Thousands protested around the world yesterday to mark the five year anniversary of the crisis in Darfur in which at least 200,000 people have been killed and millions have been displaced. According to Amnesty International, there are UN troops in the region, but the Sudanese government is blocking them from helping. There is a call for more international attention to the situation as well as more resources dedicated to stopping the violence against innocent people and children:
Activists are pushing for speedier progress on the full deployment of the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping force. Approximately 35 percent of the 26,000-troop force is currently on the ground in Darfur. But the government of Sudan is standing in the way of full deployment by rejecting troops from non-African countries and refusing land for bases, among other obstructions.
The coalition partners are urging President Bush to influence other countries, such as China, to press Sudan to quit obstructing the deployment. They also want President Bush to exert diplomatic pressure on U.N. donor nations to contribute helicopters and other transport equipment necessary for the peacekeepers and set an example by funding contributions of needed equipment.
[From Amnesty International]
Celebrities including Matt Damon were photographed destroying toys to show the way that the conflict has stripped Sudanese children of their childhoods. More than one million children in Darfur live in refugee camps.
Caring campaigner Matt Damon has led a host of international celebrities backing protests against the war in Darfur.
In a series of powerful images, Matt and a variety of famous faces – including Thandie Newton, Joely Richardson and Jemima Khan – are seen destroying toys and setting fire to children’s drawings. The pictures, released to coincide with Sunday’s global day of protest, are a symbol of the suffering of the youngsters in the troubled region.
“After the genocide in Rwanda we all shook our heads and said never again,” said Matt. “Today, as killings mount in Darfur, we need to make never again a priority and demand protection for the most vulnerable.”
[From Hello! Magazine]
You can learn more about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, and how you can help, at SaveDarfur.org, AmnestyInternational.org, Human Rights Watch, and DarfurScores.org. For a haunting look into what is happening in Darfur, see Amnesty International’s EyesonDarfur.org.
Here are the photos of the celebrities destroying toys, thanks to Hello! Magazine and The Mirror. When I first saw these images I thought that they were too stylized and that a human approach would have been more effective, but they did manage to get more attention to this very important cause and that’s what matters.
I think they should send a snappy letter.
If your not willing to kill the bad people, nothing will change, grow up.
“I’m so up set!”
Yea what does that do?
“it shows how much I care!”
Wow! that’s some fine work there Lue.
I cannot utter words about Darfur without the veins in my neck twitching.
I know this sounds shallow, but can anyone ID the pregnant woman in pic #4? She’s the only one I can’t ID.
I’m sure all these people are just doing it for the publicity.
iheart it is Laura Bailey, she is a British model:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Bailey
iheart, I’m sure some of them genuinely do care but my issue is that it’s all lipservice. People don’t really want to actually do anything aside from throw some money around. It’s Rwanda part two but God forbid we do something decisive to stop it.
And google says she is Laura Bailey, a British Model.
the pictures are supposed to make us say, “Wow” and “these celebrities are doing their part.” But for me it just eclipses the situation. Just look at my comment. Im commenting on them & not the situation. Maybe its just me.
To hell with Darfur, I got homeless, jobless sick people living hand to mouth in my own town- where’s their day of world-wide attention ? I keep forgetting if you’re unable to support yourself in America, regardless of the circumstances it’s somehow your fault
Instead of an expensive, self-indulgent (sorry, but it is for some of those celebs) photoshoot to mark the anniversary, why not use pics of the actual Sudanese children in their actual dire circumstances. Would that not focus people’s attention on the issue? Instead, I looked at these pics and the first thing I thought was, Jemima Khan’s jacket is awful. A lost opportunity.
I am not gonna sit here and pass judgment on which celebs are really dedicated to doing something and who’s only there for the publicity but I do agree that these photos are too stylized and not even close to effective. I’m thinking wow, I didn’t know the situation in dafur was so terrible, that’s so sad and in the next moment I’m thinking, Matt Damon looks hot.
Anyway I’m gonna go check out the link EyesonDafur.org and find out more.
The situation in Darfur is horrendous and no amount of diplomacy is going to change it. Women are being raped as acts of war and people are being murdered. Taking pics of celebs destroying toys that Sudanese children have probably never seen before won’t change shit.
I know it’s not a popular option but only military action will change anything but God forbid anyone support something like that. Make love, not war or whatever.
I always feel that more headway would be made if we could stop the weaponry being supplied to these countries. That does so much damage and until a lot of that is curtailed then it’s kind of hard to do anything other than damage control.
Sure, you can argue that people can make simpler weapons if they really want to but you’re more likely outrun spears, modified farm weapons, and so on than automatic weapons and land mines.