Spielberg and the Olympics

On February 12, 2008, Oscar-winning film director Steven Spielberg resigned as artistic adviser to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games over China's failure to act against the genocide in Darfur. In a statement, he said, "I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue business as usual."

In April 2007, Spielberg wrote a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao to protest China's involvement with the Sudanese government over the crisis in Darfur. Spielberg asked to meet with Hu, but the president failed to respond, and Spielberg continued “business as usual.” He continued his work on the Olympics as China blocked the U.N. Security Council from making any real inroads to protecting the people of Darfur. He even continued business as usual as China took the “teeth” out of Security Council resolution 1769 of July 31, 2007, which created a hybrid U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur. [China voted for the resolution, but only after stripping it of a mandate to disarm combatants. China also refused to approve any sanctions measure in the inevitable event of Khartoum’s noncompliance with its terms.]

Some have asked why he waited so long to resign from the post, while others have questioned his motivation. Still others believe that his action will be completely ineffectual in ending the genocide in Darfur. Many even question if pressuring China will work at all.

His detractors may be right: resigning his post may not make a difference. BUT it is a step, and an important step.

The Chinese need to understand that unless they take necessary steps to end their complicity in the genocide in Darfur, they will suffer consequences. They need to stop supplying the Janjaweed with weapons; buying 70 percent of Sudanese exports, including oil; and protecting the Sudanese government on the world stage. They need to understand that unless they cease and desist in their collusion, their moment of glory during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will be marred. Those of us who are people of conscience need to demand this!

Yesterday, the Chinese government released a statement saying that “linking the Olympics with the Darfur issue is against the Olympic Spirit.” I would ask them, is it in the Olympic spirit to fund and support genocide?

Spielberg took an important step this week to end his complicity with the Chinese government and, in effect, the genocide in Darfur. His conscience called on him to act, as it should for all of us.

The next step is for us to pressure corporate sponsors to make similar statements so that it's not "business as usual" at the Olympic Games. Corporations can use the leverage they have to pressure the Chinese government to help end this genocide! Those of us who care about this issue need to make sure that they know the power they have.

In Memoriam: Tom Lantos, human rights champion

The world lost a real human-rights defender yesterday when U.S. Representative Tom Lantos (D-CA) passed away. While I didn't agree with every vote he cast, I knew that, unlike many lawmakers, he always had a principled position. His ideals were forged in the fires of the Holocaust, when he was a teenager in Hungary, escaping Nazi forced-labor camps and working in the resistance.

In The Last Days, a film by Steven Spielberg and Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, Lantos reflected on the way his world began to change:

"My Christian classmates reacted to Hitler's invasion in different ways. Some remained good friends. Some made me feel that they continued to be my friends, but they didn't want to be seen in public with me, particularly not after we had to wear the yellow Star of David, which was one of the Hungarian government's edicts after Hitler came into the country. Some turned against Jews in general and me in particular....While a handful of Hungarian Christians were helpful, a vast number were bystanders -- some with regret and sorrow, some with very different feelings....Most people did not participate actively, but they allowed it to happen."

Tom Lantos did not stand by when he saw injustice. In 1983, he cofounded the bipartisan Congressional Human Rights Caucus. As the only Holocaust survivor ever to serve in the U.S. Congress, he used his moral authority to lift up the plight of the oppressed around the globe. In April 2006, I was there when he and a handful of other members were arrested outside of the Sudanese embassy while protesting the genocide in Darfur.

When UUSC founders Martha and Waitstill Sharp were recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Remembrance Memorial in Israel, Rep. Lantos introduced a resolution with Rep. McGovern (D-MA) to honor them. He told his staff that it was especially important to recognize the Sharps' bravery because their actions were purely motivated by their religious beliefs. He noted that they were not European bureaucrats who happened to be in a position of power to fix passports or provide safe haven. They chose to put themselves in harm's way because they could not in good conscience stand by and let Nazi terror go unchallenged.

I will miss seeing Rep. Lantos walking around Capitol Hill with Annette, his childhood sweetheart and wife of 50-plus years, and their little dog almost always at his side. I hope that others in Congress will be inspired to become human-rights defenders because our work is far from done.

Billionaire Buffett Boosts Divestment Drumbeat

First it was Fidelity, now it’s Berkshire Hathaway. Two of the world’s largest financial investment firms have sold off huge chunks of stock in a major Chinese oil company, although neither is admitting that it took these actions in order to help end the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. However, the financial media is abuzz this week with news of multibillionaire Warren Buffett’s decision to sell $140 million worth of Berkshire Hathaway stock in PetroChina Co.

Clearly the momentum for divestment is building and the Drumbeat for Darfur is getting louder. The sale by Berkshire Hathaway was its second of PetroChina shares. The corporation is the second largest oil company by market value, and is the major purchaser of oil from Sudan.

The announcement came one week after coalitions of anti-genocide activists, including UUSC, launched expanded divestment campaigns to target more investment companies whose holdings include corporations that are helping to fuel the four-year-old genocide in Darfur. UUSC’s Drumbeat for Darfur campaign has already been pressuring Fidelity Investments, which also sold large chunks of stock while denying it was responding to pressure from anti-genocide activists. On September 5, 2007, UUSC joined colleague organizations Investors Against Genocide and Fidelity Out of Sudan in delivering petitions representing 150,000 signatures to Fidelity’s Boston headquarters.

While the divestment campaign continues to pick up steam, you can help keep the momentum building. A bill that would protect states from lawsuits when they enact divestment legislation is stalled in the U.S. Senate. Call or e-mail your U.S. senators today and urge them to act swiftly on this proposed law that will help ramp up the divestment drumbeat until it becomes deafening.

