Monday, December 10, 2007
Fable.. 8th grade audience
The next day a commercial came on TV as he was getting ready for work. Again, it was an organization helping villages get food and medical treatment in Africa. This time he hesitated and watched the commercial all the way through. At the end he decided that there was nothing he, a successful young businessman, had in common with those people. He had worked hard for his money, why waste it by giving it to people living on another continent? He thought, 'what could one person really do?'
So off to work he went. Around lunchtime, he received a call from his secretary. She informed him that the police had called. There had been a fire in his apartment building and nothing could be saved. The young man sank in his seat. What was he going to do? All his possessions, all his money, was kept at home for fear of bank errors. Now, he had nothing.
When he returned to work from his lunch break, he immediately contacted the Human Resources department. He asked how much money had been contributed to the "Employee Crisis Fund," and asked if he could get an advance from it. The Human Resources employee reminded him that he had declined when asked to contribute to the fund, making him unentitled to its benefits.
The young man feared for his future. He had shunned his fellow employees and his neighbors because of lack of interest. He had little contact with his family. The young man was scared and alone. As he returned to his office he sat at his desk and cried. Suddenly the thought of the "Africa-Aid" commercial came to mind. Sadly, he realized that he did have much in common with the people in Africa.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Timed Writing
I felt that the blog was an excellent way for people to learn about Darfur. I posted my project two research paper on the subject, which gave my readers important background information and statistics on the subject. This was the most useful part of project three, because it gave me an easy way to open people’s eyes to horror that is happening in Darfur. Also posted on the blog were the three letters that I wrote to different Darfur organizations. This was useful because it gave the readers contact information to people who are already involved in the fight and gave a way to get involved if they were inspired to. It also gave them additional sources for information on the subject. I am hoping that at least one person was inspired by my blog and decided to get involved.
The last part of project three was the fable. I thought that this was an excellent way to preach my message to young children without giving them the harsh details of what is going on in Darfur. If my fable inspires just one child, all of the work that went into this project would have been worth it. Who, knows, maybe in the future that one child will be a person who helps stop the violence in Darfur.
The goal of project three was to educate people on the crisis in Darfur. I hope that my blog provided sufficient information on the topic and that it inspired at least one reader to get involved.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Darfur Organizations
Website: www.savedarfur.org
Contact: info@savedarfur.org
USA for UNHCR The UN Refugee Agency
Website: www.aiddarfur.org
Contact: 1775 K Street NW Suite 290 Washington, DC 20006
Help Darfur Now
Website: www.helpdarfurnow.org
Contact: arielle@helpdarfurnow.org
Dear Help Darfur Now
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this organization was founded by three high school students. Your work in the fight against genocide in Darfur is very admirable. I am a college student, and I have always had the false impression that young people do not have the power to take action against issues on this large a scale, but I was obviously wrong. Your work has helped me realize that I can make a difference, and I want to do everything I can to help. I would like to join your organization, so what steps do I need to take to make that happen? And after I become a member of your organization, what can I do to get my local community involved? Please contact me at my blog site http://rachelsdarfur.blogspot.com.
Respectfully,
Rachel Finch
Dear USA for UNHCR
I was extremely touched by the work that your organization is doing to help the people who are suffering in Darfur. You are building villages for refugees, as well as shelters, clinics, and schools. This work is very admirable, and I would like to help. Besides donating money, what do you suggest I do to draw attention to the crisis in Darfur and what can I do that will really make a difference? Please contact me at my blog site http://rachelsdarfur.blogspot.com.
Respectfully,
Rachel Finch
Dear Save Darfur Coalition
I am extremely impressed by your website and the work that you do. You give suggestions on how to start your own group to help save Darfur, how to reach out to others in your community, and how to pressure members of Congress to support the Darfur legislation. I am interested in following your lead in the fight against genocide. How effective has your organization been at bringing about change? I know that it is difficult for one group to change the minds of many, and I will do whatever I can to help pressure the representatives of my community to bring awareness and aid to Congress. If you have any suggestions please comment on my blog at http://rachelsdarfur.blogspot.com/.
Respectfully,
Rachel Finch
Monday, November 26, 2007
Darfur
A deadly conflict happening in Darfur (a region of western
Some say the starting point of the conflict was February 26, 2003. On this date, a group called the Darfur Liberation Front (DLF) publicly claimed credit for an attack on the headquarters of the Jebel Marra District (wikipedia 1). Other sources have said that the beginning of the crisis is more accurately dated to July 21, 2001, when a group of Zaghawa and Fur met and swore oaths on the Qur’an to work together to defend against government-sponsored attacks on their villages. On April 23, 2003, a joint Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and a Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) force in 33 Land Cruisers entered al-Fashir and attacked a sleeping garrison (wikipedia 1). Seventy-five people were killed in the attack. In the middle months of 2003, the rebels won 34 of 38 engagements; however, at this point, the government changed its strategy. Given that the army was being consistently defeated, the war effort depended on military intelligence, the air force, and the Janjaweed (wikipedia 1). The Janjaweed were put at the center of the new counter-insurgency strategy, and were turned into a paramilitary force, complete with communication equipment and some artillery. The fact that the Janjaweed were given communication equipment and weapons by the government shows just how much the Sudanese officials wanted certain people annihilated
Following the change in strategy, the better-armed Janjaweed quickly gained the upper hand, and by the spring of 2004, several thousand people had been killed and as many as a million more had been driven from their homes (wikipedia 1). The crisis gained international attention when over 100,000 refugees poured into neighboring
In July 2007, BBC News reported that a huge underground lake had been found in the
A man who is foreign to
Gerard Prunier, author of the book The Ambiguous Genocide, stated that the quickly deteriorating crisis in Darfur has been know to the world since 1999; but, what actually brought attention to the situation was the interview given by UN Human Rights Coordinator for Sudan, Mukesh Kapila, to the UN’s IRIN network (Prunier 127). Kapila declared that
A common attitude toward the crisis in
Since the conflict’s beginning as many as 400,000 villagers have died at the hands of militias backed by the Sudanese government, and another two million have been forced into camps (Speck 1). It is obvious that something has to be done. Death tolls of this magnitude are simply unacceptable; innocent people are dying, and if the violence does not end soon we could see death tolls nearing those of the Holocaust. The people of
Works Cited
Prunier, Gerard.
Putrich, Gayle S. “Foreign Operations Bill Sent To Conference After Senate Adds Funds To Fight ‘Genocide.’” CQ Weekly 25 September 2004.
Speck, Mary. “
Steidle, Brian, and Gretchen Steidle Wallace. The Devil Came on Horseback.
Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia Foundation, Inc. 24 Oct 2007 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darfur_conflict].rfur