As you know, the situation in Darfur today is gravely dangerous.  On March 4 of this year, the Sudanese government expelled 13 international organizations and closed 3 national organizations that have been working to save the lives of Darfuris during this long crisis.

The expulsion of theses NGOs has left more than 1 million of the most helpless people at “high risk” according to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. In various camps and communities across Darfur, water is scarce, food supplies are low, and the potential spread of diseases puts the lives of many in peril.  Meningitis has already spread throughout some of Darfur’s largest camps for internally displaced persons, including Kalma and Kassab camps. With the expulsion of the NGOs, there is now a severely reduced chance for vaccination to prevent further spread of this deadly disease, or the administration of emergency antibiotics to treat it.  Malnutrition, lack of clean water, and lack of medical care could devastate thousands of civilians in the near future, especially children dependent on nutrient-rich therapeutic and supplementary food previously provided by the expelled NGOs. The direct result of the Sudanese government’s cruel measures could be a dramatic increase in the mortality and morbidity rates among the war-affected civilians in the coming weeks and months.
As we enter the rainy season, the future for our people’s lives is bleak.  Even when these expelled NGOs were operating, the rainy season in Darfur was challenging.  The humanitarian NGOs required at least two months of preparation – ideally starting in March of every year, which obviously now has already past.  Today the situation in Darfur is dire and the danger of increased mortality rates is very real. That is why Darfuris and Sudanese from all over the United States are coming to Washington, DC to demonstrate the urgency of the situation by calling for the Obama administration to take more rapid steps to avert the forthcoming crisis in Darfur, and lead an international effort to find peace once and for all.

Please join us in a call to save lives.  Your voice is crucial to avert this coming catastrophe in Darfur. One voice can help save many lives and our voices together will definitely make a huge difference.

If you’re in DC please come out for the events this afternoon (Friday, May 22nd).

The opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Save Darfur Coalition.

Tags: action, Add new tag, Darfur, South Sudan, Sudan, take action, Washington DC, White House

This entry was posted on Friday, May 22nd, 2009 at 9:11 am and is filed under Darfuri Stories, Humanitarian Aid, Obama Administration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.