Feeling the Heat

Did you know that the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing will begin at exactly 8:08 p.m. on 08/08/08? Evidently, eight is considered a lucky number in Chinese culture. As the hosts of the Summer Olympics, they are hedging their bets in the hope that their moment in the world spotlight will be a good one.

Today, at exactly 2:08 p.m., I walked up to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., hoping that I would also have good luck. Today is the day, one year out from the Olympics, when I delivered copies of the 600 letters we collected at General Assembly. At our booth and at every event we sponsored at GA, we encouraged concerned UUs to sign letters to the International Olympic Committee. We asked the Olympic officials to use their leverage with the Chinese government to help bring peace to Darfur.

Since the first wave of grassroots activism began to raise the Olympic theme, we have seen China take some small but very important steps. Today, I was proud to be UUSC's Washington, D.C., representative and let the Chinese government know that our 47,000 members and supporters urge them to do even more.

At first, the embassy doorkeeper made me wait outside for a long time in 100 degree heat. I felt a bit like Dorothy at the gates of Oz as the man told me to go away by speaker phone and then opened the door just enough to get my business card before slamming it shut again. That happened three times before I managed to slip in when some other folks arrived for a different meeting. I sat politely on a couch in the air-conditioned lobby waiting to see what would happen next.

After a while, Liao Dong, counselor of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the USA came to meet with me. His assistant took notes as I explained why I was there, who we are, and what we want. He said it was an honor to accept the letters. He doesn't agree that what's happening in Darfur is genocide. He thinks it is mostly a struggle over scarce resources.

He recounted the steps China has recently taken and asked that we not link China's hosting of the Olympics to the situation in Darfur. I said we simply want China to use its considerable economic and diplomatic leverage to move the Sudanese government to negotiate peace in good faith and to stop the violence against women, children, and all civilians. I said we hoped that when the Olympic torch is lit one year from today that the conditions in the Darfur region will be greatly improved.

He wanted to know if Unitarians were like Quakers. I explained about the Sharps and the work that founded our human rights organization. His face seemed to sag at the realization I represented a human rights group rather than a religious denomination. Perhaps I would have been forcibly removed or left to melt in the heat if they had know that from the start! The counselor asked if my mission was now complete with the delivery of the letters. I told him that I was going back to work because there was much more to be done. I gave him a UUSC Drumbeat for Darfur campaign sticker and brochure before heading back out into the heat.

Here is a photo of me and Counselor Liao Dong. The original signed letters arrived at the International Olympic Committee offices in Switzerland today with a cover letter from UUSC President Charlie Clements. We will continue to follow up and encourage more actions over the coming year. Thanks to everyone who signed and helped collect the letters at GA. Know that you are helping keep the Drumbeat for Darfur loud and clear!

Whereas it's Genocide....

So, this past Wednesday, a few members of Congress introduced this resolution to recognize and commend the work of U.S. citizens to raise awareness and push for an end to the genocide and humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

The resolution urges the U.S. government to "work with its partners in the international community to implement a more robust set of multilateral measures until [Sudanese] President El-Bashir accepts a full-scale international peace-keeping force in Sudan."

Ok, that's a fine resolution. Let's keep up and step up the pressure . . . and stop this genocide.

Whereas it's GENOCIDE, be it resolved that conscientious global citizens will continue to pressure decision makers and power brokers to do all they can to stop it. Join us.

UUSC Videos!

Omer Ismail, a Sudanese activist, was one of several UUSC speakers at this year's General Assembly in Portland, Ore. You can check out some of his thoughts about bringing peace and justice to Darfur in our Drumbeat for Darfur website area.



Also, Stop Genocide Now is streaming video over the next couple of weeks of their work in camps in Chad. It's really great work, worth checking out!

Darfur is Dying: Would That It Were Only a Game

You are a 14-year-old girl named Elham and you live in a camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Darfur. Or maybe you are Elham's 12-year-old brother, Jaja. Or perhaps you are Elham's and Jaja's young mother, Sittina.

Now, as any of these people, you must leave the relative safety of your camp to find water.

What will happen to you?

Play mtvU's game "Darfur is Dying" to find out. From the comfort of your computer, you may just find that your avatar becomes another of the the hundreds of thousands lost to genocide in Darfur.

In Darfur, Sudan, genocide is raging.

Every day, government-backed militias kill, torture, and rape people, and burn villages to the ground. It's hard to visualize what life is like for those who survive. Playing this game can help.

And awareness can stir your conscience and breed action. So play, then take action to end the genocide in Darfur. Find out how UUSC can help you through our Drumbeat for Darfur campaign.

Just Empowerment

Today, I was privileged to attend the workshop, "How to Build Spirituality into Social Justice Work," given by Rev. Marilyn Sewell and Kate Lore of First Unitarian Church in Portland, Ore.

Attendees learned a clear headed, positive, and powerful approach to doing social justice within Unitarian Universalism. I will try to summarize it here. Visit the church's website to learn more.

• Mission. Have a mission larger than ourselves, our own needs.
• Resources. Commit larger resources of the church.
• Questions. Deepen our questioning: study, read, debate.
• Spirit.Build spiritual components into every meeting.
• Support. Offer support, especially through small groups.
• Joy. Be joyous in our work.

It is a seemingly simple recipe that can be challenging to put into practice. Kate, First Unitarian's full-time social justice director, shared with us the social justice council structure that makes this model work for them.

I found their focus on conflict resolution within the social justice program especially interesting. Members of the social justice council participated in a workshop on nonviolent conflict resolution. And the Public Conversations Project has been a great resource to them. The lesson is that our programs are stronger when we as a community are stronger. By being comfortable with conflict and being able to transform or resolve conflict successfully, we strengthen our communities, become stronger leaders, and are able to do so much more.

