Matzah Ball Soup and Sudan
Amidst mouthfuls of matzah and 4 cups of wine we are, apparently, supposed to pay attention to slavery today. Well, there is currently a wave of violence sweeping the Darfur region of the African country of Sudan. The numbers of dead range from over 180,000 [1] to over 300,000 [2]. In any case it's a terrible situation.
The conflict started when militia groups in Southern Sudan attacked the government in Northern Sudan. Caught in the middle of the fighting, many people living in Sudan fled to the Western region of Sudan known as Darfur. In Darfur refugee camps were set up to accommodate the fleeing people. After lots of fighting, the militia groups in southern Sudan came to a truce with the Sudan government. The militia groups in the south received positions in the Sudan government and money from the country's oil industry. After this, groups began to form in the Darfur region where people were and are living in terrible conditions in the refugee camps. These groups also erupted into violence against the Sudan government. In response the Sudan government sponsored groups, known as "Janjaweed" militias, to completely wipe out the people in the refugee camps in Darfur. Currently, the government-backed Janjaweed-militias kill Darfur refugees daily.
The world response has been sluggish at best. Little to no attention is being paid to the situation in Darfur.
There is, however, a rally being held in Washington DC and in San Francisco on April 30th.
As Jews it is our responsibility to stay active. The best way to stay active is to stay informed. If you read about Darfur then you might accidentally mention it to a friend in conversation. Hopefully that friend will think about it and maybe they'll pass it on. Who knows? Maybe you could start a movement...probably not, but these people need our help.
Darfur Links:
Save Darfur.org
Darfur Conflict on Wikipedia
American Jewish World Service
Postcard Campaign
Committee on Conscience
The conflict started when militia groups in Southern Sudan attacked the government in Northern Sudan. Caught in the middle of the fighting, many people living in Sudan fled to the Western region of Sudan known as Darfur. In Darfur refugee camps were set up to accommodate the fleeing people. After lots of fighting, the militia groups in southern Sudan came to a truce with the Sudan government. The militia groups in the south received positions in the Sudan government and money from the country's oil industry. After this, groups began to form in the Darfur region where people were and are living in terrible conditions in the refugee camps. These groups also erupted into violence against the Sudan government. In response the Sudan government sponsored groups, known as "Janjaweed" militias, to completely wipe out the people in the refugee camps in Darfur. Currently, the government-backed Janjaweed-militias kill Darfur refugees daily.
The world response has been sluggish at best. Little to no attention is being paid to the situation in Darfur.
There is, however, a rally being held in Washington DC and in San Francisco on April 30th.
As Jews it is our responsibility to stay active. The best way to stay active is to stay informed. If you read about Darfur then you might accidentally mention it to a friend in conversation. Hopefully that friend will think about it and maybe they'll pass it on. Who knows? Maybe you could start a movement...probably not, but these people need our help.
Darfur Links:
Save Darfur.org
Darfur Conflict on Wikipedia
American Jewish World Service
Postcard Campaign
Committee on Conscience
posted by Scott Fox at 11:13 PM
1 Comments:
Leviathan people and anyone else - I forgot to suggest it at last night's meeting (and will bring it up on Thursday) but we should go on Sunday to SFrisco! Let's organize something, grassroots style.
-Talia
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