19th – August 19th. The exhibit MY HOME will keep going for as long as necessary, educating and activating as many people as possible, so your impact will ripple on far beyond limits you might imagine. Learn more with this one page description of MY HOME.

Be a part of MY HOME: Join the MY HOME Soul Circle

Become a My Home Builder:

• I will ask many friends and family to help me build MY HOME.

• I will give $25, and my name will go on the MY HOME  Web site as a supporter.

• I will give $50, and I will be a supporter that also receives an i-ACT t-shirt!

• I will give $100 or more and receive an 8×10 print of one of the photos included in the exhibit, a t-shirt, and acknowledgment on the Web site.

Donate today!

Prefer to mail a check? Use this easy donation form.

Make checks payable to i-ACT, MY HOME in the memo line, and mail to:

i-ACT
1732 Aviation Blvd #138
Redondo Beach, CA 90278

Meet the new teammates: Lexi, Lara, and James!

Lara Markarian
Why did I decide to join the SGN team?

Growing up in an Armenian community that has endured many years of pain and internal suffering because of a ruthless genocide has left a lasting impact on me and inspired me to work in the field of social justice. I firmly believe that current genocides are a product of past genocides because when a group of perpetrators is allowed to remain unaccountable and justice is not served, the precedence is set for further malicious action.

StopGenocideNow.org works to educate the masses and put pressure on the government to keep promises that it has previously made- two important steps in the process to ensure that genocides do not remain a recurring theme in our world. I personally decided to join the SGN team and promote its mission because I grew frustrated with hearing the phrase “never again” and then learning about the hundreds and thousands of people being murdered in Sudan. The violence must stop now; no more broken promises. SGN has made it possible for me, a 19-year-old college student, to have an impact on the global fight against genocide.

It is unbelievable that the organization is entirely run by simple people who have dedicated their lives to call for justice and to do whatever they can, no matter how small it may be, to make the voices of the silenced heard. Just in the past few weeks, by hearing the stories of the refugee camps and looking through the pictures of the Sudanese children who continue to smile even through these tough times, I have been greatly inspired and cannot wait to continue working with the SGN team!

James Thacher has been an SGN team member for a while and has recently stepped up his involvement to help with videos, graphic design and Web site building! He is a graphic and web designer living in Brooklyn. He helps SGN and its various affiliates develop and strengthen their message through multimedia and interactive projects. He is also a video and media artist.

Lexi Stauring

It was not too long ago that I found myself enjoying my final days of residency in Hawaii. I run in and out of the shade of tall palm trees, skipping along hot, black volcanic rock ignited by the heat of the sun, a sun shared by some many worldwide. My thoughts dangle between Hawaii and my future, and I am not yet thinking of the refugees who feel the same heat of the sun on the other side of the world.

Inside, my Apple lights up. My first stop is facebook to notify friends and family of my soon return to Los Angeles. Paging down the list of friends, I come across my uncle, Gabe. As I read his page, surrounded by the slow Hawaiian life, I feel a sudden change in emotion from excitement to pure remorse. What I see is only a small sample of all the progress that SGN had made since I last tuned in. What I feel is regret for being absent from it all; for living only in my moments and being so caught up in my own life.

I am fresh out of High School and around the same age as many of the students SGN works with. Like many of my peers, I am having a harder time discovering my niche in the world then I ever imagined. Since my arrival here, I feel most content when I’m helping with SGN projects and campaigns. Impatient excitement grows as each new project moves from idea to effective action. Now, I not only share the same sun with our Darfur friends, but I share my life with them as a member of the SGN team.

World Refugee Day DVD & Videos!

The i-ACT team put together a series of videos that you can share at your World Refugee Day (WRD) event or meet-up. It will help provide a sense of life in the refugee camps on the Chad-Darfur border, and keep the Sudanese Diaspora connected to their community back home. It can be played on a computer or DVD player between two people at a coffee shop or in front of a larger audience at a potluck! Videos are between 5-8 minutes, perfect for talking and reflecting in between clips.