As example of the success of the First Unitarian method, they discussed the congregation's involvement in the Drumbeat for Darfur campaign. The short story is that after UUSC President Charlie Clements delivered a sermon posing spiritual questions and providing real actions to take on Darfur, Kate held a follow-up meeting for those moved to action. Eighty people attended! This social justice issue's fit within the congregation was clear.

Subgroups were formed, each leading a wide range of activities, including researching the genocide, inviting a Darfuri refugee to speak, and participating in UUSC's full day Drumbeat for Darfur activists' training here at GA.

The congregation continues to be highly active in the global struggle to end the genocide of our times. Within such an empowered social justice structure, their efforts are fulfilling, their actions are effective, and the whole congregation is involved.

I hope today's workshop helps spur a movement toward more empowered social justice programs throughout the UU community.

Must Social Change Require a Strict Dogma?

While Unitarian Universalism may be considered a “free faith” in which “every human being needs to be absolutely free to follow his or her own conscience,” it’s still pretty clear here at the UUA General Assembly in Portland, Ore., that you don’t need a dogmatic sets of beliefs to rally around critical causes of the day.

And that’s a relief. On issues ranging from racism to sexual orientation to the genocide in Darfur, UUs are debating, advocating, and joining hands to take action. Here at the UUSC booth, a constant stream of individuals interested in connecting their spirituality with social action have been asking questions, signing our letter to the International Olympic Committee to pressure China to do better on Darfur, and making the choice to join UUSC in our efforts to promote human rights and social justice. UUSC's national cochairs Sarah Karstaedt, Nancy Nowak, Marje Park, and Jack Stiefel have spent hours upon hours manning the Drumbeat for Darfur tables and educating people about our booth's "Kalma Camp," a mock tent that teaches about the daily struggles of Darfur’s internally displaced people.

With all this energy and action, it’s hard not to see this microcosm of the political left and worry just a little bit. Surrounded by workshops ranging from “What the Buddha Really Said about Gender” to “Gaping, Gawking, Staring: Living in Marked Bodies” and “Letters from Young Activists: Today’s Rebels Speak Out,” there’s space for numerous perspectives to be shared here at GA. But the liberal left has often been criticized as being scattered, working on too many issues and changing focus too often, thus failing to do what the radical right has done through institutions such as the Heritage Foundation and the Manhattan Institute which:

“Through the constant repetition and dissemination of conservative policy ideas…[conservative think tanks]…have provided a philosophical underpinning for many of the most important fiscal and social policies developed and implemented over the past 16 years. And in the end, they have succeeded in making 'positive government action in social welfare and economic development policy seem off limits and inappropriate.'"

Perhaps one critical challenge for the left, and for UUSC as an organization working for justice in solidarity with people who face severe oppression and vulnerability, is that achieving human rights requires openness, tolerance, and understanding in a way that appears in stark contrast to the dogmatic agendas of the political right where issues such as sexual orientation are boiled down to “right” and “wrong” and religion is a matter of “believing” or not.

But witnessing the inspiration with which UUs here at General Assembly are taking action on issues like Darfur, it’s hard not to feel that we’re doing something right!

Who Are You to Think?

Sudanese activist Omer Ismail issued a challenge to those of us present for his talk about Darfur yesterday. He said, “History will judge us one day. And not only history . . . somebody, your grandchildren or children will ask you one day, ‘What have you done when genocide was declared in Darfur?’ I want you to look them straight in the eye and say ‘I was there, and I’m proud to report I have done something about it.’”

It was a great honor for me to meet Omer while he was here at GA, and deeply moving to learn of the way he has given his entire life to do the work of his heart: seeking peace and justice for the people of Darfur.

We can’t all do that, to be sure. But I think if there is one message that has really resonated throughout this GA is that we should each respond in the ways that we are individually and personally moved to respond. For some people, it’s signing a letter to the International Olympic Committee, urging them to push China to take action on Sudan. For others, it will be taking part in our community event on Sunday.

Charlie Clements, UUSC’s president said, “[Sudanese President] Bashir wants you to feel helpless, he wants you to think you can’t do anything about it. We have to prove him wrong.” Ismail said, “For evil to triumph, it only takes one person like me or you to stand on the sidelines.”

Last night, at UUSC’s annual meeting, I was deeply inspired to hear the stories of those UUSC volunteers and supporters as they received UUSC’s top awards for social justice leadership. One of them, Rev. Richard Gilbert, the recipient of the Social Action Leadership Award, recalled an old UUSC poster with the slogan, “Who are you to think you can change the world?”

Gilbert and the others who were honored last night don’t seem to be asking themselves that question, though, and neither is Omer Ismail. Rather, they seem to be asking another question, one that leads more to action, that is, “Who are you to think you can’t change the world?”

It Takes a Planet...

Around the corner from our hotel in Portland sits a drumming shop called Rhythm Traders. The side wall of the shop hosts a beautiful mural depicting a group of drummers and singers making music and enjoying life. The mural caption reads, "Hope Is Vital: It Takes a Planet to Save a Village."

That's a fitting message for any gathering, but it is especially right for a GA in which UUSC is drawing attention to the ongoing genocide in Darfur.

As of this moment, over 1,000 people at GA have attended an event on Darfur or joined our advocacy action to get the Chinese government to work actively to end the genocide. As the most important purchaser of Sudanese oil and the source of much of the Sudanese regime's weaponry, it matters what China does.

In addition, black T-shirts bearing the Drumbeat for Darfur logo and a request that people "Connect, Take Action, End the Genocide" are popping up all over GA. UUSC Washington DC representative Shelley Moskowitz was minding her own business buying a sandwich across the street from GA, when the man behind the counter asked, "Where'd you get that cool t-shirt?" Shelley answered that they were available across the street at GA.

