Darfur - the genocide is not over United Nations

Have you ever wondered what is more important, politics or people? You may not, but the United Nations certainly has. And they picked politics, or so it seems.

I have long been an advocate of helping the people of Darfur from the genocide that has been ongoing from the Sudanese government. For years I have tried to add my voice to that of Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and hundreds of other non-celebrities. We all have asked the U.S. Government to get involved and to do something, while we have all acted directly. But all the U.S. Government has done is talk about HR 180 IH.

Hundreds of thousands have died since 2003. Millions have lost their homes and now live in refugee camps fearful of Sudanese government attacks. Government-allied militias - janjaweed - burned down villages, government planes dropped bombs on populated areas and reports of rape by the gunmen were rampant. And the U.S. Government was not concerned.

Yet today, the U.N. did something even worse.

“We can no longer talk of a big conflict, of a war in Darfur. I think now everybody understands it. We can no longer speak of this issue. It is over." Rodolphe Adada told The Associated Press this week before stepping down as head of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur, or UNAMID.

Yet somehow I tend to believe this statement more

''There are no more people on their land to kill,'' said Abdelwahid Elnur, exiled leader of one of the oldest rebel groups, the Sudan Liberation Army

In America politicians have been waiting for this day. Their inaction and the major media’s failure to discuss what has been called the worst humanitarian crisis has been astounding. 6 years of what the U.S. Government described as genocide equated to so much paper shuffling. And now the U.N. wants to have the world’s businesses and governments reigniting financial support of a government that is headed by a leader wanted for war crimes and has a warrant for his arrest since March of 2009.

The U.N. might as well say that the Sudanese people, especially those in Darfur, are not important enough to care about. Because their statements via Adada, and the inaction of America, seems to have said that loud in clear politically.

A genocide does not end because you can’t find as many people to kill as you did 6 years prior. A nation that actively killed people for no reason other than they existed is not something the world should ignore. And were this in Europe I guarantee we would not – World War II proved that. The people of Darfur deserve no less respect.

Congress, President Obama, and Secretary of State Clinton don’t have the combined balls of a mouse on this issue. But that does not mean we, the American people and those reading this around the world, are equally as impotent. We can still do something.

I again urge those that can do something to help Not On Our Watch and other aide organizations that seek to help those suffering in Darfur. Together we can make a difference, we can help children, mothers and fathers. Because if we don’t neither the U.N. nor the U.S. Government seems willing to.

“Change you can believe in” shouldn’t just be an empty American political slogan.

Darfur: An end to genocide is possible with your help

Sometimes there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You may not know there was a tunnel, or a light, if you only follow the major U.S. news media – but that is the case. In this point I am speaking about the 6 year long war in the Sudan, specifically Darfur.

As much as the major media has ignored this conflict, as much as the Congress has sat on it’s collective fat ass (Republican and Democrat alike), no less than 300,000 men women and children have died to date. Over 2.7 million have had to flee their homes.

Individuals like Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, and many others both with and without celebrity have worked hard for years to raise the awareness in America of the plight across the sea. The major news media was about as interested as Congress – one too busy hyping a case in Ohio, the other too busy looking to the past to see the present. But thankfully there have been others that have spread the word. And it may have helped.

Today it can be said that the main rebel faction and the Sudanese Government have started on the path that can lead to the end of the war. The first real steps have begun, with initial acts of good will being offered. It is possible that in about 2 weeks the first major cease-fire in that region will occur. It is possible that in the near future, one less place on the Earth will be at war.

But I still blame Congress for its inaction. Over 4 years in a row Congress refused to consider HR 180 IH – otherwise know as the Darfur Accountability and Divestment Act. In many ways this could have been like the laws enacted to punish South Africa for Apartheid in the 1980’s. America could have led the world in bringing pressure to the situation, or at least stemming the money that funded the genocide. And genocide is not an opinion, but a direct description of this slaughter by the White House.

But Congress refused to make any statement. They just let this sit and gather dust. In essence they flipped channels while mothers had their breasts chopped off and/or were raped, and children were executed. They allowed enough people to fill a mid-sized American city to be brutally killed while they plotted polispeak and political one-upmanship in luxury resorts. Pick whichever political party you want, they all acted with the same disdain.

We will never know how many lives might have been saved by a simple show of concern by our Government. But I can definitely say that over 300,000 conservatively have died while America twittled its thumbs. It’s not something I am proud of.

Still the good news is perhaps one day soon Don Cheadle, George Clooney, and myself among thousands if not tens of thousands of others will no longer have to raise awareness. Perhaps this will be over and the healing will be able to begin.

But that is not today.

We still need to speak about this. To do something about this. To ask Congress to take some action. Because it could mean saving the life of even 1 child – and to me that is reason enough.

Donate to Not On Our Watch. Write to your Congressional Representatives. Send President Obama your request for action.

