Author: Daniel

www.standupmichigan.org darfuraction@umich.edu

Why are those people acting dead?

To represent the victims of the genocide in Darfur. Each person lying down has a real story of a victim posted on their back, and there are hundreds of thousands of similar stories.

And what’s with the laptops?

On the laptops you will find Google Earth images of destroyed villages in Darfur. You can check out these images on your own by downloading Google Earth at www.earth.google.com and “flying” over to Sudan, where you will see hundreds of fire icons representing each village, and by zooming in seeing the remnants of the villages.

Tell me more about Darfur...

The ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of western Sudan began in 2003, when the government of Sudan began sponsoring attacks against the people of Darfur. The genocide has claimed at least 400,000 lives and displaced more than 2.5 million people. Violence, disease, and displacement continue to kill thousands of innocent Darfurians every month. In February 2003, frustrated by poverty and neglect from the government in Khartoum (the Sudanese capital), two Darfurian rebel groups launched an uprising against the Khartoum government. Claiming to be putting down the insurrection, the government responded with a scorched-earth campaign against the innocent civilians of Darfur, enlisting the janjaweed, a militia drawn from members of Arab tribes in the region, to perpetrate the attacks. Since February 2003, the government-sponsored Janjaweed have used rape, displacement, organized starvation, threats against aid workers, and mass murder to perpetrate genocide.
As the crisis continues today, the intentional displacement of millions has contributed to a major refugee crisis that now is spilling over to its neighbors, Chad and the Central African Republic. Violence continues today not only against Darfurians, but additionally towards humanitarian workers. In the past four years, only a contingent of roughly 7,000 troops from the African Union (AU), which severely lacks resources and experience, has been stationed in Darfur. As of June 2007, the government of Sudan has accepted a proposal for a 23,000 member joint UN-AU “hybrid” force. However, given Sudan’s history of deceit and empty promises, many remain skeptical of their commitment. Additionally, the international community has yet to provide enough funding for the force, which is not expected to deploy until 2008.

So this is pretty bad, what can I do?

Lots...
Sign one of our postcards to Senator Jelenik to urge him to act on the divestment bill for the State of Michigan.
Donate some money to aid the refugee camps, and pick up a t-shirt and armband.
Join STAND. We meet Mondays at 8pm at the Ginsberg Center (1024 Hill St., near East Quad). Email darfuraction@umich.edu to be put on our email list. Check out www.standupmichigan.org.
Write more letters to your government, and call them. To find out who you should contact visit … http://house.michigan.gov/find_a_rep.asp http://www.senate.michigan.gov/SenatorInfo/find-your-senator.htm http://www.house.gov/writerep/ http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Vote for the best candidates. Visit www.darfurscores.org to see how your candidates rank.
Learn more by going to www.savedarfur.org, www.standnow.org, and read the daily news of the region at www.sudantribune.com. Check out the video at www.youtube.com/emergencyindarfur.

What events do you have coming up?

What?	When?	Where?
STAND Meetings	Mondays 8pm	Ginsberg Center (aka Madelon Pound Building) 1024 Hill St.
Jam for Sudan	October 20th, 8pm	Majestic Theater, Detroit www.ticketmaster.com
Darfur/Darfur Photo Exhibit	October 22nd –November 19th	Detroit Public Library
Global Awareness Conference	November 5th 6-8pm	Michigan Union Pond Room
Bar Night	November	Touchdownz
Darfur Diaries Screening	November	Michigan Theatre

Questions? darfuraction@umich.edu