When Shelley told the guy that the shirts cost $15, he asked whether or not the money goes to a good cause. As Shelley considered the perfect response, a woman two people behind her in line chimed in, "You bet it does!" Shelley turned around to see that this UU from Sacramento had on the same t-shirt. GA is pulsing with the Drumbeat for Darfur.

The mere threat of action by hordes of gentle UUs has already goaded the Chinese government into action. China's newly appointed special envoy to Sudan made a public statements today defending China's actions to bring peace to Sudan, and indicating that the Chinese were thinking seriously of contributing troops to a UN protection force in Darfur.

Transforming Despair into Action

I just got back from a moving workshop here at General Assembly led by Frances Moore Lappé. Many of you may know her as the author of Diet for A Small Planet; she is also the author of Democracy's Edge.

Lappé led a talk called "Transforming Despair into Action for Darfur," addressing a topic that is certainly something I thought about: when faced with what seems like a totally hopeless situation, how do you find the hope to go on?

She touched on the lessons of the Holocaust, and drew parallels between what was learned during the Stanford Prison Experiment and what was seen at Abu Ghraib, saying "Most of us, given the right -- that is, the wrong -- conditions, would be involved in inhumane actions."

So we acknowledge that humans are capable of great evil -- what then? Lappé spoke of one way we could look at it, through the lens of "reality-based hope," saying, "It does take effort, but I consider it a joyful effort."

The point is that in this world of great evil, there also exists great good. Lappé called it living in a "both/and" world. And for her, it is from this duality that hope springs.

"It's not possible to know what's possible," she said. "Therefore, we are free to hope."

This is possible, she said, because of "the courage of the expanding heart." She said, "We can face the horror in Darfur . . . without our hearts breaking when we realize that our hearts have the capacity to hold it all."

The Drumbeat at GA

GA got off to an early start for UUSC, with a full day of training for activists in the Drumbeat for Darfur campaign. Over 80 activists from around the country showed up in Portland to learn and talk about how to get their congregations more involved in ending the Darfur genocide.

They heard from Omer Ismail, the Darfurian founder of Darfur Peace and Development, an organization dedicated to promoting an end to the violence there. Omer was forced into exile at the time of the military coup in 1989. Omer gave a uniquely personal account of the conflict in Darfur: "When I was growing up in Darfur, I had no idea who was Arab and who was African. This sort of difference was created by people interested in dividing us for their own purposes."

Bill Sinkford of the UUA also found time on the day GA opened to provide a little inspiration.

Now is the time for the Drumbeat for Darfur to intensify ... As people who understand that the interconnected web of human existence does not end at our borders, whatever fences we might put up, this [work on Darfur] is ours to do. It may not be uniquely ours to do, but it is definitely ours to do.

The airline industry conspired to keep Frances Moore Lappe away from the Drumbeaters, but she did make it to Portland in the late afternoon. To my surprise, not a single one of the meeting-weary UUs gave up their seat. Frances didn't focus on the details of Darfur, but instead suggested that we all build what she calls "The Expanding Heart," as a precondition to overcoming despair in hard times.

We must learn to weep AND sing. That's how we build the expanding heart. The tears help make room for the heart to grow.

The reach to the emotional level was the perfect way to end a day of dealing with an issue that most of us would rather not face. Keeping the Drumbeat going requires just the kind of emotional resilience that comes from weeping AND singing.

After spending a good part of the day talking about how to make the media pay attention to Darfur, we awoke this morning to good media news. Portland's largest newspaper, The Oregonian, posted an op-ed piece on Darfur in today's online edition. Maybe it is in the paper edition, as well!

Talking Darfur at GA

All of the preparations are finally over! The Unitarian Universalist Association's General Assembly 2007 in Portland, Ore. begins at 8 p.m. tonight. GA will take place at the Oregon Convention Center, a beautiful facility across the Willamette River from downtown Portland. It is difficult to imagine a more appropriate urban site for GA. As usual, the UUA will be streaming the key events of GA via the Internet, so you don't need to be here to take part.

As UUSC, we will be focusing our attention on our Drumbeat for Darfur Campaign. That is, we'll be trying to get people to "Connect, Take Action, End the Genocide" right here at GA. Throughout GA, we'll be encouraging people to take an advocacy action designed to pressure the Chinese government to rethink its relationship with the Sudanese government.

Today, we'll be hosting 80 activists from around the country for a Drumbeat for Darfur training day, featuring Omer Ismail of Darfur Peace and Development, noted author Frances Moore Lappe, UUA President Bill Sinkford and our own Charlie Clements. It is going to be a great day, provided that I get going so that I'm there to welcome people.

Walking the Walk

I want to thank the voters of Massachusetts third district. You are represented by one of the most principled members of Congress I've ever known -- James P. McGovern. You can call him Jim. I've known and worked with him since I became a public interest advocate twenty years ago.

As a legislative aide to Boston's late great Joe Moakley, Jim led the congressional investigation into the brutal murders of the six Jesuit priests and two lay women at the University of Central America in El Salvador. His persistence and dedication helped break the cycle of impunity and make a political settlement of the war possible.

Elected to Congress in 1996, Jim has continued to be a human rights defender. If you want to renew your sense of hope, you should check out Jim's speeches on the floor of the House. But he doesn't just talk the talk, he walks the walk. That's why he protested the genocide in Darfur by committing civil disobedience at the Sudanese embassy in April 2006 and why he traveled with his staff to the Chad refugee camps in February 2007.

This week, Jim is walking the walk to better understand a domestic human right -- freedom from hunger. He and his wife Lisa have joined Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Tim Ryan (R-Ohio) and Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.) for the Food Stamp Challenge, an initiative that calls on public officials to live one week on a food stamps budget of $3 per day. Check out the blog of their experience.