Order your DVD today so we can ship it out to you a soon as possible! If you can, we are asking for a small donation to cover the cost, even $5 will help! Donate here. If you can give more, it will help cover those communities who might not be able to donate at this time.

Please feel free to stream any of our i-ACT videos we have posted on youtube! A few of my favorites are:

1. i-ACT1 Day 21: “Don’t just see in front of you. Turn back and see what is behind you, so maybe you can help the people behind you.”
2. i-ACT3 Day 7: Mansur and Fatna
3. i-ACT6 Day 2: Oure Cassoni, Amira, and children’s drawings of Darfur
4. i-ACT8 Day 11: Adam speaks of Justice

Not What Anyone Was Hoping For, except maybe for al-Bashir

This was supposed to be an exciting time for Sudan, instead it is a scary time.  Sham elections are set to begin this Sunday.  They are not, as they should be, a step towards peaceful democracy for people that have lived decades of horrible violence and abuse.  These elections are a false statement of legitimacy for an indicted war criminal, president al-Bashir.  They also mean a step in the wrong direction, taking innocent civilians closer to the brink of an explosion of violence and instability that can only rival Sudan’s own brutal past.

For our friends in the refugee camps, it means that those camps are all they can see as a home—almost as far as they can imagine in to the future.For us, those of us that care about human rights and the real people behind the intangible issues, it means that we must step up.  We cannot count on our government to do the right thing, just because it’s the right thing to do.  We’re going to have to push and drag them, if necessary, to put humanity before politics.Our little SGN/i-ACT team is a part of many efforts that help you, regular citizen-advocates, connect with regular citizen in Darfur and all of Sudan—and then fight for their human rights.  We’ve been, for the last 50 days, involved with and coordinating the Sudan Sham Elections 2010 campaign.  It has been all about action!

Now, we are launching, with this same Sudan Sham network, a monitoring-to-advocacy network called i On Sudan.  It combines state of the art technology with old-fashioned community building to create a bridge between citizen-reporting to citizen-advocacy.

In these coming days, please stay connected to what is happening in Sudan.  Take some quick, simple actions that can make a difference in the lives of millions.  It is scary times, but there is always the opportunity to make it exciting times—by getting involved and finding out what WE CAN DO today!

Peace,
Gabriel and the SGN Team

URGENT ACTION: DEMAND CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP ON SUDAN


Despite rosy reports from Obama Administration officials, very bad things continue to happen in Sudan. The most recent example from a long list of ongoing human rights violations and broken commitments by the Government of Sudan is a recent offensive by the government of Sudan in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur, which has killed hundreds in the last several weeks and driven up to 100,000 people from their homes. 
 In the midst of these ongoing violations, the Administration has heralded faltering, exclusionary peace talks on Darfur as “major progress” and a “landmark” and continues to wrongly support the upcoming elections which have no chance of being either free or fair.

The U.S Sudan policy is not only adrift but is enabling gross human rights violations.  We urgently need Members of Congress to engage on this important topic.

Please write to the four members of Congress who oversee foreign affairs.  Ask them to urgently press the Obama Administration, both privately and publicly, for greater accountability on the U.S. policy toward Sudan.  

Sign letter and add your comment to Senators Kerry and Lugar and Representatives Ros-Lehtinen and Berman.

 

Share this Action: Tweet President Obama and the State Department

Actions for Sudan Elections in April

Sudan Sham Elections 2010: Each day since February 20, 2010, one state has stood up and taken action directed towards their state or national leaders to say: “Obama Administration, Stop Supporting Sham Elections in Sudan!”

With recent violence in Darfur, broken peace agreements, and weapons stock piling in both the North and South, and the Lords Resistance Army now in Darfur, a free and fair environment has not been established for elections to begin April 11th. “Conditions in Sudan are not yet conducive for a free, fair, and credible election,” said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Unless there’s a dramatic improvement in the situation it’s unlikely that the Sudanese people will be able to vote freely for leaders of their choice.”

