Urgent Action Needed

The situation in Darfur has become dire. Sudanese President al-Bashir reacted to the March 4 ICC arrest warrant against him (for war crimes and crimes against humanity) by kicking many major aid agencies out of Darfur. Since millions of Darfuris have been displaced from their homes over the last 6 years and rely upon these aid agencies to keep them alive, this move puts millions of people at immediate risk. Imagine being stuck in the middle of west Texas with no food, no water, no transportation--and with tens of thousands of other people in the same situation (and millions spread out over the whole of the region). How would you survive?

This situation requires that we respond even more strongly than we have in the past. Please take the time to complete at least one of these actions. If you would like to get even more involved, please go to: http://www.enoughproject.org/blogs/statement-ngo-expulsions-sudan for more information.

1) Send President Obama a "progress report" on how he has responded to the Darfur crisis during his first 50 days in office. It only takes a few seconds to send a free e-fax, just click here for instructions:
http://standnow.org/campaigns/dfd1/action/day50

2) Please send a text message to Secretary of State Clinton at 90822 (this is the phone number to use--it works! Does not need more digits) Ask her to act to restore humanitarian aid and appoint an envoy for Sudan.

3) This one is a bit more involved--it focuses on Congress--please take the time to call at least one office:
a. Call your Senator Cornyn's office at 202-224-2934 or Senator Hutchison at 202-224-5922 and ask to speak to the staffer for foreign affairs.

b. Tell that person that you are calling to advocate for firm action in response to the Sudan government's expulsion of humanitarian aid organizations and that you wo uld like the Senator to advocate the following:

1) FULL deployment and use of UNAMID to deliver humanitarian aid,

2) No-fly zone--(ban on offensive military flights),

3) Sanctions on senior Sudanese officials and an arms embargo

4) Appointment of a Special Envoy to Sudan

4. Then call your representative and follow the same steps. You can find your Representative and their phone number at: http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/

As always, your willingness to be engaged in action to keep alive hope for the Darfuri community is immensely appreciated.