In Solidarity: Global Day for Darfur
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.
Posted by: Carmen D. in 
Since I learned of the genocide in Darfur I have boycotted all products of the corporate sponsors, especially due to the response letters I received.
http://modernmusings.com/update-on-a-day-for-darfur/
We do have power. Mia Farrow was able to convince Steven Speilberg who was to be the creative director of the Beijing Olympics to rightfully resign from the position.
Thank you so much for adding your mighty voice to the roar. Genocide no more.
We cannot allow genocide to become normalized. If this is allowed to continue it is setting a precedence. It is becoming more and more obvious that the Darfur atrocities are a depopulation technique.
I learned that Sudan is the historic Nubia, a place of great grandeur and historical significance.
We will not allow the families of Darfur to be tortured.
In light and love
Danielle
April 13th, 2008 at 10:12 am -Hi Danielle and welcome! Thank YOU for organizing such an important campaign. I will support you and Ultra Violet in your campaigns. In peace and solidarity, Carmen.
April 13th, 2008 at 10:40 am -Your point is excellent and well-taken! I join you in boycotting of all Coca-Cola products until we see that corporate giant taking a moral stand in the Darfur tragedy….
peace, Villager
April 13th, 2008 at 3:50 pm -I also am boycotting coca cola products! Blessings to you for joining the collective effort to bring attention to the genocide in Darfur.
By the way I love the look of your blog.
Peace & Love
April 13th, 2008 at 4:07 pm -Villager, you are a wonderful role model for me. So glad that we are in this together!
April 13th, 2008 at 6:46 pm -Hi Regina, welcome to the conversation. Thank you for the kind words. I am so glad to hear that you are boycotting coke products, too. It is exhilarating to connect with others who see things the same way. Peace and Love to you as well. Let us spread as much of that as we can!
April 13th, 2008 at 6:48 pm -It’s hard, you want to get the message across without exploiting the people, but it’s real. It doesn’t seem like it could be, but it’s real.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:22 pm -Hey MrsGrapevine, welcome to the conversation. Yes, it is unbelievable that in our lifetime this is happening…everyday and everynight. All the while mainstream media focuses on the sobriety or lack thereof of the latest starlet.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:27 pm -every human being has a right to live. this is really unimaginable, unbelievable and unfortunate that these things still happen in 21st century.
appreciate your efforts.
Rahul
April 13th, 2008 at 9:40 pm -[...] as part of the In Solidarity: Global Day for Darfur called by Modern Musings and supported by All About Race, A Political Season, Black and Missing But Not Forgotten, BlackPerspective.net, Black Women Blow [...]
April 14th, 2008 at 8:43 am -My heart hurts to see our brothers and sisters being involved in senseless suffering. I’ll never be able to understand what could possess someone to hold such apathetic and hatred toward another person; innocent at that.
Thank you for the reminder Carm. It was a disturbing reminder; but important nonetheless.
April 15th, 2008 at 4:46 pm -