Turning Outrage into Action for Darfur

by Katie-Jay Scott · 2009-03-20 15:02:00 UTC
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Another great post from Katie-Jay  --- who will soon depart with the i-Act team for their seventh trip to Darfur refugee settlements

If I have learned anything since that first encounter with the Darfur movement and Ruth Messinger, it is that morality will not move our leaders to action. It must be the people, us – you and me – telling them that the issue of Genocide, is so important to our survival as humanity, that they will pay politically if they do not act. This from Samantha Power's "A Problem from Hell” before the Darfur genocide began:

"Before I began exploring America's relationship with genocide, I used to refer to U.S. policy toward Bosnia as a "failure." I have changed my mind. It is daunting to acknowledge, but this country's consistent policy of nonintervention in the face of genocide offers sad testimony not to a broken American political system but to one that is ruthlessly effective.  The system, as it stands now, is working.  No U.S. president has ever made genocide prevention a priority, and no U.S. president has ever suffered politically for his indifference to its occurrence.  It is thus no coincidence that genocide rages on."

Many will try to say that we have succeeded in some way, through little steps, in our movement to end a genocide while it is still happening. But in the last week, we have failed the millions who are still inside of Darfur. The thousands who have no food and no water, today. This is not to say there is no hope, but rather it is a serious call to action. As ENOUGH put it, WANTED: New Recruits and Renewed Energy to move our leaders to Action for Darfur.

Who better to acknowledge this need than the ever grateful Dafuris themselves at a recent rally in front of the LA Federal Building during a week-long campaign of OUTRAGE. Each day, for six days Gabriel and I were joined by the activists who have renewed their dedication and decided to step and out of their box. To challenge our leadership to act on morality and bring peace to Darfur. People across the country have planned emergency rallies in their cities. Groups are planning sit ins in their congressional offices. Erecting Darfur tents on roof tops as Obama's helicopter flies over. Any way we can, we need to up the ante. The policy wonks and advisors know what needs to be done, our job as activists is to put down all egos, join together and become a giant Army of Peace for Darfur raising voices and keeping immediate and consistent attention on Darfur.

As the Darfuris said themselves, Major Gen. J. Scott Gration was the first step of the Obama administration in getting serious about action for Darfur. This coming week, when i-ACT travels to the camps, you will hear more stories about the consequences of us not acting immediately. You will see through video and photos the conditions of the "lucky" ones who made it to Chad in the past several years. Take the i-ACTivisit Challenge - read i-ACT reports from Darfuris, and take action each day. Go even further, post one of the videos to your facebook or share it on here. Grab a new picture from the site each day and tape it a public wall. Everything is free to use. Use it to free the people of Darfur.

Katie-Jay Scott
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