Darfur Dream Team Presses for Sudan Refugee Kids

Tracy McGrady might not make the US Olympic basketball squad next summer in London, but that isn’t stopping him from leading the Dream Team.

The Darfur Dream Team, a group of NBA players headed by the former Houston Rocket, is partnering with humanitarian organizations like the Enough Project to create the Sister School Program, an initiative that aims to fund educational programs in Eastern Chad’s refugee camps, where over 250 000 people from Sudan’s Darfur region have been forced to seek shelter for nearly a decade.

Human rights activist and co-founder of the Enough Project, John Pendergast was at the UN to discuss the initiative during a book launch for What You Wish For, a collection of short stories from internationally renowned children’s authors, released by the nonprofit Book Wish Foundation. 

The Book Wish Foundation will donate 100% proceed from book sales to help UN High Commissioner for Refugees develop and fund libraries in refugee camps in Chad.

The idea for the Darfur Dream Team Sister School Program came about after Pendergast travelled to the region with McGrady in 2007 and both spent time talking with children in refugee camps. Pendergast says the importance of access to educations was emphasized by nearly every child they spoke to. 

“Their choices in a long term refugee situation are bleak. In the absence of quality education, they perceived themselves to have no future.” he said.

UNHCR’s New York director Udo Janz says educational resources in the camps are  scarce, and while 88% of camp children are enrolled in elementary school programs , the number of them able to pursue secondary education is only around  2%.

Although education for Sudanese refugees has for the most part taken a back seat to other priority issues, Pendergast says the long term benefits of educational programs for children who grow up in camps can’t be neglected.

“We could, yes, just focus on the policies that would stop the problem. And yes, we need to get food and medicine to people, but we also need to acknowledge and lift up the dreams and aspirations that young people have.” he said. “Having the opportunity to go into a little room, and be able to go off into other worlds, and read and be challenged and excited by other cultures and other ideas is terribly important for building a future set of people who are going to govern the country down the road.” 

Pendergast says the Sister School Program wants to go beyond typical fundraising initiatives by creating direct relationships between students and encouraging dialogue.

“Suddenly these refugees, who are to most American citizens far away victims, become people that young people in the United States are getting to know and can advocate on behalf of and in support of in the future.”

So far, 26 American schools have taken part in the program’s initial technical trials, with students exchanging messages, pictures and videos with their African counterparts. Program coordinators are currently working to find partners in the telecommunications industry to help develop cost effective ways of connecting camps in Eastern Chad to American classrooms.

Over 275 US schools in 41 different states have signed up for the program. Teachers interested in taking part can find more information on the Darfur Dream Team website.

U.S. Envoy Says International Cooperation In Sudan Is Vital

By Justine Rellosa- Talk Radio News Service

The President’s Special Envoy for Sudan General Scott Gration told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday that an international effort must be implemented in order to guarantee peace, accountability and security for Darfur as Sudan prepares for an independence referendum in 2011.

“We have to have more people join with us; That’s why we’re reaching out in a very concerted way to expand our team," Gration said. "Not that we’re stepping away, but to make sure that other people step up to the plate and this becomes an international issue to resolve, and not a U.S issue to fix."

Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) agreed with Gration's sentiments and said that Congress needs to “reengage on Sudan.”

“I am developing legislation to help shape our Sudan policy and ensure that our policies maximize the chances of peace,” Kerry said. “The bill will seek to re-frame U.S. assistance, prepare for the potential changes that may come and accelerate contingency development capacity.”

White House Press Briefing With Robert Gibbs

By Meagan Wiseley, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

-Recovery Act

Robert Gibbs introduced Jared Bernstein and Melody Barnes to discuss the report released this morning on education-based jobs saved by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Bernstein, the Chief Economist and Economic Policy Advisor to Vice President Joe Biden, said that preliminary recipient data that is coming in to the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board shows 250,000 education jobs saved or created. These jobs are a subset of the 1 million jobs saved or created thus far through the act, which leaves the Economic Council on track to accomplish the stated goal of saving or creating 3.5 million jobs by later next year.

Bernstein added that the data reflects direct jobs, or jobs that are directly created and funded through spending in the Recovery Act. The Council of Economic Advisers has estimated that the Act has saved about 1 million jobs so far, and this estimate includes direct and indirect jobs.

Bernstein said this is clearly the most transparent and accountable treatment of a government program that has ever been seen before.

Barnes, the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, said the Recovery Act has made schools able to avert massive layoffs and also created jobs for educators in the pre-kindergarten, K-12 and higher education fields.

Barnes pointed out that preventing layoffs averted class size expansion, which has been a concern in the educational context.

