GW STAND MINUTES!

 January 31, 2006

WHY SIT WHEN YOU CAN STAND?

 

*PLEASE REPLY to Tara Biller (tbiller@...) and let me know if these minutes have been WAY too long and what you want to know about/don't give a crap about in the emails. We want to keep our listserve informed, particularly on the events we hold; but do you want news updates? Other event links? Darfur talking points? Let me know!

 

*PLEASE COME TO THE NEXT MEETING, next TUESDAY MC 309! We will be discussing very important things regarding our group, our core message, and our advocacy techniques. STAND will send out a reminder next week for the meeting.

 

TODAY:

COME TO THE LA FORUM!  

7:30 in the BETTS THEATRE

 

Learn from Legislative assistants how best to advocate for Darfur or any other cause you are working on!

Please distribute this and make the event a success.

 

ALSO Today marks the first day of the United States presidency in the Security Council. We have a CALL-IN today! We wish to call on the U.S. to introduce a resolution for a broader multinational peacekeeping force in Darfur.

Please call the UN with the following message:

"Hello. I am calling with a message for U.S. Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton. Mr. Bolton, as you take the presidency of the Security Council, I urge you to introduce a resolution for a multinational intervention in Darfur in support of the African Union with a mandate to protect civilians. As the violence continues to rise in Darfur, there is no more time to waste. Anything short of a resolution will be a lost opportunity. Thank you."
You can reach the U.S. Mission at the United Nations by calling: (212) 415-4050.

 

TOMORROW :

 

GW AID!

7-9 PM Get your tickets FAST @ ticketmaster (or at the door) for this amazing performance!

 

ALSO, there will be a rally with engaging speakers and creative street theatre as activists pressure the White House to introduce a piece of legislation for a broader multi-national peacekeeping force in Darfur.

February 2, 2006
12:00 Noon

Lafayette Park
(16th and H Streets NW)
Washington, DC

http://columbian.gwu.edu/calendar/

FRIDAY Betts Theatre 8-10

$10 student tickets (available at the door)
All proceeds go directly to the Bokamoso Youth Center of Winterveldt, South Africa to raise money for HIV/AIDS education and treatment. 

 

***Presentation by Juan Mendez , Special United Nations Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide at the Holocaust Memorial Museum

LEARN MORE HERE
http://www.ushmm.org/conscience/calendar/index.php?content=student

 

Sunday's Washington Post Editorial http://capwiz.com/africaaction/utr/1/HXGTFKSJWF/MLWBFKSJWH/594125391
- The Bush administration has an opportunity next month to lead the world out of its paralysis on Darfur. The Washington Post notes that the violence in Darfur continues to rise and that tensions with neighboring Chad threaten an already explosive situation

 

SO WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH DARFUR?

·         Out of the conclusion of the North South civil war in Sudan that spanned 20 years and killed 2 million people arose the genocide in Darfur.

·         This came about because people in the West hadn't gotten their due; they had been marginalized. 

·         The largest cause of the genocide was inequality; Sudan's central government drained resources instead of providing them

·         In January 2003 to protest this marginalization a small number of Darfuri's lead a limited rebellion against military targets

·         In reaction the Sudanese government began of policy of killing the fish by emptying the water, killing all the innocents in an area to catch a few dissenters. 

·         It is wrong for a government to respond to an attack against its military by attacking civilians; it's unthinkable to respond to an attack by killing an entire race.

·         Rather than arresting rebels the correct way, Khartoum looked for a cheap and easy way.  The government freed prisoners and armed them with machine guns, bombers, logistical support and gasoline to burn towns.  Some of the very oil that should have been used to build schools instead went to burning children. 

·         These government back militias called Janjaweed would go from village to village bombing, looting, killing and using rape as a weapon of war against women.

o        In longer presentation describe an attack and rape

§           Brian Steidle's descriptions- government planes would first fly overhead scaring civilians out of their homes.  The planes would release flechetts used to maim civilians as they ran out of their homes.  Then Janjaweed, or devils on horseback, would ride into the village killing the men, raping the women and after looting all the goods would burn the town so civilians could never return.

§          Describe rape as a weapon of war.  Janjaweed would taunt women while raping telling them their children will create a new Arab race.  They would then cut the women so they would never forget the attack.  The children who have been born from rape have been rejected by society and will continue to face problems as they grow up.

·         Outcomes of the conflict:

o        400,000 innocent civilians have been murdered

o        90 % of all villages are destroyed leaving 1.8 million people displaced and 3 million people effected by the conflict

o        Now that the villages have mostly been destroyed we hear much less in the media but there is still genocide occurring.. 

§          The US defines genocide as creating conditions that lead to starvation and the destruction of people.  Right now the government of Sudan is using hunger as a weapon in its war against innocents. 

·         Our message to you is that you can put an end to this

·         As Americans we have the power to build a movement.  When we make people aware of genocide we build a constituency that cares and when enough people pay attention, our leaders listen. 

o        High profile issues get dealt with; when we raise awareness throughout the country we raise the profile and find our solution. 

o        In a longer presentation give actions that can be taken

§          Keep informed, contact the media- write op/eds or tell your news channel you want to hear more about Darfur www.beawitness.com, communicate with the government- tell your representatives your views and concerns, support relief efforts, engage your community-talk about Darfur with friends, family, people from work, religious community etc, and Join GW STAND

·         We have a real solution for Darfur: empower peacekeepers to protect, allow the aid workers inside, and dissolve the militias.

 

 

HAVE AN INCREDIBLE WEEK!

 

Peace,

GW STAND