We are at a critical crossroads for Sudan and our current administration is full of advocates for Darfur that need our support to act. Florida advocates for Sudan contacted Representative Ileana Ros-Lethinen about the Sudan Sham Campaign she brought the issue to the House floor:

Although she  has been an advocate for Sudan for several years, she was only able to use minutes on the House’s agenda because her constituents contacted her. We must continue to contact our leaders and tell them that peace, protection, and justice for Sudan is an important issue for us.

Find out what action your state took or is taking as part of the Sudan Sham Elections 2010 Campaign and take it today!
If you haven’t already sign the petition to the Obama Administration, which will be delivered in early April, please do so today!

April is Genocide Prevention Month

 Stop Genocide Now is working with several California-based groups to support events that both commemorate based genocides and take action to end humanity’s worst crime, genocide. It is deeply saddening to think that so many horrible crimes find their way onto the calendar in April. What is worse, these crimes span more than a century of our history as humanity. Please take part in commemorating the millions we have lost because one group felt superior to them, and do your part by acting to help prevent future genocides. It begins with all of us saying, believing and working for “Never Again.”

Introducing the SGN Blog

Our team has decided to take the plunge and create yet another interactive tool on our site: SGN Blog. It’s a place for both personal reflection and informational dialogue. Where you can comment on our words, and ask questions. Our hope is that it also inspires you to act with us. Because we are just regular people, like you.  And just like you, we need too need inspiration and empowerment to keep going. So we will look to this blog to do so, and hopefully you will too!

Peace, Protection, Justice

As many of you know, our tireless team is made up of several hardworking volunteers, and two full time advocates. This year alone, your generous donations have allowed us to coordinate a national campaign with involvement from all 50 states and for 50 days leading up to elections in April, urgent weekly actions, two petitions to the Deputies responsible for the Sudan policy and to the Obama Administration, several presentations and Camp Darfurs, and the ongoing creation of new videos and photo slideshows of our friends in the camps. Without your support, we would not be able to focus on our mission to bring the voices of the people of Darfur forward.

Purchase a t-shirt today to help us continue our work!

“Peace, Protection, Justice” are words repeated by the refugees when we ask them “What will it take for you to be able to return to your home in Darfur?” Support their vision by wearing their words.

T-shirts are $15 each, available in beige or gray, and can be ordered in bulk! Order one today!

Sudan Sham Elections 2010

50 States, 50 Days of Action for Peace, Protection, and Justice for Sudan Grassroots groups and Darfuris across the nation have joined together to say: No support for sham elections in Sudan!

Beginning February 20th, for the 50 days leading up to the April 2010 election, regular citizens in every state will take targeted and effective action to say, we do not support elections that will legitimize an indicted war criminal. Under the current climate of violence and political intimidation, the Sudanese elections (scheduled for April 11, 2010) will be anything but free and fair. With insecurity continuing in Darfur and violence mounting in the South, fraudulent elections in April could be a dangerous flashpoint for Sudan. Darfuris living in IDP and refugee camps and the Diaspora are boycotting upcoming elections. These elections will do nothing but legitimize the engineers of the first genocide in the 21st century.

Join us in the Sudan Sham Elections 2010 Campaign.

Each state will organize one day of action. Actions will be easy and available for everyone in the state to take, yet targeted and effective. Our grassroots actions will support high-level advocacy campaigns by the national groups: Enough, Save Darfur, and Genocide Intervention Network. Actions will urge our government not to legitimize a war criminal’s reign through elections built around violence, intimidation, and coercion. Join this national, grassroots campaign!

Visit the website, Sudan Sham Elections 2010, to:

1. Sign the petition

2. Find your state on the map – contact the leader to get involved locally.

3. If your state doesn’t yet have a leader, sign up! We need all 50 states represented for success.

4. Tell 3 friends about the upcoming campaign.

We are regular citizens around the 50 United States and DC, standing with the people of Sudan—the marginalized, the disenfranchised, and the brutally oppressed—in demanding truth and strength. An indicted war criminal, responsible for millions of deaths, will never be a legitimate leader. Peace, protection, and justice will come from strength in effort and conviction from our leaders. We are still looking for leaders to help reach out to several states. Contact Katie-Jay Scott, ktj[at]stopgenocidenow.org to get involved!