DARFUR : APPEAL FROM CHRF
EMERGENCY RESPONSE DIRECTOR
Darfur, already identified by the UN as the "world's worst humanitarian disaster", is teetering on the brink of a genocidal catastrophe. Some 3.6 million innocent Darfuri civilians - including 1.8 million children - have been victimized by the government-supported Janjaweed militias. These ruthless bands, whose name means "devils on horseback", have forced millions of Darfuris to flee their homes for crowded refugee camps, where they continue to suffer extreme deprivation, disease and continued violent attacks.
Of the 6 million people living in the Darfur region, some 3.4 million are presently dependent on outside aid to survive. Most critically, some 40% of these people (1.36 million) are unreached by relief agencies, primarily because so many groups have pulled out in response to the violence.
We cannot stand by and watch while women and children continue to face inhuman suffering and death. An sustained response is needed to reach out and assist the victims. Our Emergency Response Team will continue to make trips into Darfur to provide help and hope to the victims, and will continue to focus on those areas that are not being reached by other organizations. We gained a vast amount of experience doing this type of work over the last decade when the Sudanese government was waging a similar campaign of terror against the Christians in Southern Sudan, when some 2 million people were killed.
We have identified some of the more critical items urgently needed by refugee families in order for them to survive:
Food parcel: $32 (per family)
Cooking kit: $13 (includes large water container)
Plastic/canvas sheeting: $20 (provides shelter from the inclement weather, which ranges from scorching heat to torrential rains)
We also need additional funds for transport. This is one of the most difficult and dangerous regions of the world to reach, and the high risk premium has caused charter costs to skyrocket.
We are ready to make more trips, but we need your support to help these poor people in Darfur.
Thank you,
Director, CHRF Emergency Response Team (name withheld for security reasons)
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Genocidal Violence Once
Again on the Rise
"Not
since the Rwanda genocide
of 1994 has the world seen such a calculated
campaign of slaughter, rape, starvation
and displacement as is happening right
now in Darfur ." - Don
Cheadle, star of Hotel Rwanda, speaking
for the Save Darur Coalition |
Since early 2003, government-supported militias called the Janjaweed have carried out a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing against the civilian population of Darfur (Western Sudan). The Janjaweed have been ruthlessly and viciously eliminating entire communities and ways of life: villages are razed, women and girls raped and branded, men and boys murdered, and food and water supplies targeted and destroyed . The government-sponsored ca mpaign has led to the deaths of almost 300,000 people and displaced more than 2.5 million others from their homes.
Although there were some hopeful signs in 2005 that
the violence was abating, the attacks have increased
since the beginning of 2006. As an indication of
the cruelty of this campaign, food convoys have been
specifically targeted. Refugees in the camps and
aid workers have also been attacked.
Many refugee families are headed up by women with
no form of income, as the men have been killed trying
to defend their homes and villages. There are also
many orphans who have lost or been separated from
their parents during attacks. Large parts of Darfur
are desert, and conditions are difficult and dangerous
during the best of times. The deadly combination
of the Janjaweed and the regional drought have made
these the very worst of times.
Please remember
the Darfuri people in your prayers.
For
$45, we can provide a survival kit to meet
the above needs for a refugee family in Darfur. However,
reaching the isolated areas where the needs
are most desperate is difficult and expensive:
air charter rates run $40,000-50,000 per
25 tons. Please consider adding something
to your gift to help with these costs. |
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