Darfur demands a response

This Week at UCMHE; blog below

Learning Opportunities

Monday: noon: Misquoting Jesus—chapter 2& 3 led by Dr. Fred, in the circle area, food court, MBSC
Tuesday: noon: The God within—led by Barbara Catterton; MBSC food court
Noon: Islam 101: led by Dr. Paul Williams, Room 207, 1313 Farnam on the Mall
This Wesleyan Live event is organized by UCMHE for you for six Tuesdays. This week, it’s women in Islam—fairly controversial, by our standards. First day is free, Tuesdays after that are at a big discount. Call/write for a ride.
Wednesday: noon: Community of Faith—led by Liz Polivka; MBSC food court

Coming up: Movie nights, on Thursdays beginning November 2 if we get a little leadership from you. Dinner, movie, discussion and brief worship. Something for you and your friends.

Blog:

I saw a terrible show tonight on TV. It was about Darfur, in Sudan, and the crush of genocide.

A doctor who serves 25,000 refugees by himself provided descriptions that rival anything I’ve ever heard: raping women, killing men and throwing their bodies into the water supply so no one ever returns. Children and the aged are who are left behind, or rather, left to walk to a refugee camp. One woman loaded her grandchildren on a donkey and walked for three days to get there.

60 minutes went on to describe how the UN is being stymied by the Arab government, which is forcing out native Africa citizens. The New York Times online (www. nytimes.com) says the UN envoy has been asked to leave the country. You can check his blog at www.janpronk.nl. Look for Darfur links. In his latest commentary, he concludes: “During my last visit to South Darfur I saw some consequences: new displacements of people, desperate, because they did not know where their future lies; growing mistrust amongst the population in authorities, in rebel commanders as well as in the African Union. They feel totally unprotected. Khartoum seems blind to these developments. The standard reflex is to deny that a battle took place, to dismiss news about tribal clashes, to discredit the messenger, to belittle the number of casualties, to sketch a rosy picture of the implementation of the peace agreement, and to blame the international community for everything that goes wrong.”

(I found this at Westend UMC in Nashville )The Darfur region of Sudan is mainly populated by African Muslims who have been in dispute with the Sudanese government for many years about a host of issues. Since 2003, however, there has been a concerted effort by “Janjaweed” militias to destroy the people of Darfur through unprecedented violence, which has been supported by the Sudanese government. These militias are largely Arab Muslims, and thus there are significant racial tensions as well as a long history of conflict. It is estimated that since 2003, four hundred thousand people have been killed, 2.5 million refugees are displaced, and 3.5 million people are at risk for starvation. Humanitarian aid has been difficult to provide because of the ongoing instability in the region, interference from the Sudanese government, and until recently, a lack of attention around the world.

To read more about some of the current efforts in Sudan, see www.savedarfur.org (a coalition of organizations including the Church World Service) and a recent statement from the Rev. Randy Day, General Secretary of the UMC General Board of Global Ministries. As citizens and as Christians we each have some responsibility to help build a better world:

If you faint in the day of adversity,
Your strength being small;
If you hold back from rescuing those taken away to death,
Those who go staggering to the slaughter;
If you say, “Look, we did not know this”—
Does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it?
And will he not repay all according to their deeds?
Proverbs 24: 10-12

Any solution to the Darfur tragedy must come from concerned citizens around the world through their respective governments. There are several bills currently on the table in the U. S. Congress. One of the most important is the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, voted unanimously by the U. S. Senate (S. 1462) at the end of 2005 and passed overwhelmingly by the U. S. House of Representatives (H. R. 3127) in April (2006). One way you can help is to encourage your Senators and Congresspersons to help move this legislation through the appropriate conference committee and on to the President.

Nebraska emails are:

Senator Ben Nelson: www.senate.gov/~bennelson/contact/email.cfm
Senator Chuck Hagel: http://hagel.senate.gov/
Congressman Lee Terry: http://leeterry.house.gov/contact.shtml
Congressman Jeff Fortenberry: http://fortenberry.house.gov/feedback.shtml
Congressman Tom Osborne: http://www.house.gov/osborne/contact.htm

A possible message looks like this (I found this at Westend UMC in Nashville and adapted it):

"I am writing to express my concern about the ongoing tragedies in the Darfur region of Sudan. As you know hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and over two million people have been displaced because of their race. The Janjaweed militias continue to destroy lives, and the Sudanese government’s support of this genocide is well-documented. Five hundred more people die every day because of violence, starvation, and disease.

I appeal to you to become part of the solution. We must get more involved. Clearly Darfur represents very complicated issues and solutions are going to be difficult to come by. The people of Darfur deserve peace. They need to have their human rights restored. As a concerned citizen, an active Christian, and a member of United Christian Ministries in Higher Education at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, I am trying to get more involved and help. I hope that you will, too.

Please use your influence to move the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, versions of which have already been passed by both the Senate (S. 1462) and the House (H. R. 3127), through any conference committee, and on to the President. Thank you for your anticipated leadership."

The massacre of these people is unconscionable. We must do something.



--Fred