San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition

Our June 26, 2009 Action:

Good News: This week 33 countries and organizations met in Washington, DC at a Forum for the Supporters of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, one of the most important steps for peace in Sudan in many years. The Participants’ Statement at the conclusion of the conference is at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2009/06a/125280.htm.

Bad News: Unfortunately, the Obama Administration, particularly Special Envoy to Sudan, General Scott Gration, has created the damaging impression that the Administration’s Sudan policy is badly in disarray. The Administration’s public contradictions on whether genocide continues in Darfur only serve to embolden Khartoum, alienate the Darfur activist community, and distract the Administration from leading an international coalition to address the myriad challenges in Sudan that loom from any number of key challenges that urgently need to be addressed. See http://www.enoughproject.org/blogs/whos-boss.

We need to keep up the pressure on President Obama to make ending the Darfur genocide and bringing peace to Sudan a top personal priority. As the President said on June 5 in Germany:

“On the issue of genocide, I think “never again” means that the international community has an obligation, even when it’s inconvenient, to act when genocide is occurring. So on the issue of Darfur…[I] raised it in discussions with President Mubarak of Egypt, who has strong diplomatic relations with the country of Sudan.”

Please tell the President to take charge of US policy on Sudan and lead the international community in a coherent, coordinated and consistent effort, as he recommended as a Senator and promised as a candidate.

What you can do right now:

1) Call the White House at 202-456-1111. Lines are often busy. Keep trying.
2) Fax the White House at 202-456-2461.
3) Email the White House at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
4) Become a fan of the WH Facebook page and post a comment at http://www.facebook.com/WhiteHouse
5) Send a message via Twitter to @whitehouse: http://twitter.com/whitehouse

Thank you, and please tell a friend!

Last week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the statement below in recognition of World Refugee Day.

The San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition sincerely thanks Speaker Pelosi for speaking out for the people of Sudan.

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Pelosi Statement on World Refugee Day

JUNE 19, 2009, Washington, D.C. – Speaker Pelosi issued the following statement today in recognition of World Refugee Day.

“On World Refugee Day, we recognize the struggle and plight of refugees who are escaping dangerous and repressive situations throughout the world.

“In Sudan and Chad, civilians continue to suffer because the Sudanese government will not live up to its responsibility to protect the people in Sudan and Darfur and provide for their basic humanitarian needs. Making the humanitarian situation even worse, the Sudanese government has recently forced the expulsion of many international organizations that provide life-saving food, water, and medicine for the most vulnerable in the region.

“The U.S. and the international community must do more to provide the resources and the mandate for a strong peacekeeping mission to protect civilians from attack, provide the necessary humanitarian assistance, and apply the international diplomatic pressure to bring long-term stability to the region. I join President Barack Obama in his pledge to help end the Darfur genocide and to bring peace to Sudan.

“In India and Nepal, there are approximately 70,000 Tibetan refugees who have escaped Chinese repression over the dangerous Himalayan mountain passes. There continues to be no resolution in sight as the Chinese government refuses to engage directly with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in a peaceful dialogue.

“In Burma, the humanitarian situation remains dire; it is estimated that there are approximately 540,000 internally displaced people and over 150,000 refugees. In recent years, a large scale Burmese military offensive has caused unquantifiable suffering and a worsening refugee situation along the border with Thailand.

“I am proud that the U.S. House of Representatives will soon take action on the State-Foreign Operations Appropriations bill that will include $2.4 billion in refugee and disaster assistance including $1.48 billion in the Migration and Refugee Assistance Account. This funding level is almost $600 million above the level provided in this legislation last year.

“Funding for these initiatives will help protect refugees and victims of conflict, meet basic needs such as sustaining life and health, provide voluntary repatriation and resettlement, and foster more effective management of international migration flows.

“Refugee situations around the world demand the full attention of the international community. We all have a responsibility to do more to lay the foundation for a more secure and stable world.”

This statement was originally published here.

Stevie Thacker is currently a junior at Amherst College, and is spending the summer interning at the San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition after spending six months studying and volunteering in Cairo, Egypt.

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When I first walked into the African Hope School, a faith-based school set up using private donations to assist the refugee population in Cairo, Egypt, I was overwhelmed by a seeming paradox: the vibrancy and energy of the 400 students, in contrast to the crumbling, sparse building that housed their school. My job was to help students from first to eighth grade develop their English skills.

The students’ knowledge of English varied greatly, and teaching them was an uphill battle. But as frustrated as they would get, I was always impressed by each of them, as they continued on. If a student became visibly frustrated and upset, I would offer them the option to leave our group and go back to their class. Never once was I taken up on that offer. Their entire lives seemed to be of perseverance. As they told me their stories of leaving Darfur and Sudan, they conveyed accounts of arrests and violence as though these were just facts of life.

That vibrant and upbeat atmosphere was shattered on May 9th, when the results of the final examinations cam. On this day, my group of eighth graders came to the classroom full of tears and looks of defeat. They told me that of their class of 35 students, only three had passed the examination. For these kids, failing this exam meant moving forward with their education wasn’t possible.

Violations of the human rights of Darfuris and Sudanese are not confined to the political borders of Sudan. The Sudanese refugees who flee Sudan to avoid persecution are subject to violations of their basic rights outside of Sudan as well. In addition to the nearly 5 million Sudanese who have become internally displaced people, the United Nations has confirmed there are over 560,000 refugees from Sudan who have fled to seven neighboring countries. While these refugees may be relatively safe from the atrocities that are occurring in Sudan, they are continually denied basic rights as outlined in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

Although Egypt is a signatory to this convention, there are no guarantees to education for Sudanese refugees in Egypt. The Egyptian government denies Sudanese refugees access to their public schools, as mandated by the Convention, effectively forcing Sudanese refugees to enroll in expensive private schools. As they are also often denied the appropriate work visas, and so have no legitimate income, private schools are not an option for Sudanese refugees. Instead, they are forced to rely on a network of schools established by non-governmental organizations and faith-based organizations.

These schools do not offer an adequate solution. The Egyptian government refuses to accredit these schools, meaning any education received is invalid and will not be certified or documented. Consequently, there is no opportunity for higher education for Sudanese refugees. In an attempt to reconcile this situation, in the 2008-2009 school year the African Hope School became the first school for refugees to implement a Sudanese curriculum, rather than Egyptian. The aim of this initiative was to have refugees take Sudanese examinations and receive a certificate from Sudan acknowledging their education, a certificate which would allow them access to higher education.

As the talks commence on how to provide Sudan with peace immediately following UN World Refugee Day on June 20, focus should also be on enforcing international treaties in countries with Sudanese populations, so that when peace is achieved there is a population of well-educated Sudanese to build upon the peace, and not a repatriation of a generation of Sudanese with limited education and opportunities.

What: The SFBADC’s June Coalition Meeting
When: Monday, June 1, 2009, 1-3PM

Where:
121 Steuart Street, Lower Level
(between Mission & Howard Streets), San Francisco
Accessible by MUNI (near Embarcadero BART/MUNI station; garage parking nearby)
Subject: Discussion of your ideas about the Coalition and Darfur activism–we want to hear from you!

Free and open to the public. Please RSVP to info@darfursf.org to facilitate building security check-in.