I know this isn’t a sexy topic like Karl Rove, but I feel (as progressives) we need to do all we can as a community to help bring an end to the genocide taking place in the Darfur region of the Sudan. Some 400,000 people have been killed so far and millions have been displaced and face famine and starvation in the coming months.
Well a recent grad of Georgetown University is trying to do somehting concrete and real here in our nation’s capital. He’d given money, signed petitions and the like with no real results. He’s started a hunger strike in Lafayette Park oustide the White House and other volunteers are expected to take it up as each hunger striker finishes his or her week.
It looks like this guy’s started something akin to the filibuster started by those college kids this spring – as the weeks go by I’m sure this will start to gain more and more attention.
It’s already starting to gain some attention. What follows are a few brief blurbs from an email I received from an organization called Save Darfur, and a brief bit from the Washington Post.
Action and Awareness Initiatives
Extended fast in protest of Darfur’s suffering
To protest the ongoing violence in Darfur and America’s inadequate response to the genocide, Nate Kleinman of Pennsylvania undertook a 12-day fast in Lafayette Park, across from the White House. At his doctor’s insistence, Nate ended his fast Monday, June 11. Hearing of Nate’s commitment and his decision to end the fast, Jay McGinley, another Pennsylvania activist, took Nate’s place in Lafayette Park. Jay will be fasting for about a week, at the end of which other volunteers are expected to take his place to continue the protest. If you are interested in more information about the fasting or if you would like to help their movement against genocide, please contact: nathankleinman@gmail.com.
From the Washington Post…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/12/AR2005071201389.html
Hungry for Change
Two Philadelphia-area men are staging a hunger strike in front of the White House to raise awareness of genocide in Darfur.
Nate Kleinman , a former Georgetown University student, fasted for nine days, subsisting only on water, until 52-year-old Jay McGliney took over Monday. Neither protester has been to Sudan’s Darfur region.
Kleinman told The Post yesterday that he lost 20 pounds “and I’m already pretty skinny.” The 23-year-old said his ultimate goal is to end genocide in Sudan, but he wants to educate people until then.
Kleinman works for Federal Prison Consultants, a prisoner advocacy group, and said his bosses were “kind enough to let me come to Washington for an undetermined length of time.”
McGliney took time off from his job running a furniture store.
“I can’t not do everything I can to try and bring the horror to a close,” he said.
And the Dayton Daily News has an article on this as well…
http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?key=25655664&url_num=11&url=http://www.dayton
dailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/daily/0707darfur.html
If anyone’s interested in getting more information on the genocide taking place in Darfur, go to (www.savedarfur.org) They also have a petition you can sign and there are green braceletts to buy (Not on My Watch – Save Darfur).
I’d be curious as to whether you think this hunger strike has legs. Is this a good way to bring attention to this slaughter? Will it succeed? Would you take part in something like this?
