| Connecticut Coalition to Save Darfur |
Resources on Darfur and Sudan
Compiled by David Morse
This 30-minute DVD tells the story of Darfur and highlights the efforts of individuals throughout America who have committed their lives to ending the ending the genocide. The DVD and campaign kit is for activists, educators, policy makers, and anyone interested in ending the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
Good all-purpose web-site with historical background, links and updated postings
Offers a weekly summation of the latest news pertaining to Darfur. Surprisingly comprehensive, it draws from diverse sources - from mainstream news sources such as Reuters to specialty news sources such as UN News Centre, to web-sites such as www.allAfrica.com and in-country papers such as Sudan Tribune. Best single source for staying up to date. The coalition is a loose network of organizations, 90% of which are religious, all faiths.
To learn about its new campaign, "Million Voices for Darfur," including the April 30 march in Washington D.C., see
www.millionvoicesfordarfur.org.
ADL Darfur Resource Center — Genocide: The Threat in Darfur — www.adl.org/sudan
The Anti-Defamation League has background information, action items and information about sending support to organizations working to end the genocide.
Africa Action works on a number of issues and has a large amount of information about Darfur as well as an Activist Toolkit. It includes a Legislative Action Center enabling activists to send emails to the President, Congress and the media.
Darfur-watcher Reeves, who teaches English at Smith College, offers trenchant analyses of events and independent data concerning number of civilian casualties in Darfur.
Sudan Organization Against Torture (SOAT) —
www.soatsudan.org
Operating much like Amnesty International, SOAT publicizes attacks on Darfur civilians by Janjaweed and government troops, arbitrary arrests and cases of torture, government censorship and intimidation. At the end of each dispatch is a list of Sudanese authorities whom you can write.
Reliable watchdog of human rights violations the world over, with up-to-date tracking of Darfur. Excellent source for following UN efforts, including its delays, toward taking action in Darfur.
International Rescue Committee (IRC) —
www.theirc.org/
One of the preeminent service organizations, along with Oxfam, Catholic Relief Services, and other stalwarts of Humanitarian relief, IRC has a particularly strong presence in Sudan, and claims that 90% of donations benefit recipients directly. The IRC media center ( HYPERLINK http://www.theirc.org/media/ www.theirc.org/media/ ) offers photographs and video footages, as well as statistics useful in raising awareness of Darfurian refugee.
This is the party line of the Sudan regime, replete with headlines such as "Allegations of bombing turned to be totally untrue." Don't let the heavy-handedness of its propaganda blind you to the more subtle and violent methods the regime has of controlling the flow of information out of Sudan.
Offers videos and photos, testimony of survivors, links to African Union and other web-sites.
Another organization focused on women, but with a broader agenda is
www.globalgrassrootsnetwork.org.
A gutsy on-the-ground volunteer-based operation that successfully delivers medical services to survivors of the genocide in Sudan and Chad. The organization's director of operations in Sudan and its Darfur Coordinator were held for three weeks in June on charges of "espionage," because they protested the widespread use of rape as a weapon of war.
Student-oriented web-sites:
- STAND — Students Taking Action Now: Darfur
- Students Against Genocide
- Harvard Darfur Action Group
Divestment-oriented web-sites:
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www.divestsudan.org
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A good grassroots-oriented resource with a strong mission statement, model letters to corporations and elected officials, etc.
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www.sudandivestment.com
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Based at Williams College, instrumental in getting Mass. State Senator Andy Nuciforo to sponsor legislation in Massachusetts. The site has a clickable map, for determining whether your state's pension funds, etc. However, the list is far from complete.
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www.conflictsecurities.com
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(charges a hefty fee for its determination of whether a particular firm does business with Sudan; has connections with the Center for Security Policy, a conservative think tank.
(See also Student-oriented web-sites, most of which use the divestment approach.)
Faith-based projects:
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www.sojo.net/darfur
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Sojourners magazine's efforts to raise prayerful consciousness of Darfur and call on the President to oppose the genocide.
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www.faithfulamerica.org
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Petition to President Bush declaring faith-based opposition to the genocide.
(See also Save Darfur Coalition, above.)
Articles:
- Jan Feter-Degges, "State Legislatures Considering Sudan Divestment," Corporate Social Issues Reporter May 2005. An excellent look at efforts in various states to pass divestment legislation, published by IRRC's Social Issues Service. Available online at www.irrc.com/company/news_fulltext.htm#Sudan
- Gillian Lusk, "The Sudan & The Darfur," CovertAction Quarterly, Spring 2005. This offers a tough-minded analysis missing in most American commentators.
Available online at
www.covertactionquarterly.org/sudan.html
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Morse, David, "Facing Evil: Genocide in Darfur," Friends Journal, September 2005. Available online at
www.friendsjournal.org/contents/2005/0905/feature.html
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Samantha Power, "Dying in Darfur," The New Yorker August 30 2004.
www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/040830fa_fact1
Power's 2002 book, A Problem From Hell: America and the Age of Genocide (Harper Collins/Perennial) is available in paper for $17.95.
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Robert I. Rotberg, "Sudan and the war in Darfur," and other writers contribute to the Foreign Policy Association (FPA). Good overviews. Available online at
www.fpa.org/topics_info2414/topics_info_show.htm?doc_id=256145
Books:
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Meyer, Gabriel. War and Faith in Sudan. Willam B. Eerdkmans Publishing Co, 2005. Includes photographs by James Nicholls. This book offers a vivid introduction to the conflict in Sudan, centered on the Nuba, in central Sudan, but relevant to the whole, including Darfur. This book is not as erudite as the ones by Gerard Prunier and Alex de Waal's (forthcoming), but is easily read and rich with understanding.
