OC for Darfur planning meeting on Tuesday, June 9th

Hi everyone,

Some of us attended a screening of The Greatest Silence at the Sisters of St. Joseph last Friday.  It is a moving documentary about ongoing brutal war in the Democratic Republic of Congo and how rape of women has consistently been used as a weapon of war.  If you haven’t seen the documentary, I would highly recommend watching it.

Our next planning meeting is this Tuesday, June 9th. We’re meeting at Patty’s office in Newport Beach.  Here is the address.

Patty’s office @ 6:30p
2424 SE Bristol Street, Suite 300
Newport Beach, CA  92660

We’ll be discussing:
-  Planning for Mark Hanis’s (President of GI-Net) visit to OC in June [link].
-  Planning for our upcoming talks about Darfur in Orange County.
-  Update on our political advocacy efforts with local OC Congressional Reps.

If you’d like to get involved and help with the planning of any of these activities, we would love to have you come and attend :)

See you then.

Anshul Mittal
Orange County for Darfur
ocfordarfur.org

Genocide Today: A Discussion with Mark Hanis | Wed, June 17th

Mark Hanis, co-founder and President of GI-Net

Hi everyone,

Mark Hanis, co-founder and President of Genocide Intervention Network is visiting Southern California this June.  We are honored to have him speak at University Synagogue on Wednesday, June 17th.

Genocide Intervention Network’s mission is to empower individuals and communities with the tools to prevent and stop genocide. As a grandchild of four Holocaust survivors, Mark has a deep understanding of individual persecution, and of hope and opportunity. Outraged by the international community’s inaction when the Darfur conflict began, Mark began on a journey that still continues today.

All details are on the website.  If you’re planning to come, please RSVP.  Hope you can make it.

Anshul Mittal
Orange County for Darfur
ocfordarfur.org

Darfur Scores – Spread the Word!

You may already know about Genocide Intervention Network’s Darfur scores. But do your family and friends? Tell them!

Send an e-card to others concerned about Darfur – letting them know that performance scores for their representatives on this issue are right at their fingertips.

Empower other constituents while holding representatives accountable…speak out against genocide today.

Take the Burma Challenge

Genocide Intervention Network has launched a civilian protection project in Burma where a radio network alerts the country’s ethnic minorities to possible attacks from the Burmese military – thus, keeping them out of danger by allowing them to flee trouble before it arrives.

The Echoing Green Foundation, an organization aimed at promoting social change, has offered to match donations to the Burmese civilian protection project – up to a total of $25,000. For every $325 raised, one village in Burma will be added to the life-saving radio network.

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity – take the Burma challenge today. 100% matching ends on May 31st.

Fax President Obama!

 

Help Genocide Intervention Network and STAND by sending President Obama his 50-day progress report through an e-fax.

It takes only seconds but will have a lasting impact.

Your support is greatly appreciated.

Update from OC for Darfur

Hi everyone,

A lot of has happened in the last couple of weeks.  Here is a quickie update.

“In Darfur” play
-  We are currently in weekly rehearsals and hope to be ready for performances starting March 2009.
-  Right now we desperately need a Stage Manager.  Prior stage management experience or technical theatre knowledge is a plus, but is not required.  If you’re good at organizing people and tasks, love theatre, and want to help Darfur while working on a great project with an amazing group of people, please contact me.

Barbara selected as a 2009 Carl Wilkens Fellow
That’s right.  A couple of us applied for GI-Net’s Wilkens fellowship last fall… and Barbara got selected!  The fellowship is a training program for “emerging leaders to build lasting networks of citizens who believe that protecting men, women and children from genocide is everyone’s responsibility”.

I hope you will join me in congratulating her.  Btw, she’s leaving for Washington this weekend for the first workshop.

Teens Learn About Genocide and Activism

Photograph by Stop Genocide Now

Toronto high school students giving a presentation for their “Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity” class were heckled and pelted with paper airplanes by fellow students until one classmate finally said “Enough is enough”.

It turns out that the hecklers had been instructed by their teacher to behave in such a manner. It was simply an exercise planned by the teacher to see whether the kids would remain obedient to authority despite committing acts they knew were not right.

The “Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity” course encourages Toronto teens to defy the stereotype of the apathetic, uncaring youngster by “up-standing” rather than by-standing.

According to teacher Mitch Bubulj -

You just have to offer a course like this to see the best in these teenagers and I’ve seen it. Students want to do the right thing and they get angry at the injustice.

They get that it’s not a joke.

For more teens unwilling to stand by while genocide occurs, check out STAND – the student-led division of Genocide Intervention Network.