| WNY Coalition for Progress Refugee Awareness Night
1/24/06
The Foreign Affairs Working Group of the WNY Coalition for Progress meets regularly to discuss international political, economic, and social issues. This working group hosted the successful free showing of the movie "Lost Boys of Sudan" and panel discussion on January 24, 2006 which was attended by over 100 people. Coalition Board members Nelson Starr and Elise Garvey co-chaired the event which highlighted the humanitarian disaster that has plagued the Sudan for the past decade.
"Lost Boys of Sudan" documents the incredible experiences of Peter and Santino, 2 orphaned Sudanese boys as they travel from refugee camps in Kenya to the United States. Following the movie a panel discussion, moderated by Coalition Board member and Erie County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz, was held with the following panelists: Professor Dr. Claude Welch of UB, Mitchell Cummings - head of Journey's End Resettlement Services of Buffalo, Amin Falein - former member of the Sudan parliament now living in Buffalo, and Ahtu Deng - former Sudanese refugee now living in Buffalo.Please click here to see photos of the event. Click here to see video of the event courtesy of wnymedia.net.
The panel discussion was an eye-opening description of the Sudanese civil war, its brutal dictatorship, and the hardships of the Sudanese people there and in the resulting diaspora. Also commented on were the feckless Western and UN responses to this crisis, and the virtual American media silence on this tragic global issue.
Sudan gained independence from the UK in 1956, and has endured civil war almost continuously since that time. These conflicts have generally been characterized as stemming from the Muslim, Arab North exercising political and social domination of the non-Muslim, non-Arab South.
The most recent such conflict, which broke out in 1983, resulted in 4 million displaced people, and more than 2 million deaths. Negotiations resulted with a peace treaty in January 2005, granting southern rebels autonomy for six years, after which a referendum for independence is to be held.
It is that civil war that orphaned the "Lost Boys" portrayed in the documentary.
The western Darfur region broke out in civil war in 2003, and has resulted in another 2 million refugees and tens of thousands dead. The Sudanese head of state, Field Marshal Omar Hasan Ahmad al-Bashir came to power through a coup d'etat in 1989, and was recently named the worst dictator in the world by Parade Magazine, edging out North Korea's Kim Jong-Il.
In December 2005, the neighboring Republic of Chad declared war on Sudan due to what Chad alleges is a Sudanese-backed rebellion in that country.
To help the Lost Boys throughout the United States, Please send checks payable to: The International Rescue Committee and indicate "Lost Boys" on the memo line.The IRC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Your contribution is tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.
International Rescue Committee
4535 30th Street, #110
San Diego, CA 92116
To help local Sudanese, and other refugees right here in Western New York, please donate your time, money, or common household items to:
Journey's End Refugee Services
P.O. Box 885
Buffalo , New York , 14213-0885.
They can be found on the web at http://www.jerswny.org/, or visit their offices at 184 Barton Street Buffalo, NY 14226. Telephone: (716) 882-4963
For more information please check out the following links:
Blogs:
News:
Organizations:
Refugee Services:
To find out how you can play a role with the Foreign Policy & Global Economic Affairs Working Groups of the WNY Coalition for Progress please e-mail Working group Chairperson Elise Garvey.
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