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Jewish voices cry out: Save Darfur!

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  • Jewish voices cry out: Save Darfur!

    JEWISH VOICES CRY OUT: SAVE DARFUR!

    Jewish Herald-Voice, TX
    Aug 2 2006

    Being taught at a young age never to be silent, Danielle Tobias,
    Abby Klein and Leore Tobias came from Houston to participate in the
    Save Darfur! rally.

    Temperatures well into the 90s greeted two busloads of Houstonians
    and other Texans as the red granite of the Texas Capitol building
    was transformed into a glistening backdrop Sunday for a rally to call
    attention to the murder of more than 400,000 in the Darfur region of
    western Sudan.

    Of the more than 800 people attending the rally, the majority were
    college students from The University of Texas and the Texas Hillel.

    More than 100 members of Houston's Jewish community, including
    children, teens and college students also attended.

    As the crowd assembled on the capitol steps, Austinite Greg Klyma
    performed his original music for Darfur. Student-staffed tables were
    available as part of a national letter-writing campaign, encouraging
    President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Texas
    Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas Senator John Cornyn, Louise Arbour,
    high commissioner for human rights and United Nations Secretary-General
    Kofi Annan to stop the genocide.

    Also on the grounds were exhibits of artwork from children in
    Darfur, a photo exhibit and opportunities to donate to the cause
    and buy T-shirts. Representatives of the White Rose Society
    (www.thewhiterosesociety.org) were present.

    The rally, the brainchild of UT Hillel students Heather Zidow and
    Jonathan Panzer, was co-sponsored by 30 Austin-area multicultural and
    faith-based associations, the majority being synagogues and Jewish
    organizations, and a dozen Houston Jewish organizations. The event
    was one of 19 held across the United States and Canada, organized as
    part of the Save Darfur CoalitionÕs effort to draw attention to the
    ongoing conflict in that region of Africa. The Coalition represents an
    alliance of more than 160 faith-based, humanitarian and human rights
    organizations, with the Jewish community in the forefront.

    Houston co-sponsors included the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston's
    Community Relations Committee; Anti-Defamation League; American Jewish
    Committee; Congregations Beth Yeshurun, Brith Shalom, Emanu El, Or
    Ami and United Orthodox Synagogues; Holocaust Museum Houston; Houston
    Hillel; Houston Rabbinical Association; Jewish Community Center;
    and the Jewish Herald-Voice. The rally was held simultaneously with
    the national rally in Washington, all with the intent of bringing
    visibility and awareness to the ongoing Sudanese genocide.

    The conflict in Darfur was ignited initially when armed forces and
    Arab, government-backed militia known as Janjaweed, began fighting an
    uprising of African rebels in 2003. Civilians of the same ethnicity as
    the rebels continue to be killed as part of a campaign that includes
    rape, arson, murder and starvation.

    Opening the rally was master of ceremonies Alex Merced, who introduced
    co-chairs Heather Zidow and Jonathan Panzer. ÒJust two months ago,"
    Zidow began, "Jonathan and I were sitting at a [B'nai BÕrith Hillel
    Forum on Public Policy] conference in Washington, D.C., when we
    learned about the 400,000 Darfurians who had lost their lives and
    the millions more who had lost their homes simply because they were
    Africans instead of Arabs. I was appalled, not only by the flagrant
    violations of human rights that were occurring every day, but also
    by the fact that I, an educated American citizen, didnÕt even know
    this was happening. Flying back from that conference, Jonathan and
    I decided that we were going to do something about it.Ó

    When Heather and I got back to Austin, we formed a committee to
    help us plan the rally,Ó Panzer explained. ÒThe committee that was
    formed represents such diverse groups as Texas Hillel, the Muslim
    Student Association, the McCombs Diversity Council and the Armenian
    Culture Association.

    In the past few weeks, our committee has given talks across campus,
    sold over 500 Darfur shirts, and gotten over 700 students to sign
    postcards to President Bush. We are educating our fellow students,
    we are raising awareness and we are telling our leaders that we demand
    stronger action.

    But this is only the beginning,Ó Panzer continued. ÒToday, as we join
    with hundreds of thousands rallying in cities from San Francisco to
    D.C., our message goes far beyond The University of Texas, far beyond
    Austin and far beyond the borders of our great state. We are making a
    statement to the world that the American people will no longer stand
    for this injustice.

    Following the genocide in Rwanda, Senator Paul Simon said, ÔIf every
    member of the House and Senate had received 100 letters from people
    back home saying we have to do something about Rwanda, then I think the
    response would have been different.Õ Well, hereÕs our chance to make
    that difference. Today, as we write letters to our representatives,
    sign petitions and postcards, and support Doctors Without Borders teams
    in Sudan and Chad, we are sending a clear message to our political
    leaders that the American people care about this crisis and will not
    rest until the murder, rape and violence end,Ó Panzer said.

    Religious leaders from Austin and around the state encouraged
    the crowd not to leave the rally feeling indifferent about the
    situation in Darfur. Speakers included Rev. Emilee Whitehurst,
    director of Austin-area Interreligious Ministries; Chaja Verveer,
    Houston Holocaust survivor; State Representatives Elliott Naishtat
    and Mark Stramp; State Senator Eliot Shapleigh of El Paso; Nelson
    Linder, president of the Austin chapter of NAACP; Houston Rabbi Barry
    Gelman of United Orthodox Synagogues; a statement read from Imam
    Safdar Razi of the Islamic Ahullbayt Association of Austin; Houston
    Rabbi Brian Strauss of Congregation Beth Yeshurun; Judy Yudof of the
    United States Holocaust Memorial Council and Alan Potash, director,
    AustinÕs Anti-Defamation League.