Some will say this is just a one-week stunt . . . well, in some ways it is. But it's a stunt that helps shine a light on a hidden problem in our country, one that rarely gets discussed in the media. When this week is over, I can guarantee that Jim will mobilize his colleagues to translate their experience into better public policy to combat hunger and address human rights issues around the world.

When Money Trumps Morals

Fidelity Investments has officially decreased its U.S. holdings in PetroChina, one of the most abhorrent oil companies fueling the Sudan genocide. But their spokeswoman, Anne Crowley, made sure to point out that this had nothing to do with pressure put on Fidelity by human rights groups the world over.

Said Crowley, “Our funds have a fiduciary responsibility to act in the financial interests of their investors, in keeping with the investment policies for each fund. This is not Fidelity investing its own money, this is Fidelity investing the money of millions of people." The situation in Darfur, she said, "is a matter to be properly resolved by the governments of the world and the United Nations. And we truly hope they will do what is right.”

That’s depressing. Fidelity finally did something right – really right. They pulled their funds out of a morally bankrupt company, but were quick to point out that it had nothing to do with moral reasons. It was, as they say, purely financial. (Strange then, that it was only U.S holdings that were removed -- God forbid that Fidelity set a divestment precedent, and actually has to, I dunno, act next time there is a massive genocide).

And, while they were making purely financial decisions, they were also strong-arming CNN and Newsweek from running negative ads from the Save Darfur coalition encouraging people to pull funds from Fidelity. Not only are they making "purely financial" decisions, regardless of the ongoing genocide in Darfur, they are pressuring the Fourth Estate from letting people know about it. I’m not sure which is more distressing.

A couple of weeks ago, in the Boston Globe, columnist Joan Vennochi ended her powerful Op-Ed with the following statement: “Sometimes, morality does trump money making, even if it kills to admit it.” Would it kill Fidelity to admit that in the case of the Darfur genocide, morality should in fact trump money making? Where do we draw the line between profits and basic humanity?

"Across the Ocean, their Genocide Endures"

This past Sunday, with my colleagues from UUSC, and among a large group of Darfur activists, I attended Boston’s Global Day for Darfur rally on Boston Common. Similar events were organized in numerous cities.

What struck me most was that, in my view of the gathered crowd, it seemed like this movement to end the genocide in Darfur is taking a strong hold among youth and young adults. Rebecca Hamilton, a third-year law student, and one of the founders of Genocide Intervention Network, spoke from the podium with conviction beyond her years and energized the crowd for action.

Ben Crair from Slate wrote about the rally taking place in Philadelphia: “Oncoming traffic slowed to observe the human mass, which radiated with drumbeats, a ship of noise floating down a concrete canyon. The drummers, African-American teenagers from the Mount Airy Church of God in Christ, followed the leaders, quaking the pavement with their rhythms and trailing a hodgepodge of Americans, Darfurians, and Sudanese.”

But, as he goes on to note, what we do each following day with the energy gained from rallies like these will make the difference.

“As the drumbeats dissipated, the circle unraveled, and people began heading home. The Darfurians looked happy to be united for a few hours on a quiet Sunday with a city that on the following day would resume its routines. Across the ocean, their genocide endures.”

Fidelity Sets Up Back Office in China

Fidelity Investments is facing a growing movement of anti-genocide activists that are demanding that Fidelity divest its large holdings in Petrochina and Sinopec, two Chinese oil companies that are supporting the Sudanese government’s genocidal campaign.

And yet, this week Fidelity announced that it is opening a back office in China. Rather than reducing its connections with China, Fidelity is at this very moment building a greater presence in a country with a government that has shamelessly wooed the Sudanese government. Earlier this year, President Hu Jintao of China traveled to Sudan to provide millions in loans and grants for infrastructure including a palace for President Bashir, the leading perpetrator of the genocide.

Besides the workers’ rights issues and the fact that Fidelity will be paying its Chinese employees a fraction of what it would have to pay its U.S. staff, this type of investment in China will bolster the Chinese government’s image at a time when it should be condemned.

Fidelity Investments seems to feel that it can insulate itself from any moral responsibility related to the genocide in Darfur. And yet, Fidelity’s flaw is not an act of omission; it’s an act of commission. Fidelity, whether it will admit it or not, is providing the fuel – namely millions of dollars in oil revenue - for the government of Sudan to continue its genocidal campaign against the people of Darfur.

What Can Kids Do?

Last year, middle school students in Illinois were so shocked to learn of the genocide in Darfur that they felt compelled to take action. In order to "make something that would touch people," they set out to create 400,000 paper dolls: one for each person who had died in the genocide in the last three years (according to some estimates).

Drumbeat for Darfur is now inspiring UU youth throughout Illinois to take action and to follow the example of Mrs. Levi's social studies class. UUSC volunteers Michael and Deidre Schwartz have visited youth groups and religious education classes throughout their community to talk about the genocide in Darfur, and help guide children and youth to take action.

To them, their efforts are not only about impacting a child’s commitment to take action for justice, but also about parents learning from their children. They hope that each child goes home after their visit and says, “Mom, Dad, do you know what we learned about today?” And thus a family learns and takes action together.

Director of Religious Education Bob Fox and the sixth grade class at Unity Temple UU Church in Oak Park, Ill., have done just that. The Schwartzes recently visited Oak Park to share how the students could be true global citizens and put their UU values into action by raising the Drumbeat for Darfur.

Pointing out Darfur and their own location on a world map helped illustrate that we are all citizens of one world. And information from UUSC about what is happening in Darfur helped inspire this special class to take action. The class has involved all of the children in their congregation in raising awareness by decorating "paper people," representing the victims of this genocide, during religious education classes.

The youth and religious educators in this congregation are an inspiration!

