Hello friends and familia:

It was pitch dark and a bit cool, as we came off of the Air France plane and walked down the steps to go in to the N’djamena airport. Africa has a distinct feeling to it, and I’m just not sure how to explain it. I bet that anyone that’s been here knows what I’m talking about. It feels familiar, connecting to something deep in me, but also alien, with sounds, smells, and sights that are all so new.

I’m a bit tired from the last few days of preparation for this trip, combined with the work on our I Stand With Darfur campaign, which had me in DC ten days ago protesting at the Sudanese Embassy.

Ali, the aid worker we met on Day 6 of last year’s i-ACT, met us at the airport. It felt so good to see his friendly face. He’s going to be of so much help, and he’s also just great to have around. He is Chadian and knows a lot about his country. From working in refugee camps for a long time, he also knows a lot about the life of the displaced people of Darfur. Ali will be our interpreter and our guide. He is free to do this right now because his agency was force to pull out of Guereda due to the insecurity. There is fighting all around that area, so the two camps that are served from that town, Mile and Kounoungo, have been left without most services. I still would like to find a way to get there, since our good friend, and new member of the Human Rights Watch Student Task Force, Ahmat lives and Kounoungo. I have a care packet for him from the STF members in California.

Before I leave to go find out about registering with local police, which we have to do before leaving to Abeche, a little about the tech side of things:

I’m now typing away on this brand new i-book Yuen Lin, our tech guru, prepared for us, and I’m sitting in a very comfortable hotel room. It’s been a good morning. I tested the satellite modem, which is connected to this laptop right now, and it worked just fine. I was able to call Yuen Lin from the phone that connects to it; I was able to check and send e-mail; and YL was able to remotely play with this computer. Very cool stuff!

Carolyn is the one that set up this website and blog, and she, like YL, is pretty amazing also. They get some help from other volunteers, but they are the backbone that makes what we did last year and what we’ll do these next days possible.

OK everyone, we’ll be in touch. Let’s not forget to act.

Gabriel

Hi everyone:

Well, here we go. So much planning and team effort to make this
happen! I feel very hopeful that this journey may bring the beautiful
people of Darfur closer to many people’s hearts and enlighten people
unfamiliar with the atrocities the humanity at stake. Most of all,
though, I believe that this team effort can have a direct effect on
stopping this genocide by putting faces to the statistics. There is
hope, that is what I’m feeling as we embark on this journey. People
connecting to people.

One chance meeting with Gabriel at the first Camp Darfur and now, here
we are in Paris, waiting to go and share in the losses and triumphs of
people who are no different than ourselves. I’ve learned so much in
the past eight months and am ready to learn more on the ground.

Let’s spread the word and make this reach as many people as possible
in the true spirit of the holiday season.

Peace,
Stace

Hello again my friends, familia:

It was so nice to see Stacey, my travel partner for this i-ACT, walking up to me here at the Paris airport. We’re ready to go!

It has a strange feeling to it, this trip. It feels familiar, from last year’s trip, but different, going in to a more volatile situation on the ground.

Stacey and I got right to talking “business,” since we have a very full itinerary in getting the 14 days of i-ACT up. I do want to get to the camps as soon as possible. For now, I am sure that we’ll spend one night in N’N'Djamena. The first day, we will go register with the police and at the US Embassy. If it all goes right, we’re off to Abeche by the next morning.

It’s going to be a very different Christmas for Stacey and I. We are used to being with our family. Well, we will be with family, our beautiful extended family on the Chad-Darfur border.

I look forward to hearing from all of you soon.

peace,
Gabriel