Additionally, Barnes said reforms have been put in place to increase standards and assessments, teacher effectiveness and student progress tracking. An extended school day and school year for struggling schools has also been implemented.

When asked how the revenues to keep the new jobs in place when the federal dollars from the Recovery Act money are gone, Barnes said the administrations was very cognizant of such a scenario when developing the Recovery Act and that it was created in the context of the economy improving. Thus, states would be able to support these jobs and increases once the economy strengthens.

-Afghanistan

On the possibility of a runoff election in Afghanistan, Gibbs said that, in his assessment, General McChrystal knew the election would be taken into account. Gibbs said a sizable American force in Afghanistan must be met with a credible partner, and that, without a credible partner, no one involved can make a difference. Gibbs said he is supportive of Deputy Chairman of NATO, Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry’s plan to work with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on this matter.

Gibbs refused to comment on hypothetical situations regarding a future election, but did say the administration is encouraging processes by the Afghan people to choose a candidate that is legitimate.

-Health Care Reform

On Heath Care reform, Gibbs said the administration is working to ensure choice and competition in the insurance market. He said the President has been clear on his preference for a public option to be in the final bill.

-Sudan

On Sudan, Gibbs said a comprehensive policy is needed to deal with the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. Gibbs said there is pressure being put on the Sudanese government, and if steps are taken to address components of this issue by the government, there will be incentives.

-Iran

On Iran, Gibbs said that Iran has an opportunity and a responsibility to demonstrate to the world their purpose for a nuclear program. He said the U.S. obligation is to get a sizable amount of low enriched uranium out of Iran in order to make the world more secure.

-Economy


On the financial sector, and Godlman Sachs/JP Morgan executive bonuses, Gibbs said the administration does not want to be in the business of executive compensation. He said last September that the American people went through great lengths to make sure the financial system didn’t collapse. He said the banks are equally as responsible to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

No Longer Just "Bystanders to a Genocide"

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

The Congressional Black Caucus welcomed actress and activist Mia Farrow Tuesday for the launch of the Darfur Fast for Life Campaign. According to a press release form Congressman Donald Payne’s office, the campaign calls on the CBC and others “to fast in solidarity with the Darfuri people who are suffering at the hands of the Omar al-Bashir regime in Sudan.”

Farrow discussed her experiences while in the region and said, “I was there when a school on the edge of the Darfur-Chad border was named the Obama school and with it there were so many expressions of hope.”

Farrow also said that as she stood in front of the Capitol she was reminded of how the American people are defining themselves. She commented that Americans are “bystanders to a genocide.”

Farrow is working to change this image and fasted for twelve days to call attention to the problems in Darfur. United States Representative and Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, Donald Payne (D-NJ) began a three-day water-only fast of his own on May 11, 2009, to prompt congressional leaders and the Obama administration to keep Darfur high on their list of priorities.

Omer Ismail, a Sudanese and senior advisor for Enough:the project to end genocide and crimes against humanity said, “We are trying to see to it that the United States is going to help end this tragedy in Darfur and bring peace to the whole Sudan because Darfur is a state or a region in Sudan that is ridded with problems. But it is part of the bigger problem of Sudan that is security, democracy, peace and a rule of law.”

Senators Reiniforce Dedication To End Rape In Congo And Sudan

By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service

Top Senate Democrats and State Department officials reiterated their intent to help Sudan and the DRC with its rape problem.

According to Melanne Verveer, the U.S. State Department Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues, “36 women are raped daily” in Sudan.

"This must stop," said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). "As colleagues we must come together - across all the lines that normally divide us - to end this madness...If raping an infant is not a crime against humanity, I don’t know what is.”

The attention of lawmakers was piqued after the release of reports by Human Rights Watch, which said that “the number of women and girls raped since January has significantly increased in areas of military operations by armed groups and soldiers of the Congolese Army.”

Boxer explained the need to intervene immediately as one representing more than a humanitarian crisis. “If raping an infant is not a rime against humanity, I don’t know what is” she said.

According to Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), “The United States has an important role to play, in helping to facilitate such initiatives and ensure sound policies are implemented”.

DRC-based journalist Chouchou Namegabe Nabintu said that “The rapes are targeted and intentional, and are meant to remove the people from their mineral-rich land through fear, shame, violence, and the intentional spread of HIV throughout entire families and villages.”

Verveer said that the problem can not be resolved by attempting to prosecute perpetrators. “The law enforcement personnel and magistrates continue to treat rape and sexual violence in general with a marked lack of seriousness,” she said. But, "a solution must be found to stop the war and restore an order that will have to be completely reshaped in order to reduce the power the soldiers now have,” she said.

”Ending the conflict is the most important direct and certain path to ending the violence. Peace negotiations ... should remain our highest priority” said Verveer.