Youth Groups Address Human Rights and Darfur

On the sunniest Saturday of the year, my colleague Aiesha and I opened the doors for two Coming of Age groups visiting UUSC. The energy and compassion of these young people always astounds us. But before their arrival today, with Boston looking like a picture-book and its tourist sites beckoning, I wondered if talking about human rights in a conference room could hold the attention of 13- and 14-year-olds. Well, it certainly did.

We enjoyed a far-reaching discussion with 23 youth and 10 adult leaders from Central Unitarian Church in Paramus, N.J., and the BuxMont UU Fellowship in Warrington, Pa. It was the first time we've hosted two groups at once, and it was a pleasure seeing them meet each other.

We talked about human rights in theory and in practice and how it's up to all of us to stand up for them. We enjoyed playing a game that helps the youth understand the scope (and limitations) of these rights. Next, we studied the origins of and the hope advanced in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

To get more concrete about human rights and what happens when they are overrun, we turned to Darfur, watching some of UUSC's documentary, "Heroes of the Spirit: Genocide Then, Genocide Now."

The youth were invited to write letters urging President Bush to implement the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act. The letters were unscripted and simply amazing, providing a boost of morale on Monday for all of us here working on the issue.

One letter read:

"Dear President Bush, As you are undoubtedly well aware, the crisis in Darfur has escalated beyond the point of the realm of human imagination. It has grown out of control with the merciless slaughtering of thousands of innocents. . . . Please hear not just my voice, but the thousands that want you to take action and help right the wrongs currently being ignored in one of the world's bloodiest places, Darfur. Thank you."

These letters from 13- and 14-year-olds will go to the White House in order to make a difference. Aiesha and I left on Saturday exhilarated by the brainy and caring youth from these two great congregations. We have a good feeling about the generation coming up behind us.

If you would like to bring your youth group to UUSC for human rights education and an action, please contact us.

The Answer to Darfur

Almost four years since the start of the genocide in Darfur, dedicated activists are understandably frustrated by the lack of progress towards peace in Sudan. For too long, the anti-genocide movement has been fragmented with few moments of joint action combined with a unified voice of what specifically must be done to “save Darfur.”

But thanks to focused thinking and a deep understanding of Sudan’s political history, John Prendergast of the International Crisis Group and cofounder of the newly formed organization ENOUGH has put together a set of policy prescriptions that could realistically help end the crisis in Darfur.

Offering “a six-part Rubik’s Cube” of policy objectives, “The Answer to Darfur” recommends the following:

• Support rebel unity.
• Build an effective peace process.
• Secure full-time, high-level U.S. diplomacy.
• Accelerate military planning and action for protection.
• Impose punitive measures now.
• Ramp up global activism.

Whether or not advocates for peace in Darfur can agree on all six of these objectives, especially the recommendation to ramp up military planning, this document provides the thoughtful leadership necessary for the anti-genocide movement to build a loud, unified voice for peace in Darfur.

One vital point this document makes clear is that there is much more that the United States and other governments can do. While violent conflicts such as the one in Darfur often appear impenetrable, it is clear from Sudan’s history that the level of diplomatic pressure and the international commitment to a real peace process in Darfur are far from what has been done in the past. This also means that there is a major role for individuals, communities, and congregations to play in putting massive pressure on their policymakers to make Darfur a higher priority.

Drumbeat for Darfur advocates throughout the country are doing exactly this. Join them in raising the decibel level of voices that are demanding the political will to end the genocide in Darfur.

Justice Sunday Raises the Drumbeat

On Justice Sunday (March 25), 150 congregations nationwide helped raise the Drumbeat for Darfur. A number of those even had guest UUSC speakers to help educate and inspire action.

Sarah Karstaedt, national cochair of the UUSC Volunteer Network, was honored to be the guest speaker for the Petersham, Mass., Unitarian congregation.

She relates that theirs is a lovely old classic New England church with impressive pipe organ, surrounded by fresh March snow reminiscent of a Currier and Ives picture. A UUSC founder, the Rev. Waitstill Sharp, was the minister at this church later in his life. Sharp is the subject of a new UUSC documentary, Heroes of the Spirit.

Many congregants knew Sharp personally. Sarah shared that the minister had a period of time during the service where they spoke of their memories of Sharp. She said that their memories were fun to hear, and painted the picture of a real character and memorable person. Some who shared memories were children in the R.E. program when he was minister, others were adults who had remained with the congregation.

The congregation's enthusiasm and support for UUSC was great. Sarah read the sermon provided in the Justice Sunday planning packet, with her own introduction, and was met with a very warm response.

In fact, one of the men who had known Sharp stood up and said, "I'm going to donate $100 to UUSC today and I want to challenge our congregation to match me and help us raise at least $1,000 to send to UUSC."

The congregation seemed happy to take the challenge as one man called out, "Count me in for $100." He had just started attending this church but had stood to say how much he appreciated the church and the service on Darfur.

Now that Justice Sunday has passed for most congregations, the Drumbeat for Darfur continues to grow. Join the campaign today! To learn more about building a membership campaign like the one spontaneously sparked in Petersham, contact volunteerservices@uusc.org .

And if you will be in Portland, Ore., this June, be sure to take advantage of the opportunity of participating in UUSC's full day Drumbeat for Darfur activists' training on June 20!

A Moral Imperative

I attended a legislative hearing today, where activists, students, and lawmakers testified about the merits of the targeted divestment of Massachusetts state pension funds from Sudan. Testimonies were strong -- here were some statements that touched me.

Eric Reeves, Sudan researcher and analyst: “Is there no threshold beyond which we begin to screen our investments? Morally and financially, Darfur presents a case for divestment that could not be more compelling.”

