Monday, April 07, 2008

Mohamed and Magda head for San Francisco for Dream for Darfur Olympic Torch Protest

Mohamed Elgadi and Magda Ahmed are heading for San Francisco as I write. Read more about the protest for Darfur below -- written by Dave Eggers, author most recently of the novel “What Is the What.”

THERE’S only one stop in North America on the Olympic torch’s 95,000-mile trip from Athens to Beijing, and that’s here. On April 9, standing side by side with sports fans along the parade route, there will be thousands of protesters who hope to bring attention to China’s complicity in the genocide in Darfur.

When the presidential campaigns swung, ever so briefly, through California, those advocating for Darfur tried to get the issue into the debates and on television. But nothing seemed to work. The last time a questioner raised the issue in a significant forum was during one of the YouTube debates last year.

During a speech in November, Hillary Rodham Clinton said of Darfur: “Every day we fail to act is a betrayal of our common values.” In a YouTube video last year, Barack Obama said: “We can’t say ‘never again,’ and then allow it to happen again.” In a similar video, John McCain said the United States “has the obligation to lead, to act.” But since then, the campaigns have been quiet on the subject of the 21st century’s first genocide.

It’s easy in California, far from the active primaries and farther from Sudan and China, to feel powerless. That’s why the organizers of the protest feel they have a rare opportunity to put the crisis back on the national stage. In 418,000 copies of the April 4 edition of The San Francisco Chronicle, subscribers will get a placard that on one side explains the connections between China and the genocide in Sudan, and on the other side says, “China: Extinguish the Flames of Genocide in Darfur.” How’s that for an early morning jolt?

The placard and the protest are the work of a group called the San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition. Its thousand or so members have been agitating for more than a year to remind Americans that the violence in Sudan is increasing and that the time to act is now.

There are, of course, plenty of other issues that require discussion in this campaign, and Sudan can’t be part of every stump speech. Then again, maybe it should be. Numerous reports, in Darfur and in southern Sudan, indicate that violence is at a two-year high and that the country might be on the verge of a new and perhaps all-encompassing conflict.

My friend Valentino Achak Deng, a refugee from Sudan, just got back from southern Sudan last week where he was beginning construction on an educational complex in his hometown. He reports that along the southern border, there have been weekly clashes between the Sudanese Army and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, a rebel group that fought a long and protracted war with the government in the 1980s and ’90s.

Hundreds have been killed, and a good portion of the residents of the south fear there will again be war. If this happens, it could make the conflict in Darfur look like a skirmish.

“All the candidates have plans for what they’ll do in Sudan if they’re elected,” said Martina Knee of the Bay Area coalition’s executive committee. “But that’s too late, too long from now. They have to use their bully pulpit now.”

Will the demonstrators lining the parade route bring the topic back into the campaign and into the public consciousness? Is it audacious to hope?

Written by Dave Eggers, the author, most recently, of the novel “What Is the What.”

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello all
accutane for acne
Accutane - Eliminate acne now
Buy Accutane (Isotretinoin) at reliable online pharmacy and save extra money! No prescription! No hidden fees!
Accutane is a drug that is used for treating moderate to severe acne.
[url=http://www.faceuptoit-youcan.com/]accutane no prescription[/url]
It was first used as chemotherapy medication for treating brain cancer and pancreatic cancer.
http://www.faceuptoit-youcan.com/ - accutane without prescription
This drug primarily bound to plasma protein and mostly albumin.

Anonymous said...

[url=http://hopresovees.net/][img]http://bariossetos.net/img-add/euro2.jpg[/img][/url]
[b]buy game software, [url=http://vonmertoes.net/]discount software house legit[/url]
[url=http://bariossetos.net/][/url] autocad training microsoft office oem software
buy sell software [url=http://hopresovees.net/]purchase discount software[/url] microsoft office discount for students the ultimate steal
[url=http://hopresovees.net/]preparation software canada[/url] oem software ms office
[url=http://hopresovees.net/]buy cheap software coupon[/url] educational software from
filemaker pro web database development multi level [url=http://bariossetos.net/]buy discounted software[/b]

Anonymous said...

[url=http://murudobaros.net/][img]http://murudobaros.net/img-add/euro2.jpg[/img][/url]
[b]windows software to buy, [url=http://murudobaros.net/]academic coredraw software information[/url]
[url=http://murudobaros.net/]a software to store[/url] a software to store mp3 shop software
adobe air software [url=http://murudobaros.net/]how to store software[/url] oem software store
[url=http://murudobaros.net/]center software price[/url] microsoft music software
[url=http://murudobaros.net/]buy macromedia flash[/url] Design Premium Mac
windows vista freeware [url=http://murudobaros.net/]downloadable softwares[/b]

Anonymous said...

Hello
http://www.moroccanwholesale.com/ - meridia cost
If you are a patient of obesity, then consider the drug Meridia as your first choice.
[url=http://www.moroccanwholesale.com/]order meridia[/url]
U.
meridia medication
The most important thing is know about what amount of dose you need to take.

Anonymous said...

Free Games Casino tyuueooru
http://stonewalljacksoncarnival.org/ - Casino Game Online
This is obvious as people can start online casino without having to make as higher investment as required to get started with land-based casino.
[url=http://stonewalljacksoncarnival.org/]Casino Bonus[/url]
Additionally, you don?t have to stand out of your casino till the clock hits its opening time because a majority of online casinos are accessible 24/7.
Online Gaming Casino
So you can have a wonderful gambling experience with the comfort at your home.

Anonymous said...

[url=http://bariossetos.net/][img]http://hopresovees.net/img-add/euro2.jpg[/img][/url]
[b]macromedia flash software to, [url=http://hopresovees.net/]filemaker pro apple version 9 downloads[/url]
[url=http://hopresovees.net/][/url] macromedia com software flash about coreldraw learning tutor torrent
softwares canada [url=http://bariossetos.net/]buy old software[/url] microsoft server software
[url=http://vonmertoes.net/]between academic software and[/url] is quarkxpress 8 compatible with quarkxpress 7
[url=http://hopresovees.net/]microsoft web software[/url] where can i get a cracked copy of photoshop cs4 for mac
teacher discounts on software [url=http://hopresovees.net/]office presentation software[/b]

Anonymous said...

index of images lesbians androgynous lesbian dating in europe busty ebony lesbians fuckin lesbian beauties 3 asian beauties free lesbian teen video clips lesbian bdsm free thumbnail galleries affair with lesbian

Anonymous said...

Great prices on ED medications - zocor ms apri dog soma by prazosin viagra s albuterol bear urso paxil ocd neoral ultram p