On June 30, 2005, Nathan Kleinman began a hunger strike to raise awareness of the ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. Since February 2003, at least 400,000 people have died due to violence, starvation and disease. More than 2.5 million people have been displaced from their towns and villages and now live in camps lacking adequate food, water, shelter, sanitation, and health care. It is LONG PAST time for the international community to take action.
It's so important for us all to understand exactly what's happening on the ground in Darfur, and to understand exactly what the stakes are. The pictures and stories brought back from Africa by the Res Publica team are, at the same time, shocking and inspiring. Everyone should check out the travelogue and report of their recent trip to Darfur, available on their website, www.darfurgenocide.org.
posted by Nathan Kleinman @ 10:33 AM
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Today Sudan woke up to the news that John Garang, the leader of southern Sudan's rebel movement for over twenty years, newly minted as the first Vice President of Sudan in a power sharing government, was killed in a helicopter crash near the Ugandan border. The news was greeted with violence in parts of the capital and throughout southern Sudan. Dr Garang arrived triumphantly in Khartoum just three weeks ago, cheered by over a million people, and the timing of his death brings up painful memories of the assassination-by-plane-crash that marked the beginning of the Rwandan genocide. It is highly suspicious timing, but it is impossible to know right now exactly what happened. Sudan already has one genocide, and this situation cannot be allowed to spiral out of control. The world should be paying close attention to events in Sudan, as they and we mourn the passing of a man whom so many revered as a living Moses.
Sudan is a sad country every day, but today must be even worse. Keep the Sudanese people in your heart.
posted by Nathan Kleinman @ 11:30 AM
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Email Nathan:
nathankleinman @ gmail.com
