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News About Our World
At Olvera-Street.com, the spirit of giving, understanding, and support goes far beyond our doors.
 The Darfur Conflict in the western Sudan of Africa has claimed the lives of more than 50,000 civilians, in what has been termed as "ethnic cleansing" and "genocide." The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that most of the deaths have been by starvation, but many in violent warfare. Further, more than 1.8 million people have lost their homes, with 200,000 fleeing to neighboring Chad.
In the past three years, Darfur’s Janjaweed, a government-supported militia, has raped and pillaged the region. There are reports of mass rapes, scorched-earth destruction of villages and mass murders of civilians. U.S. President George Bush declared the slaughter in Darfur a “genocide.” However, there has been little action from the U.S. government.
The war is frequently seen as a religious crusade; according to “The Economist,” the Janjaweed are said to have "torched dozens of mosques and torn up and defecated on copies of the Qur'an."
A United Nations observer team confirmed that non-Arab villages were singled out while Arab villages were left untouched.
The scale of the Janjaweed campaign has led to comparisons with the Rwandan Genocide. The remoteness of the region have made aid very difficult, as food and medical attention have become increasingly rare in this man-made African tragedy.
 On February 3, 2006, the U.S offered a motion to begin plans to send UN peacekeepers to Darfur. The U.N. Security Council called for a 12,000 to 20,000-troop presence in Darfur with the 7,000 African Union troops already there being given new weapons and being incorporated into the UN mission. But difficulties are expected to arise in finding countries willing to commit troops. Although the U.S. offered the motion, with tens of thousands of troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S is not expected to contribute troops to the mission.
The Genocide Intervention Network has been raising private donations to fund peacekeepers from the African Union in Darfur, and U.S. Olympian Joey Cheek has donated the cash from his medals to help Darfur survivors.
The following is from the website Darfurgenocide.org:
<< So far, we have used the "Darfur Advocacy Fund" to support the following projects:
Sent a team of experts to Darfur and the region to meet with representatives of the people of Darfur to listen to what we can do to help bring peace, and to help the international community better understand how to support these groups. Click here to see photos from our trip to Darfur.
Organized two hunger strikes of several thousand people in all 50 states and worldwide. Click here to see a map of the strikers and their testimonials.
Sent a camera crew to Darfur to provide up to the minute video footage to international media of the situation on the ground; click here to see an archived webcast with our team.
Supported rolling protests at Sudanese embassies in other countries, including in Washington DC, where with our partner the Sudan Campaign, we have encouraged several religious leaders and prominent personalities to get arrested.
Hired a PR firm to train, book, and drive Sudan advocates like John Prendergast and Samantha Power into the mass media in the US and Europe. Together with our partner TrueMajority, we have achieved several major media hits with this approach.
Provided advice and support to several other organizations working on Darfur, including the Genocide Intervention Fund, the Sudan Campaign, the Save Darfur Coalition, the National Council of Churches, TrueMajority, MTV and many others at international, national and local levels.
Developed this website to inform several hundred thousand visitors, organize over 35,000 online and grass roots activists, and advocate on Darfur. >>
For more information, and to help end this slaughter, check out:
http://act.darfurgenocide.org/dg/Donate.cfm
More Links:
Africa Action.org
PBS Teacher’s Guide: Freedom from Oppression
http://www.pbs.org/destinationamerica/tguide_02.html
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