YOU CAN HELP BRING AN END TO
THE CRISIS IN SUDAN

October 2004 - Click here to take action

The daily news brings one horrific image after another – the inhabitants of Darfur in western Sudan have been driven from their homes, killed as they flee, subject to rape, torture, and starvation. The Sudanese people have endured decades of civil war; since April 2003, however, the conflict has taken a decided turn for the worse when fighting escalated, forcing literally hundreds of thousands of people to flee. According to U.N. estimates, the crisis has uprooted over a million people. Most have been displaced within Darfur, while over 110,000 have fled to the neighboring nation of Chad.

Click here to take action, or read on for more background information.

The United Nations and international humanitarian groups, including Lutheran World Relief (LWR), have reported on claims of ethnic cleansing, denied by the Sudanese government. While militia with links to Sudan’s government have raided villages they accuse of harboring soldiers from Sudan’s rebel movements, the Sudanese government has delayed international fact-finding and logistical teams seeking access to Darfur.

As recently as June 29, 2004, the U.N. Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Arbitrary or Summary Executions, Asma Jahangir said “there were ‘absolute, clear indications’ that some militia groups in parts of Darfur had been armed, sponsored and even trained by the government, while other groups enjoyed government protection as they committed abuses and human rights violations in the region.” (http://www.un.org/News/briefings/docs/2004/jahangirbrf062904.doc.htm)

Massive aid is needed and LWR is part of a worldwide network of church agencies already at work and gearing up to assist half a million people in Darfur. But to provide health care, shelter, food and sanitation without protection is all relief and no remedy.

The key issue in this crisis is security – long-term security that allows people to live in their communities, to farm, to go to school, to worship, to live their normal lives. “Protection is the biggest issue standing between people and their ability to survive,” an Action by Churches Together assessment mission concluded after visiting Darfur in May.

YOU CAN HELP

While the United States government has already contributed financial and material resources for the Sudan emergency, it is not enough to meet the needs in this crisis. The UN estimates that an additional $274 million will be needed over the next four months just to meet the most urgent humanitarian needs in Darfur and Chad, and prevent grave consequences for thousands of people. Resources are also needed to support international efforts to improve security.

Please take a moment to write President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and your members of Congress to ask that the United States make available an additional $90 million to meet the U.S. share of the UN humanitarian appeal for Sudanese displaced in their own country and for refugees in Chad.

You can take action online through InterAction, of which LWR is a member agency. Click here to visit InterAction's website.

TO LEARN MORE

For more about the conflict in Sudan, visit the following links:

Lutheran World Relief
Already providing humanitarian assistance in Darfur are two global alliances of church aid agencies: Action by Churches Together, which includes LWR and represents Protestant and Orthodox churches around the world, and the global Roman Catholic aid alliance, Caritas Internationalis. Member agencies from both networks have cooperated for years in South Sudan. LWR’s website allows you to read more and contribute to our efforts in Sudan.

The Washington Office on Africa
The Washington Office on Africa (WOA) is a church-sponsored not-for-profit advocacy organization seeking to articulate and promote a just American policy toward Africa. Although the material on this page is outdated, it provides helpful background information about the conflict in Sudan.

AllAfrica.com
AllAfrica is the largest electronic distributor of African news and information worldwide, with offices in Johannesburg, Dakar, Lagos and Washington, DC. The site provides constantly updated information from a wide variety of media on the crisis in Sudan.

IRIN News
IRIN is part of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Its reporting focuses on enhancing the capacity of the humanitarian community to understand, respond to, and avert emergencies. IRIN provides background information and daily updates on the situation in the Sudan.

Africa Action
Africa Action works to change U.S. Africa relations, to promote political, economic and social justice in Africa. The site provides information on the crisis in Sudan and reactions to Secretary Powell’s recent visit.