Mia Farrow , actress and activist: “In this camp, population 125,000, not a blade of grass, not a tree. The women must walk . . . 10 miles to gather firewood. This woman was raped by 20-30 men, who put cigarettes out on her face as she was raped. . . . These children here are literally running from a burning village. . . . Even above the plea for water, even above the plea for food . . . was the plea for protection.”

Timothy P. Murray, lieutenant governor of Massachusetts: “Those opposed say that divestment is the wrong economic policy. . . . But the protection of humanity . . . outweighs a small economic risk.”

Omer Ismail , lawyer and human rights activist: “Darfur is burning . . . it is burning today. . . . The principles of freedom and security that have made this country great are universal. I dream that one day my people of Sudan will have the same freedom and security.”

Kenneth A. Sweder, Mass. Coalition to Save Darfur: “With a world that is economically connected, we can no longer go about our daily business. We can make a difference . . . how can we do anything else?”

Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor once said, “The opposite of life is not death. It’s indifference.”

So don't be indifferent. Do something.

Darfur Real-Time

Got a sneak preview the other night of award-winning filmmaker Paul Freedman’s latest film, “Sand and Sorrow,” about Darfur . . . and the genocide there.

Paul’s other genocide film, the one on Rwanda, was filmed after the genocide there claimed 1 million people in 100 days. And the world cried, “Never again!”

But Paul’s new film is current. It’s real-time. Because in Darfur, we’ve got a genocide that’s been going on for over four years, and it looks to keep going. Unless we do something.

If this were a test of the global outcry of “Never again!” after Rwanda, the world would be failing. And we will fail . . . unless we all stand up together and say something.

For it is only when ordinary people like you and me have stood together and demanded action that our leaders have placed Darfur on the political agenda. We need to make our voices louder and more numerous, and demand that our leaders stop this disaster, this mass murder.

Only then will there be a hope of ending the genocide.

Join us.

Jazz for Darfur: the Drum Beats on

An engaged crowd of jazz fans turned out on Sunday night (March 25) in Boston’s North End to learn about the ongoing crisis in Darfur and UUSC’s Drumbeat for Darfur campaign. Organized by MuseAid, a nonprofit group that puts on concerts to benefit relief efforts, the event featured hot jazz, spoken word pieces, and thought-provoking encouragement on how to get involved.

The last was provided by UUSC Program Associate Gretchen Alther, who got the evening underway by sharing an e-mail from a 12-year-old Michigan girl offering to help. This young UU congregant had written in right after a Justice Sunday presentation on Darfur at her church. Gretchen pointed out the ways in which her correspondent’s expression of concern exemplified the very approaches UUSC recommends: “educate” and “advocate.”

One hundred percent of the proceeds was donated to the Dumbeat for Darfur campaign, thanks to the generosity of the Improv Asylum and the players in the Phill Argyris Quartet and the Jamie Stewardson Quintet. Musically, the highlight for this blogger was the Argyris Quartet’s rendition of the Antonio Carlos Jobim classic “Corvocado.” Nothing like a little Jobim sung in Portuguese on a chilly Spring evening in Boston . . .

Ending the weekend on this upbeat note was welcome, coming as it did on the heels of disappointing news on the diplomatic front. As reported by the Associated Press, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak declined U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s request that Egypt join the effort to persuade Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to drop his objections to a U.N. peacekeeping force entering Darfur. Reaching out to Arab nations is part of the secretary general’s plan to broaden the base of nations working to end the crisis in Darfur.

This latest (non)development underscored for me the need to keep the pressure on, through all the means available to us. As Gretchen mentioned, the weight of international pressure contributed directly to the north-south peace agreement – speaking out works. It’s therefore incumbent upon us not to let up until the safety and basic well-being of all the people of Darfur are secured.

Darfur: When is Enough, Enough?

Negotiations on the deployment of a U.N. force in Darfur continue their maddening pattern. After sending signals that it might accept a force built upon the current African Union force, the government of Sudan now releases a statement saying that such a deployment is unacceptable.

Ironically, the reason this time is that the U.N. plan for a "hybrid" force violates the 2006 Darfur Peace Agreement, the cynical pact that has not brought a single day of peace to Darfur! Suddenly, President Bashir is the protector of the peace agreement that his government has been violating consistently since it was signed.

Nii Akuetteh of Africa Action had it right when he said last week that:

The failure of the international community to follow through on Resolution 1706 has left the people of Darfur without protection and with little hope. A robust U.N. force is needed immediately to stop the violence and enforce a cease-fire, to protect civilians and humanitarian operations, and to create conditions conducive to a comprehensive peace process. This is an essential first step towards stabilizing the situation on the ground and protecting the vulnerable in the immediate term, and the failure to aggressively pursue this goal is unacceptable.

If you have paid any attention to the dance between Sudan and the international community, Bashir's bait-and-switch surprises you not at all. The Bashir regime in Khartoum has no intention of allowing a U.N. force in Darfur, but it is more than happy to keep talking until semi-arid Darfur freezes over. Meanwhile, the rape and killing continue.

In late February, the International Criminal Court (ICC) took a step forward by issuing orders requesting the appearance of two men -- a low-level Sudanese cabinet member and a Janjaweed militia leader in Darfur -- that the court says have perpetrated war crimes in Darfur. If the Sudanese government does not capture and produce these men for questioning, then the ICC can issue an arrest warrant for the pair in all of the 90 countries that have signed the ICC treaty. This is good news, but these are not the sort of high level indictments that will be needed to get the attention of the Khartoum government.

Afraid that the ICC might, at some point, turn its attention to U.S. war crimes, the Bush administration early on rescinded a prior endorsement of the ICC treaty by the outgoing Clinton team, and has made no move to seek Senate approval of U.S. participation.

