On Sunday, April 30 a national demonstration to Stop the Genocide in Darfur will be held in Washington DC. The rally will be held on the national mall, between 3rd and 4th Streets. There will be an American Federation of Teachers contingent meeting at the rally site at 1:30 PM.
Over the last four years, more than 400,000 lives have been lost and over 2 million people have been forced from their homes as a result of a genocide undertaken against the African peoples of Darfur by the government of the Sudan and its Janjaweed militia. A campaign of the mass murder of unarmed civilians, of mass rape and torture, and the systematic destruction of villages and crops has been waged. Despite condemnations from many quarters, this genocide continues unabated today.
Speakers at the national demonstration will include:
Paul Rusesabagina, whose heroic story was told in the movie Hotel Rwanda • Elie Wiesel • George Clooney • Russel Simmons, Def Jam Recordings • Representatives Nancy Pelosi, Donald Payne, Frank Wolf and Michael Capuano • Governor Jon Corzine • Tragi Mustafa, Save Woman – Sudan, Darfur refugee • Rabbi Marc Schneir • Cardinal Theodore McCarrick • Imam A. Rashied Omar • Reverend Walter Fauntroy • Joey Cheek, Olympic Gold Medalist who donated winnings to Darfur • Manute Bol, former NBA star from the Sudan • Simon Deng, Sudan Freedom Walk •Salih Mahmoud Osman, lawyer and human rights activist from Darfur • Rabbi David Saperstein • Samantha Power, author of A Problem from Hell • and more.
Various New York City organizations are sponsoring buses. The Jewish Community Center web page has a listing of buses leaving from various points in the city. Go to: http://www.jccnyc.org/category.aspx?catid=2042
2 Comments:
1 Chaz
· Apr 27, 2006 at 7:14 pm
I thought this was an education blog???
2 phyllis c. murray
· May 1, 2006 at 5:14 pm
WHY MOTHERS GRIEVE AROUND THE WORLD
By Phyllis C. Murray
“And they shall bend their swords into plowshares and study war no more.” These words are an appeal for nonviolence. Thus, we might read these words in the Bible and on the wall outside the United Nations. Yet, as Mother’s Day approaches , mothers are grieving all over the world because of the wars that are man-made. And we grieve with them.
Lest we forget, our leaders who spoke out against violence, discrimination and hate crimes were assassinated: Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Medgar Evers and Martin Luther King Jr. And, lest we forget, our courageous and vibrant young leaders were also assassinated: James Earl Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner.
Today, mothers are grieving from New York to California because of the wanton destruction created by youth on missions of hate and bigotry: white-on-white crimes, black-on-black crimes. Racial, ethnic, gender bias and religious intolerance continues.
Mothers grieve around the world in the war zones of Afghanistan, Palestine, Iraq ,Jerusalem, and Darfur.as their children become the casualties of war in areas affected by armed conflict. And mothers also become targets as violence against women in occupied war zones raises its ugly head.
Yet, the violence continues. It continues whether by air, by land, or by sea. Violence even continues en utero as infanticide becomes medically acceptable and partial birth abortions become a form of birth control in this 21st century.
On Mother’s Day, mothers will grieve around the world. And we will grieve with them.
Phyllis C. Murray,
UFT Chapter Leader
Region 2 District 8