Letter To Governors On Darfur Divestment And Teaching About Darfur In Public Schools

[NATO AIR]

for those interested in helping to punish the regime in Sudan for committing genocide... i have crafted a model letter for you to send to your governor, and perhaps other governors as well, urging them to examine their state finances and divest any funds in companies doing business with Sudan, as well as authorizing one class period in the month of January to teach school students about the genocide in Darfur and their opportunity to take a stand and do something.

As I write to you, in the Darfur region of the African nation of Sudan, more than a million people are in ill health and imminent danger of dying of famine, disease or state-sanctioned mass murder. The tragic events that have transpired here have been described as a genocide by Secretary Of State Colin Powell, President Bush and both houses of the US Congress.
Hope for a peace agreement to end the genocide would rest with the UN, but as you probably already know, it is packed with nations that have a vested economic or ethnic interest in supporting the oppressive government of Sudan in its extermination campaign against the tribes of Darfur. These nations include China, Russia, Egypt and Pakistan. The UN system is failing the people of Darfur, and many are paying the ultimate price for that failure. With American forces waging a struggle of paramount importance in Iraq and securing Afghanistan, it would appear there isn't much the US military could do at this point to mount a rescue operation in Darfur.
All would be lost it seems... until one realizes the power and potential of the people of America, including those who reside in the state you lead and govern. I strongly believe that if the people are made aware of the genocide in Darfur, they will wish to do something to help save the endangered genocide survivors there. They will voice their outrage to their leaders, brainstorm ideas in churches, schools and other centers of public gathering, and with determination and passion, have an important positive effect on the tragedy in Darfur.
There are two opportunities for you to make a difference and help save the people of Darfur, while engaging your constituents and offering invaluable leadership on this emergency.
One is divestment. If any of your state colleges/universities have equity holdings in any of the Asian and European companies that are presently operating in Sudan (current comprehensive US trade and economic sanctions against Khartoum prevent American companies from operating in Sudan), you could take steps to divest these holdings and take a stand against genocide. Of particular concern would be any holdings, active or passive, in the following five companies, notable for their particular complicity in supporting the Government of Sudan (all list on the New York Stock Exchange):
PetroChina (China)
Siemens AG (Germany)
Alcatel SA (France)
ABB Ltd. (Switzerland)
Tatneft (Russia)
Descriptions of the Sudan-related business and commercial activities of these companies can be found at www.divestsudan.org.
These companies have deliberately chosen to provide essential economic support to a regime currently engaged in massive genocidal destruction in the Darfur region of western Sudan. Is it not intolerable that US investment capital is currently flowing to companies working directly with the National Islamic Front regime in Khartoum, a regime that came to power by military coup in 1989, deposing an elected government, and aborting Sudan's most promising peace process since independence in 1956? This same regime has been guilty of previous genocides in the Nuba Mountains and the oil regions of southern Sudan, as well as the enslavement of tens of thousands and mass gang rapes of hundreds of thousands of young girls and women.
The second opportunity is in your public school system. Public school students in your state could learn about the genocide in Darfur over one class period, and perhaps experience a feeling of outrage and/or determination. I believe children have the clearest sense of right and wrong of any of us, thus their capacity for outrage and constructive anger at something as horrible as genocide is very high. Made aware of the tools at their disposal to help stop genocide and save lives, many will use them to take action. It is heavy material for some children but can act as something of a wakeup call for them that they have an awesome power to help others if they just harness it.

Governor, I that you take a stand. I understand you have many priorities and issues, but how often will you have the opportunity to help save a million people from genocide and famine? When else will you be able to punish immoral companies that support oppression and genocide? How often will you have the honor to inspire a generation of your state's schoolchildren to look at the world beyond them and see their potential to make an important difference? Please take the historic chance you have to make a change and act upon it. The victims of genocide in Darfur depend on you.

 

[CSM]

Thanks.

 

[NATO AIR]

Thanks.

anytime, btw, you know you can schedule a phone appt. with your governor?

i have a slot to speak to jeb bush for 10 minutes tomorrow, and if he's unavailable, i at least can speak with his top education adviser again (which i did today after playing hella expensive telephone tag for 30 minutes)