    Daniel Garang, a 24-year-old Sudanese refugee living in Houston,
    was one of the featured keynote speakers. He is one of more than
    100 Sudanese refugees living in Houston and one of the ÒLost Boys
    and Girls of Sudan,Ó a group of young, orphaned refugees forced from
    their villages by war.

    When Garang was 6 years old, his family was attacked, and his father,
    mother and two uncles were killed. He fled into the forest, where he
    joined other orphaned children in a struggle for survival. Many were
    killed and eaten by wild animals. Those who survived did so on a diet
    of wild berries. After a month, he reached the area of Panyidu on the
    Sudan-Ethiopia border. There, the United Nations High Commission for
    Refugees provided the children with food, shelter, medical treatment
    and schooling. Without their help, Garang states, the children would
    have died of hunger. Nelson Linder, president of the Central Texas
    National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, stated,
    Anytime people are being slaughtered anywhere in the world, it is
    a threat to the soul of the world. This is not just a Sudanese problem.

    If this can happen there, it can happen anywhere.Ó

    Rabbi Gelman told the crowd he was able to be there with three of his
    four children because, during the Holocaust, someone of a different
    faith had enough courage to save his wifeÕs father. ÒYears down
    the road, are we going to be able to stand here with children from
    Darfur?Ó Rabbi Gelman asked. ÒWill they be able to stand up here
    and say, ÔIÕm here with my children because people who practiced a
    different religion, came from a different part of the world, were
    a different color and race and they stood up and they raised their
    voices? The answer to that question is up to us!Ó

    Every single day,Ó Rabbi Gelman continued, Ò500 people die in Darfur,
    because of delay.Ó He acknowledged the many college students who put
    studying for finals aside and not delaying their help. He concluded
    by enjoining the audience to cry out: ÒSave Darfur Now!Ó

    Rabbi Strauss spoke of the genocides from 1915 to 1923, when more than
    1? million Armenians were murdered in Turkey; from 1933 to 1945, when
    more than 6 million Jews and 5 million others were murdered during the
    Holocaust; from 1975 to 1979, when more than 2 million Cambodians were
    murdered; from 1993 to 1995, when hundreds of thousands of Bosnian
    Muslims were murdered; in 1994, when 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis were
    murdered. He added: ÒInnocent men, women and children were killed
    for no reason. The world did not do enough. Too many people were quiet.

    Hundreds of thousands of black Muslims have been killed in the
    Darfur region of Sudan,Ó Rabbi Strauss continued. ÒToday, hundreds
    of thousands of lives are at stake. Innocent men, women and children
    may be killed if the world will not stop it Ð if too many people
    are quiet.Ó

    The crowd chanted with the rabbi: ÒWe will not be quiet!Ó
    Simultaneously, in Washington, thousands took part in the ÒMillion
    Voices for DarfurÓ campaign to generate one million postcards for
    delivery to President Bush, who recently pledged to push for additional
    UN and NATO help to protect the people of Darfur. Elie Wiesel addressed
    the crowd: ÒWhen we needed someone to help us, nobody came.Ó

    Jewish Houstonians who took advantage of the CRCÕs two buses were
    privileged along the way to hear the personal stories of two of the
    refugees who are part of HoustonÕs Sudanese community. Daniel Garang,
    founder of the Houston Sudanese Education and Leadership Organization
    (SELO), and Emanuel Kuol.

    Garang explained SELOÕs mission: ÒFor educational and charitable
    purposes to promote education, job training and leadership skills
    in the Sudanese community, without regard to ethnic or religious
    background. SELO works, in particular, with those vulnerable
    individuals, students and community members desiring to accomplish
    their educational and career goals. By working directly in the
    Sudanese community and with the greater Houston community, SELO can
    build individual capacity for growth through educational development,
    job training opportunities and leadership development.Ó

    Emanuel Kuol, a Bible college student, who first came to Ft. Worth by
    way of the Refugee Service of North Texas, was overcome with emotion
    by dayÕs end. ÒThe first time I met a Jewish person was at the rally.

    I was overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity of the Jewish
    community. I donÕt have words to express my feelings.Ó

    Houston riders also were touched by three brothers from the Leuth
    family: Wei Wei, Deng and Malaat, who contracted polio. ÒMalaat
    is in a wheelchair,Ó Garang said, because the government of Sudan
    has denied him his future [by not providing a polio vaccine].Ó The
    brothers and their family, including their mother, two other brothers
    and one sister, came to Houston after their father was killed.

    You have saved my life and the life of other Sudanese and I know you
    are going to save the life of the Darfur children,Ó Garang said to the
    rally audience. ÒIt is very sad when I look at what the government of
    Sudan has done. They kill those people because they are African. When
    I ran through the bushes, I said Ôwhy, why do they kill me? What do
    I do wrong?Õ

    But still, the government of Sudan is killing. The world is too
    slow to respond. Today, in a matter of three years, 400,000 people
    are dead in Darfur. ThatÕs why I come with you today, to find out
    what we can do to save the lives of innocent children.

    In 2001, when I first came, President Bush said he would not see
    genocide on his watch. When are we going to respond? Together we can
    make a difference and put an end to the genocide in Sudan.Ó

    Vicki Samuels contributed to this report.

    --Boundary_(ID_9JGfUTEB2zWQOsDrFJrKvg)--
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