I feel so much anger, sadness and frustration around the issue of genocide in Darfur that it’s been hard to create a post that’s more motivating than damning. But as I see it, I don’t have the right to be sad about the genocide in Darfur really.

Women raped with weapons and branded by their attackers have the right to be sad.

Men who’ve had their eyes gouged out trying to protect their village and the women and children within it have the right to be sad.

Children whose crayon drawings depict their mother’s or sister’s rape by the Janjaweed have the right to be sad.

And mothers, whose babies are shot dead while tied to their backs as they fled the Janjaweed have a right to be sad. Images courtesy Mia Farrow.

You and I are called to help them. You and I have a right to get busy. We are called to do something, anything we can – big action or small. Because we live in one human community and they are bleeding.

One thing we can do is to decide to spend less of our money (or none of it) with companies who will not even ask China to do more to end the genocide in Darfur. Coca Cola is a prominent sponsor of the Beijing Olympics and I will not drink Coca Cola or purchase any Coca Cola owned product until Coca Cola uses its considerable clout to encourage China to end the slaughter in Darfur. I am not PollyAnna, I don’t expect Coca Cola to pull its sponsorship of the 2008 Olympics, after all Coca Cola was a sponsor of the Nazi games in 1936.

But I do expect and believe that if each of us stops buying Coke products, Coca Cola will at least know we’re watching and that their behavior effects bottom line revenue.

Here are other things we can do:

Dream for Darfur wants to prevent a Genocide olympics. This site has information on a number of letter writing and phone campaigns. For example, Petition the International Olympic Committee

International Rescue Committee – How you can help

Genocide Intervention Network - Working to stop genocide all over the world.

Crossposted At The Unapologetic Mexican

For other bloggers writing ‘In Solidarity: Global Day for Darfur,’ please check out Danielle at Modern Musings.