shimmer: May their suffering be relieved

Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 25th, is a Day of Action in solidarity with the people of Darfur, Sudan.

The Washington Post online has a very good FAQ on the situation in Darfur.

From the Washington Post FAQ:

An increasingly dire situation in Darfur in western Sudan has devolved into the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to international observers. Human Rights Watch reports that more than 1 million people have been displaced from their homes and are living in disease-ridden camps. Another 110,000 have fled to neighboring Chad. Hundreds of thousands of people are threatened by starvation, and as many as 30,000 people have already died in Darfur in the past 16 months.

Aid workers warn that the U.N. World Food Program will only be able to reach 800,000 displaced people. If the situation persists, the U.S. Agency for International Development estimates that at least 350,000 people will die of disease and malnutrition by the end of the year.

Tensions between Arabs and Africans competing for scarce natural resources in Darfur first surfaced during the 1970s. In February 2003, rebel groups of African Muslims, fed up with chronic inequalities between Africans and the ruling Arab elite (who are also Muslim), struck out against the Khartoum government. The government responded by arming local militias to crack down on mainly three ethnic groups -- the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa.

The government-backed groups, known as "Janjaweed," terrorize Africans, destroying villages, killing and maiming men, ransacking food supplies and blocking international assistance. The Washington Post's Emily Wax reports that the Janjaweed also carry out systematic campaigns of rape against African women in an attempt to humiliate the women and their families and weaken tribal ethnic lines. Human rights groups say the government, by funding the Janjaweed militants, is carrying out an ethnic cleansing campaign.

A U.N. report accuses local government leaders of instituting a policy of "forced starvation" that simultaneously has government officials denying problems with food distribution while militias prevent food delivery. Aid workers and journalists have been kept from visiting some affected areas since government-backed militias have blocked access to 31 of the approximately 130 camps in Darfur.

For the August 25th Day of Action, Faithful America is hosting a webcast from a refugee camp on the Sudan border with Chad, at 9 a.m. (EDT). They are also asking people to commit to a day of fasting in solidarity with these people. I will fast and pray tomorrow for the people of Darfur. May they be happy. May they be healthy. May they be blessed. May their suffering be relieved.