Darfur has exposed some of the contradictions in the U.S. position. We call the terror in Darfur genocide, but we are ambivalent at best about the main legal tool that the international possesses to confront genocide. While not voting for the U.N. resolution initiating the ICC investigation in Darfur, the U.S. did refrain from a veto. The Bush administration has not, however, cooperated with the investigation by sharing the thick files that it certainly possesses on some of the main architects of the genocide.

This goes back to the fact that some of the alleged war criminals in Darfur are seen by the Bush administration as allies in the war on terror. The clearest case of this is Maj. Gen. Salah Gosh. Named by many as a key figure in the terror in Darfur, Gosh also happened to be Khartoum's key link with Osama bin Laden when the latter was based in Sudan.

The CIA is more likely to invite Gosh to high level meetings at Langley AFB (as it did in April 2005) than it is to give the ICC the evidence it would need to add the general to its list of the wanted in Sudan.

So, the beat goes on. Six months ago, Security Council Resolution 1706 authorized a serious U.N. peacekeeping presence in Darfur. Since then, the international effort to implement that resolution has been a tragedy of errors. Unfortunately, the political will to end the genocide in Darfur must come from you and me. What are we doing to assert that will?

Holding Accountable Those Who Perpetrate Genocide

The trial of militia leader Ali Kushayb, also wanted by the International Criminal Court to face charges of war crimes, was delayed by Sudanese authorities. Sudan maintains that the ICC has no jurisdiction to try its citizens for crimes in Darfur, as “President Omar Hassan al-Bashir swears no Sudanese national will be tried outside the country.”

A Reuters report explains: “Sudan has signed but not ratified the treaty which formed the ICC. The ICC cannot indict nationals who have been tried in fair and free trials in their own countries.”

Meanwhile, the violence continues. News is now surfacing in the Chicago Tribune that two African peacekeepers were killed as staff at a peacekeeping office were threatened with violence.

U.S. special envoy to Sudan Andrew Natsios has said Sudan's government is “paralyzing the Darfur humanitarian operation with bureaucratic hurdles which could cause massive loss of life” and that “the most immediate worry was the restrictions and threats facing aid workers in Darfur, where the world's largest humanitarian effort is under way.”

One of the goals of the Drumbeat for Darfur campaign is to hold accountable perpetrators of genocide.

Darfur Ranks High in U.S. Annual Human Rights Report

Releasing its 2006 Annual Human Rights report, the U.S. State Department declared that the genocide in Darfur is the world’s gravest human rights abuse. In line with U.S. foreign policy priorities, it also focused its toughest criticisms on Iran and North Korea.

But surprisingly this year, the United States acknowledged that it, too, had failed to meet international human rights standards toward terrorist suspects. Larry Cox, Amnesty International U.S.A.'s executive director, commented:

“Until the United States changes its own policies of holding detainees indefinitely, in secret prisons, and without basic rights, it cannot credibly be viewed as a world human rights leader. Human rights abuses must not be hidden behind a facade of national security rhetoric.”

The report itself mentions, “Our democratic system of government is not infallible, but it is accountable.”

Nice that the U.S. government recognizes this. But U.S. failures to uphold human rights are not simply flaws in otherwise just humanitarian policies. Our invasion of Iraq and the resulting deaths of anywhere between 58,000-100,000 civilians and 3,000 U.S. troops, justified by an imaginary program of weapons of mass destruction, was a direct result of U.S. policy, not a mistake.

Our history of intervention in Latin America for reasons of economic and political hegemony violated human rights both directly and through our political and financial support for dictators.

And our current war on terror, allowing governments such as Sudan’s genocidal one to commit horrendous atrocities with impunity, is also a matter of policy, not a sudden lapse in thinking. Let’s not let the U.S. government continue to hide behind its rhetoric. The State Department has identified the genocide for what it is; it’s time for the United States to use its power to enforce its convictions.

Raise the Drumbeat in Portland this Summer

Genocide is happening. It is happening while the world watches.

It may seem redundant to say so in a forum such as this, but no one of us can state this terrible fact too many times.

Many of us, our friends and family, are overwhelmed by the gravity and complexity of the crisis. Many people don't see themselves as activists, let alone for people so far away. And many activists have been working so doggedly for years now, that sometimes hope falters.

But we are powerful. We are hopeful. We can stop this genocide.

UUSC, with the UUA and UU-UNO, is organizing a landmark full-day training to increase awareness and organize action to bring peace and justice to Darfur. Empower yourself at GA 2007 in Portland, Ore., by participating in this rare opportunity.

Small group workshops will be facilitated by experienced activists with the skills to help you organize a Drumbeat for Darfur. Featured speakers will educate, inspire and move us to action. Darfurian activist Omer Ismail, author and activist Frances Moore Lappé, and UUSC President Charlie Clements.

Space for this exciting opportunity is limited so check it out today. You can also help spread the word in your congregation or community with this flyer.

What You Don't Know about Darfur

By now, most people know that genocide is occurring in the Darfur region of Sudan. What they might not know is the cruel level of calculation that has gone into making rape a systematic part of this genocide, and a specific tool of war. But it’s far more troubling than just this.

Girls aren’t just raped. They are gang-raped. And it happens to be a particularly brutal experience, because the vast majority of Sudanese girls undergo a practice called female genital mutilation, a procedure where part of the girls' genitalia is cut away to make sex painful. Worse than that, most are subject to an extreme version of FGM known as infibulation.

But it’s even worse. The Sudanese government has done everything in its power to torment these girls further. One step they have taken is to frequently prevent medical treatment to rape victims who seek help. Women often have to fill out a form with police, naming themselves and their perpetrator, a real deterrent in a place where rape is not spoken of.

But that’s not enough for the government. They have gone even further by jailing rape victims for “fornication,” crassly accusing them of consensual sex and then charging them money to be released from jail. They have regularly done this after girls show signs of pregnancy,