Darfur In The News

Team Darfur swimmer Adrian Turner has a piece in this month's edition of Voices of Tomorrow.

My newspaper today is quiet. Sat on the train trundling towards the north of England, I go through the usual inconvenience of a two-minute wrestling match with a broadsheet. The other passengers loll silently in unison in their seats, as I noisily fold the epic pages of the paper and try my best not to elbow my innocent neighbour repeatedly in the chin.

My newspaper today is quiet. Among the quotidian stories, my newspaper murmurs of four multi-millionaires who have decided to stop funding the country's (mis)leading political party, the sale of a Monet for £40.9m (US$70m) and a new yellow-card cautioning system for cricketers behaving badly on the field of play (...for slurping their tea perhaps?).

For more, click here. 

According to the New York Times,

Dozens of people were killed and more than 100 were injured Monday in a government assault on a huge camp for displaced people in Darfur, the conflict-riddled region in western Sudan, according to witnesses and leaders at the camp... 

Hussein Abu Sharati, a spokesman for the roughly 90,000 displaced people living in the camp, said dozens of heavily armed vehicles operated by Sudanese security forces surrounded the camp at dawn and opened fire.

The Sudanese police released a statement in Nyala on Monday saying that the operation had been carried out to seize weapons stored at the camp. It contended that Darfur rebel groups were planning to use the weapons to carry out assassinations...

The United Nations said in a statement that it was “gravely concerned” about reports of attacks on civilians in the camp. But aid officials and displaced people expressed dismay that nearby peacekeeping troops, part of a joint mission of the United Nations and the African Union, did not intervene. 

In a story that shows the power of the Olympic spirit to inspire efforts for peace around the world, young people from across South Sudan gathered in Twic County for the annual "Twic Olympics".  

The games began in 2000 against the backdrop of civil war and are used to encourage peace and reconciliation.

Located on the border between northern and southern Sudan, Twic was at the center of the brutal 21-year war.

Teams from each of the county’s six districts compete for sporting glory in a relaxed but competitive environment.

The teams are meant to offer young people returning home after the war a chance to integrate back into their communities.

Twelve international agencies fund the games, including Christian Aid. Its local partner, Sudan Production Aid (Supraid), organizes the games, trying to bring local groups together in a spirit of friendship.

US Olympic team captains voted Lopez Lomong, a Sudanese refugee and Team Darfur athlete, to lead the US Olympic team and carry the US flag at the opening ceremonies. Read the article here.

Lopez was also named Darfur Hero of August by Save Darfur. Read the article here.

Joey Cheek and Team Darfur released the following statement on August 8:

To see Lopez Lomong carry the flag into the opening ceremonies makes me proud to be an Olympian, and that the American team captains selected him reflects so much of what I love about the Olympic Spirit and Olympians. The Olympic Spirit is about coming together to set new records and achieve the impossible, about resolving our conflicts and celebrating our common humanity, and Lopez embodies that spirit. All of us at Team Darfur offer him our hearty congratulations.

The Chinese government revoked Joey Cheek's visa on Tuesday, preventing him from attending the Beijing Games. The Chinese government does not give reasons for denying or revoking visas.  We also learned that Team Darfur decathlete Chris Boyles' visa was revoked on Monday. 

The move was condemned by the Bush administration and a White House official said on Wednesday that the U.S. embassy in Beijing will ask that the decision be reversed.

Wednesday's edition of the Boston Globe featured a biography piece on Team Darfur co-founder and president Joey Cheek. The feature covers Joey's unique path to becoming a human rights activist as well as his time spent training for and competing in the Olympics. 

"Speedskater Joey Cheek, 29, glides through T.F. Green International Airport as if he's in a race with himself, his long, thin torso leaning slightly forward when he walks. His Olympic gold medal is stashed in his backpack. He's in New England to give a motivational speech for a pharmaceutical company to help pay those pesky Princeton tuition bills. But he has his eyes on a bigger prize. Peace in Darfur, Sudan."

Read the entire article here.  

As you probably know, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced a Resolution, encouraging a cessation of violence and renewed peace efforts in Darfur. Now, you can help, too! Dream for Darfur has designed a petition calling upon Senators McCain and Obama to co-sponsor this Resolution. With their prominent role in the news right now, their support could increase awareness about the genocide in Darfur and help encourage serious actions towards obtaining peace. To sign the petition, go to the Dream for Darfur website. Dream for Darfur seeks to use the leverage of the Olympics to press China to bring security to Darfur.

As we've noted in past blog posts, Team Darfur athletes have been leading the call for an Olympic Truce for Darfur. As outlined in their open letter, an Olympic Truce for Darfur would be a period of time when the international community would work to secure lasting peace for Darfur by demanding increased access for humanitarian aid workers, deployment of UNAMID peacekeepers, and support for the peace process.

A quick recap of Team Darfur athletes' efforts for an Olympic Truce for Darfur:

July 1: Team Darfur releases an open letter signed by over 130 elite athletes calling for an Olympic Truce for Darfur. Read the letter here. Read the press release here .

Dream for Darfur releases a report outlining the history of the Olympic Truce and the ways it can be used to secure lasting peace in Darfur. Read the report here.

On Wednesday, July 30, Team Darfur achieved an exciting benchmark towards our work on the Olympic Truce for Darfur! A group of bipartisan US Senators introduced a resolution calling for a cessation of hostilities and renewed efforts toward peace in Darfur, as well as in neighboring Chad and The Central African Republic.

The Senators believe that the Olympic tradition provides an opportunity for China and the International Community to press for an end to the conflicts in Sudan. Team Darfur is excited that the following Senators introduced this crucial resolution: Russ Feingold (D-WI) Norm Coleman (R-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), John Kerry (D-MA), Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Tim Johnson (D-SD). We sincerely thank them for their support and activities towards ending the horrific genocide in Darfur.

Here are what some of the Senators had to say about the Olympic Truce Resolution:

Senator Feingold: "With the world watching, we must take advantage of the opportunity provided by the Olympic Games to recommit ourselves to ending the conflict in Darfur and the wider region."