After years of low-level conflict
between Arab nomads and non-Arab farmers over scarce resources in
arid Darfur, African tribal rebels (mainly the Sudan Liberation
Movement/ Army [SLM/A] and the Justice and Equality Movement [JEM])
launched a revolt in February 2003 accusing Khartoum of neglect
and arming marauding Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, to loot
and burn non-Arab villages. In the ensuing 19 months of fighting,
about 50,000 Darfurians have been killed. Countless reports of the
systematic rape of women and children have been cited. Nearly 1.45
million people are internally displaced and another 200,000 are
refugees in neighboring Chad after leaving their home villages because
of violent attacks by Janjaweed militias. A lot of deaths linked
to disease or malnutrition in crowded, filthy camps for the displaced
have occurred.
On May 26th, 2004 the Sudanese government
and the African rebels signed several major peace protocols, aimed
at ending 20 years of civil war. The African Union (AU) assumed
the responsibility of enforcing the ceasefire but not with much
success. The genocide continues before the eyes of the world.
The Student World Assembly strongly urges you to get active and
petition the Lieutenant-General of Sudan, asking him to do more
to end the atrocities which have led to thousands of deaths and
the displacement of at least 1,000,000 inhabitants of Darfur, a
western region in Sudan, the largest nation in Africa.
To begin, read the letter that will be sent, then fill out the form:
STEP 1) Read the Letter:
Your Excellency,
As members of the Student
World Assembly, (www.StudentWorldAssembly.org), an International
organization of students actively engaged in exchanging
views on global issues, we are deeply concerned about
the events occurring in the Darfur region of your country.
More than 30,000 people have reportedly been killed,
thousands of women and girls are said
to have been raped, hundreds of villages have been destroyed,
and more than 1,000,000 residents of Darfur have been
displaced as their homes and crops have been demolished.
We understand that this
misery is not being caused by your government but rather
by other groups in your country. However we
appeal to you to take a more active role to end this
misery being inflicted on your citizens.
We strongly urge you to
intervene by respecting the ceasefire agreement, and
to utilize the ceasefire monitors to implement this
agreement. In addition, we hope that you will allow
international aid organizations unfettered access so
that they may begin to alleviate the suffering of Darfur's
population.
In order to avoid further
lose or injury of human life, we ask that these actions
be taken without delay and without reservation.
Yours Sincerely, |
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Suggested
wording: (If you are planning
to write your own appeal please read our letter writing guide.
MS
Word | PDF)
Alternatively, You can copy and paste this sample letter into
a document to print out. If you are planning to write your
own appeal, please read our letter writing guide.
Please send
appeals to:
Lieutenant-General Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir
President's Palace
PO Box 281
Khartoum
Sudan
Fax: + 24911 771651/783223/779977 |
STEP 2) Sign the Petition:
Click
here to Sign
By clicking on the links below you
will be able to find background information on the ongoing crisis:
UNICEF
USA
GLOBAL
NOMADS GROUP
ALL
THINGS 2 ALL
WIKIPEDIA
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Our Mission
The Student World Assembly is a
non-governmental, nonpartisan organization created to represent
students globally. It provides a deliberative assembly where
students around the world can exchange views, vote on global
issues through online discussion forums and in annual international
conventions, and translate these views into meaningful actions.
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Our
Democratic Philosophy
The Student World
Assembly believes that true global democracy affirms fundamental
human rights, which include the dignity and worth of all
human beings, the equal rights of men and women, social,
economic and cultural justice for every person, and the
freedom to promote these causes. SWA’s representative democracy
offers a powerful instrument for addressing the vital social
and political conditions that threaten our global future.
The informed wishes of the people, conveyed through the
collective of a democratic assembly, need to be heard in
the decision-making processes. By giving students from the
most remote to the more accessible institutions an equal
voice, we are enabling all students to educate,
participate and take action,
and to begin thinking of themselves as global citizens.
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