Because we are Americans, and we make an impact on the world. Because America is a good nation, with big hearts. And even while we worry about our jobs and homes, not one American ever fears being slaughtered in genocide. We can sleep at night in relative peace, which to me means that making even a symbolic act is the least we can do.

Donating to help Darfur - 4.9.2008.1

On March 13th of this year I wrote a post (Not On Our Watch, Cheadle and Clooney, donate $500,000 - 3.13.2008.1) discussing Darfur and the efforts of Don Cheadle, George Clooney, and many others to end the genocide that has been on-going for the past 5 years in the Sudan. In that post I mentioned that this is a subject that has not been covered properly by the media, politicians, the Government, and the Presidential candidates (all of them).

My discussion of this subject has been consistent for some time, and I will continue to do so. Torwards that end I promised to make a donation to Not On Our Watch on April 6th. That day was my 40th birthday and a Sunday.

I promised to donate every dollar and dime that was donated to the site up to that date. So far in 2008 there has been 6 dollars in donations, as noted by the widget on the sidebar.

While I have delayed my donation I never forgot it. At the same time I do not believe that $6 was enough to donate to this issue, though ever dollar does count and help. Therefore I donated $46.

As I promised I have donated every dollar the widget shows received this year. I have not used those funds but my own, and as more donations are made to me I will use those funds for the various charities and gift giving contests that I run from time to time. The additional $40 dollars represented my age. While I wish I could have made the gift larger, I’m not independantly rich and the growth of my corporation does constrain some of my efforts from time to time.

Even so, I do not intend to make this my last donation or effort for Darfur.

For those that might doubt my donation I provide the following confirmation

Donation made to Groundspring.org for Not On Our Watch, Inc.
    Date: 04/09/2008
    Transaction #: VLCA2BF773FB-742401
    Donation Amount : $46.00
    Tax Deductible Donation Value : $46.00 

Not On Our Watch, Cheadle and Clooney, donate $500,000 - 3.13.2008.1

Unlike the major news media, or the Government of the U.S., I have spoken about Darfur and what is happening there. For years there has been little said about the genocide, and even less done in Congress. An example of that inaction is HR 180 IH.

But there are individuals that have done a great deal. One of the most notable and famous is entertainer Don Cheadle. Mr. Cheadle, along with George Clooney, producer Jerry Weintraub, entertainers Brad Pitt and Matt Damon created Not On Our Watch. Through this non-profit organization attention and aid has been given to Darfur and the 200,000 African that have been murdered and the 2.5 million men, women, and children that no longer have homes.

It is Not On Our Watch that again did something our nation seems incapable, or unwilling, to do. Today they gave $500,000 to the World Food Program (WFP) of the United Nations. The WFP has been providing food and support people in Darfur for years, in fact 70% of it’s aid goes to this area alone.

As much as half-a-million dollars is, it does not compare to the $77 million needed in 2008 alone.

Don Cheadle, George Clooney and the others in Not On Our Watch need to be commended on their actions and support to date. Congress, including Presidential candidates Senators Clinton, McCain and Obama, and President Bush need to be admonished for their failures to address this issue.

America has not take a stance against what is happening in Darfur. When Apartheid needed to be stopped, America stood up and refused to do business with the nation. We placed pressure on that government and helped to improve the lives of millions of South Africans including former political prisoner and now leader Nelson Mandela. [For those that weren’t alive in the 1980’s, Apartheid was the rule of the White minority in South Africa over the African majority. Think of it as a couple of steps above slavery and segregation on crack.]

If America as a government is unwilling to end the support of the Sudan, which Darfur is within, perhaps the people of America are willing to step up. Already the entertainers mentioned above have done so, and no one would consider entertainers political leaders. Yet they have done more to lead this cause than all of the politicians in America so far, in my opinion.

Darfur may be in Africa, and Africans are not as important to America as other parts of the world. That is apparently factual based on what our nation has done, or failed to do, over the last 5 years. But I see no difference in the lives of children in Darfur than in Iraq. If there can be such huge support for helping Iraq (whether through leaving the area or staying and winning the fight against Iran and terrorists) I cannot see how we cannot want to support those in Darfur.

If you agree with me, and Don Cheadle, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and so many other regular everyday Americans you have never heard of then please go to Not On Our Watch and make a donation. Today this organization sent $500,000 because of what they believe and the families and children they wish to help, and amount few of us have. But I have to believe that we normal Americans can afford $1 or $5.

I will even make it easier if you can’t afford that. Every dollar and cent donated to any of my blogs or sites, as recorded in my donation widget above, since the beginning of this year until my birthday on April 6th will be donated to this organization. In addition I will make a donation on that day beyond the funds collected.

So if you can only afford .50 cents, or $1.50, or even .05 cents, I will send it along with ever other donation I receive.

One person probably won’t be able to come up with $77 million or a solution. But all of us together can easily do so.