ACTION

On July 21, 2005 Darfur Freedom Summer Vigils were held across the world, symbolizing solidarity and the worldwide demand for an end to Darfur atrocities. These vigils offered an opportunity to learn more about the situation in Darfur and to act against genocide. SGN facilitated immediate action campaigns and created information/action kits enabling people to become powerful advocates for Darfur.

The 100 Day Fast for Darfur in 2006 and 2008 coincided with the 100 days it took
to kill 800,000 people in Rwanda while the world stood paralyzed. People from
across the nation participated in the fast, donating what they would have spent
on food in that time to the World Food Program (WFP) to support their efforts to
feed the Darfuri people who have been brutally displaced.

From April 23-30, 2007 groups across the country held rallies, marches and
vigils. In Beverly Hills, SGN and other local partners held a candlelight ceremony
and Camp Darfur at La Cienga Park to call attention to the escalating violence
and the continued failure of the international community to adequately respond to
the crisis in Darfur.

Tents of Hope was a national community-based project that facilitated a powerful
union of artistic creativity and social concern in response to the crisis in Darfur.
SGN supported the growth of the Tents of Hope campaign in late 2007. iACT
created the “The Patchwork Tent,” with messages of peace and hope from
elementary school kids from northern California and drawings of Darfuri
children’s memories of Darfur.

An action campaign involving grassroots organizing nationwide. Groups signed
onto the following points, pledging action in support: 1. Genocide is not
negotiable 2. We oppose U.S. silence that aims to gain intelligence on terrorist
activities in Sudan – we refuse to trade Darfuri lives 3. We demand an immediate
deployment of an effective peacekeeping force with the mandate to protect, with
or without consent of Sudanese government.

In August 2008, China hosted the Olympics using the slogan, One World One
Dream. Knowing that no country had done more to support the regime in
Khartoum than China, SGN and Mia Farrow produced Darfur Olympics, also
called Switch Over to Darfur, from refugee camp Oure Cassoni in eastern Chad.

In solidarity with all of the displaced from Darfur, SGN teammates Jeremiah
Forest and Eric Angel participated in a month-long fast Seeking Empathy: One
Month Refugee Diet, matching their diets to ones of refugees they visited in
camps.

On Wednesday, March 4, 2009, the International Criminal Court issued a landmark arrest warrant for President Omar al Bashir of Sudan. Just hours later, President Bashir expelled 16 humanitarian organizations from Sudan, placing millions of Darfuri civilians at immediate risk. SGN team members set up Camp Darfur at the LA Federal Building and for seven days slept overnight and protested during the day. They were joined by hundreds of other activists. The week culminated in a rally on Tuesday, March 17 during which President Obama appointed a Special Envoy to Sudan.

Mia Farrow began her 12-day hunger strike on June 17, 2009. When she spoke
of her fast, of the situation on the ground in Darfur, and of her positive vision of a
world in which all people’s human rights are respected, the movement grew.
Ultimately, over 500 people from 34 different countries participated in Darfur Fast
for Life.

On June 20, 2009, iACT partnered with the United Nations Refugee Agency to
stream live, for the first time ever, from a refugee camp in eastern Chad for World
Refugee Day.

The Darfur Dream Team was a dynamic partnership of organizations and
professional basketball players working together on the Sister Schools Program,
an initiative linking American middle schools, high schools and universities with
schools in 12 Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad. Its mission was to provide
quality education to every refugee child from Darfur, and develop personal
connections between students from Darfur and the United States that promote
mutual understanding.

For the 50 days leading up to the illegitimate April 2010 Sudan elections, citizens
in all 50 states across the United States participated in diverse daily actions
targeting local and national leaders. Organizers from every state created unique,
local ways for communities to take action on their designated day.

iOnSudan connected on-the-ground reports of violence, abuses, and other
events to advocacy groups in the United States and around the world to
immediately mobilize leaders towards immediate response on behalf of innocent
civilians and to promote peace, protection, and justice in all of Sudan.