Categories
Day 7: December 15

My Answer (Reasons #42 thru #47)

Why Darfur? I can’t even guess how many times I’ve been asked this question over the last six years.  When I first started becoming an advocate for peace in Darfur, there was not this united front by activists, and we really didn’t know exactly what we were doing, or at least I didn’t.  I do […]

Categories
Day 4: December 12

Mangos (Reasons #22), Guavas (#23), and Lost Memories of Home (#24)

We always ask the people we meet what they miss about Darfur. The refugees have given a diversity of answers that paint a beautiful picture of a calm and peaceful life of agrarians and villagers. They speak about their fields, the herds that the boys watched over during the day, and the marketplace where they […]

Categories
Day 3: December 11

Really Dreaming (Reason #13: A child should be able to see beyond a refugee camp)

All of our sleeping has been so off. We’re awake in the middle of the night, and we just crash in the afternoon, when we get back from the camp. Today we spent six hours walking around Djabal and having conversations with refugees of all ages. We often end up talking about education, even if […]

Categories
Day 3: December 11

ACT

Tomorrow, Sunday, December 12, 2010 at 10-110am Eastern (7-8am Pacific) is our Refugee Town Hall Meeting: Why Darfur…Again? For today’s action, send us your questions or a topic you want to hear about: Leave a comment here Via twitter: #askdarfur On facebook You can also ask questions during the event. Join us at www.iactivism.org/live Refugee […]

Categories
Day 1: December 9

Running In Circles – (Reason #2: 270,000 refugees remain vulnerable in Chad)

I went for a run today, laps on a dirt track. Each lap is about 20 seconds, and the track is surrounded by tall walls with barbed wire. The UNHCR compound feels secure, but I’m not sure how safe these walls actually are, if armed men really wanted to get in. There is no armed […]

Categories
i-ACT 9: Dec 2010

Why Darfur: A Refugee Town Hall Meeting

What: A Live Webcast of Darfur Refugee Town Hall Meeting When: Sunday, December 12th, 2010 — 10-11am Eastern, 7-8am Pacific (4pm Chad-time) Where: From a refugee camp close to the Chad-Darfur border. See live webcast at: http://iactivism.org Didn’t we take care of Darfur years ago? Isn’t it more important to deal with the North-South conflict, […]

Categories
SGN Blog Uncategorized

Kids Growing Up: Excitement and Fear

My daughter, Noemi, is starting high school. As you might suspect, for me as a dad, this brings some stress, fears, and not necessarily welcomed excitement. For Noemi, I’m sure it brings a lot of the same emotions, plus many more. She is 14 now! It’s not easy to accept that my little girl is […]

Categories
SGN Blog

Their Struggle Continues… Ours Has Just Begun

Every so often when I am playing my iTunes on random, the i-ACT1 Day 21 soundtrack plays. It’s not the full video, just the beautiful sounds of the Darfuri people, and Chris and Gabriel laughing with them. I always, always cry when I hear, “Don’t just see in front of you. Turn back and see […]

Categories
Day 4: June 18, 2009

Childhood Truth

When I was younger, and voicing my concerns about a situation, I would whine, “It’s not fair.” And my mother would simply state the truth, “life is not fair.” My complaints were trivial, but her answer could not have been more true. All the paths of a refugee camp end up looking the same. Especially […]

Categories
Day 3: June 17, 2009

Laughter

Since arriving in Goz Beida, the last two days have been a blur, more so than the five days of travel to get here.  My overwhelming impression is that for a group of people that have been displaced from their homes and forced to live in a refugee camp, the residents of Camp Djabal still […]