San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition

By Alex Whiting

London (AlertNet) – There’s a deafening silence over the humanitarian crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region. Few on the ground are talking and the powers that be are pushing out a single line – the war between Darfur rebels and the government is over.

This statement does not tell the whole story, experts say. Widespread fighting may have eased, but the humanitarian crisis continues and insecurity poses serious problems for aid workers and peacekeepers. Fighting is still uprooting thousands of civilians, and another 2.6 million are living in worsening conditions in displacement camps.
Those who could challenge the government line are international aid agencies, but they fear being expelled, while Western governments and the media have shifted their focus to the fragile north-south peace process as it reaches a critical stage.

The country’s first multi-party elections in 24 years are due next month and in January 2011 south Sudan is to vote on whether to secede from the north. If the oil-rich south does vote for independence, many experts say the north may not give up without a fight – despite government assurances to the contrary. More >

Location: San Francisco State University – Malcolm X Plaza
Time: 12Noon-2pm
Stop by the San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition table!

Benefitting American Jewish World Service, please join a community-wide Walk for Darfur to raise funds for victims of the eight-year conflict in the Western region of Sudan. AJWS President Ruth Messinger will be the keynote speaker at Temple Sinai’s Mitzvah Day and will join us on the walk. More information > Print flyers >

Monday 1 March 2010 – By Roger Winter

February 28, 2010 — In an article published in the Sudan Tribune of May 27, 2009 I explained the American expression of ‘selling someone down the river’ and pondered rhetorically if that kind of betrayal was what the Obama Administration was doing to Southern Sudanese. I decided that, at the time, it was too soon to come to that conclusion, but there were reasons to be seriously concerned. That is now very ancient history. It has been for some time now very clear that, knowingly or not, selling-out all of Sudan’s marginalized people is exactly what President Obama’s Administration is doing. The Agent of this tragedy is President Obama’s Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration; his Controller is, obviously, President Obama himself. Read more

By John Prendergast and Omer Ismail / March 1, 2010

Washington; and Doha, Qatar
Most governments don’t acknowledge it. The Sudanese president dismisses it. Darfurians demand that it be recognized. Academics, activists, and lawyers dispute whether it is still occurring or whether it occurred at all. International Criminal Court (ICC) judges debate standards of evidence surrounding it. The nature of recent attacks this past week by Sudanese government forces and militia allies against defenseless civilians potentially augurs its resurgence. And if a fledgling peace process continues to move forward, then any evidence of it ever happening may well be swept under the rug. Read more

March 7th, 2010, the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of UNIFEM/USNC will host a walk to raise awareness and support for the ratification of Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and stopping violence against women and girls. All proceeds will go towards the UN Trust Fund for Women.

Join us to Step Out of Violence in San Francisco and Around the World!!
Sunday, March 7th, 2010
9:00 AM-12:30 PM
Sports Basement & Crissy Field
More information and Registration

One wonders what will be written on the pages of history about Darfur. Will it be that the world abandoned innocent people to be slaughtered while a mockery of negotiations took place in Doha and Chad? Will it be that news-agencies reported on the so called elections while the Sudanese government carried out its plan to annihilate an entire ethnic group? Will it be that the international community facilitated peace talks for their own interests with the very same group of fundamentalists that it is fighting the war on terror against? Will it be that in the 21st century long after the hard fought campaigns to end slavery that a new form of enslavement of the people of Darfur is happening under the nose of the first African American President? These questions remain to be answered.

commentary by Susan Morgan, Executive Director, Pax Communications Full article

Mark Hanis is the Founder and President of the Genocide Intervention Network. Genocide Intervention Network’s mission is to empower individuals and communities with the tools to prevent and stop genocide. As a grandchild of four Holocaust survivors, Mark has a deep understanding of individual persecution and of hope and opportunity. Outraged by the international community’s inaction when the Darfur conflict began, Mark began on a journey that still continues today.
“We need to shift from a culture of reaction to one of prevention.”  – Mark Hanis
EVENT FLYER

Mark Hanis

Location: UC Berkeley, Room 470, Stephens Hall
Time: 12:30 PM – 2pm

Refreshments will be provided
RSVP requested to hrc@berkeley.edu

Event co-sponsored by:

March 19-21, 2010
Pittsburgh, PA

Featured Speaker: Scott Gration, Maj Gen, USAF (Ret), U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan

Over the course of the past year, nearly 100 southern Sudanese and Darfuri leaders living in the U.S. have expressed interest in coming together to discuss the future of their country and how they can lead for peace from the U.S. While Pittsburgh-based southern Sudanese had attended local rallies before last year, their strong turnout at the Save Darfur Coalition’s April 2009 event in Washington D.C. indicated a serious convergence of interests and aims between their community and the Darfuri Diaspora. The collaboration between Darfuris, southern Sudanese and other U.S. activists was strengthened in common G-20 advocacy efforts and a pre-conference planning meeting on Oct. 17 – 18, 2009. More Information