How to Divest from Darfur

Many people are familiar with the "Lost Boys of Sudan" because of some of the movies and books that are out - see below for some of the recommendations. The Second Sudanese Civil War began in 1983 and was a conflict between the government-led Arab population in the North and the largely Christian population in the South. In the mid- 1980's a decree went out that all men and boys be killed in the South. This led to a mass exodus of boys, some as young as 9 and 10, who walked for months to Ethiopia. Thousands survived the ordeal through the desert and lived for about 3-4 years in refugee camps until they were forced away by the Ethiopian government using gunfire and tanks. They were forced to swim across the River Gilo were many were drowned, shot or eaten by crocodiles.

They then walked for more than a year across Sudan, through the desert, to Kenya, arriving in Kakuma Refugee Camp in 1992 which is still holding tens of thousands of refugees TODAY! The conditions in Kakuma are deplorable and include disease, inadequate food and water, and daily raping of women and children.

Many people don't realize the extent of the current conflict. In 2003 there was a rebellion against the central government of Sudan in Khartoum. The government, headed by President Omar al-Bashir and its militia, known as the Janjaweed, set out destroy the civilians of the Darfur region with aerial strikes and ground attacks. Also playing into the conflict between Arabs and non-Arabs is the issue of the more oil-rich area of the south.

This conflict cannot continue. It has been classified as a genocide and we have said time and time again "Not on Our Watch"! There have been an estimated 200,000-400,000 killed, millions displaced and hundreds of thousands on the brink of starvation. We need to take action!

The easiest way to do something is with our wallets. It is estimated that Sudan's government uses 70% of its money for its military, not to help its citizens. They have been responsive to economic pressure in the past. By the end of 2007, at least 27 states in the U.S. had passed some form of divestment for its state funds and many universities and other organizations have as well. We need to individually take responsibility and divest our own assets. It only takes 20-30 minutes to figure out and this website makes it very easy: http://www.sudandivestment.org. All you have to do is click on the last tab on the page that says Screening Tool and enter your mutual funds from your 401K statement.

The second easiest way to help is to make continual calls to the White House and our representatives. Here is the number for the White House - 202-456-1111. It is so easy to call and say that you demand action in Darfur. But you can also use this number 1-800-GENOCIDE (1-800-436-6243), set up by the Genocide Intervention Network (www.genocideintervention.net) to coordinate campaigns to your representative. So if there is a specific cause they are trying to promote, such as getting promised helicopters to Darfur to patrol, then we will all be asking for the same thing and be a more united voice. You can call this number as often as you like - program it into your phone.

Another easy way to help is to educate yourself and educate others. The more awareness we can spread, the more pressure we can put on our own nation and the UN to do something. We are scared about our own economic crisis here in the US and the greater world, but we are not starving with only one gallon of water per day for everything we need or we are not being raped whenever we try and get firewood to make food. Please do these small things to make a difference.