Stop Genocide Now
I write this blog about Darfur to my three children, Boston 6, Capri 3 and Cayman 2. My desire is that through my writing, they can know me, know the world and learn how they can achieve anything in order to change it. To the reader, I hope by giving you a transparent look into […]
I became active in the Darfur movement in late 2004. I did not know exactly how I’d be able to participate in alleviating what was and continues to be overwhelming human suffering. I just knew I needed to act. One of the very first campaigns I helped create and organize was a 100-Day Fast for […]
I haven’t had much of a chance to write anything since we arrived here in Chad. There has been so much to do, from always trying to get the best shot to trying to effectively convey what went on each day in a 2-minute video that won’t be too expensive to upload via satellite, since […]
Mothers, fathers, and teachers have been telling me that they can only maintain hope because of the hope their children represent. While in the camps, they want their children to grow strong and educated, so that they can be the future of Darfur. They would tell me this back in 2005, during my first visit, […]
Over the past decade, the people of Darfur have suffered through a devastating genocide, have been forced to flee their homes by the millions, and innocent men, women and children in Darfur suffer continuing attacks, many of which are launched by the Government of Sudan. While promising peace talks for Darfur are currently being held […]
Do you maintain hope, Yaya? “Yes. There is a time for war, and there is a time for peace, but it is not soon.” Yaya was sixteen when he had to run from Darfur, and, in the chaos, became separated from all his immediate family. He does not know who is still alive. When they […]
This is the mud that women like Mariam use to build their shelters, latrines and walls for privacy. As the years have past the tents and tarps given by humanitarian groups have ripped, faded and disintegrated. It is the women who mix the dirt and bring it home. It is women like Mariam and Hawa […]
I’ve definitely become more openly emotional since I started traveling to the refugee camps three years ago. I tend to feel heart ache and tears swell up in my eyes when something warm and fuzzy, however cheesy it might be, happens. I usually push the emotion away and move on quickly without looking back. But […]
As the Umda said, the new generation of children from Darfur must create their own road. One that is both from the old ways of Darfur taught to them by their parents and the new traditions and culture from life in the camps. “Only they will know what the path will be.” This reminds me […]
“All of these here, born here in the camp,” the camp leader told us, as we look at a group of wide-eyed kids. The others in the group, they were probably either in their mother’s womb or too young to remember Darfur. He also said that they do not have the resources to dedicate curriculum […]