"As a survivor, it's my duty to tell others."-Chann Noun

Genocide survivors issue call

Time is ripe now for taking action on crisis in Darfur

By DEBORAH MOON

article created on: 2009-03-01T00:00:00

Genocide survivors in Portland railed against the world’s inaction in Darfur where government sponsored violence has displaced some 2.5 million people and killed nearly 450,000.

Holocaust survivor Les Aigner and Cambodian genocide survivor Chann Noun joined Oregon Holocaust Resource Center’s Rob Hadley Feb. 22 to address the kickoff event for the Neveh Shalom Says Never Again Darfur Awareness Committee. Sarah Greenstein and Lauren Fortgang chair the new committee.

“Unfortunately, history repeats itself,” said Aigner, most of whose family died in Auschwitz. “What happened there is happening now in Darfur. … It is our duty to step up and ask the free world to do something about it fast.”

“As a survivor, it’s my duty to tell others,” said Noun. “If I fail to take responsibility, I am not a good human being.”

“Learning what we can do in Darfur is a very Jewish thing to do,” said Greenstein. “The Portland Jewish community is very active already. We have a window of opportunity to make an impact in Darfur.”

Hadley agreed that current events make action effective now.

“Real lives will be impacted by decisions made by people in this room taking action,” said Hadley. “We need to take the voice in this room outside this room and extend that voice to the larger community and combine efforts.”

One window of opportunity opened last July when the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court filed genocide charges against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Hadley said the world is still waiting for a three-judge panel to decide if the court will issue an arrest warrant for al-Bashir.

Additionally, Hadley said, the Obama administration offers new opportunities. He urged people to write U.S. leaders to get a permanent diplomatic envoy engaged on a daily basis in the crisis.

Noun agreed with Hadley: “If a lot of people speak up, something with happen now with new people in the White House. These people care.”

The Feb. 22 event offered several ways for people to take direct action. People could sign up for Neveh Shalom’s Postcard Brigade modeled on similar programs at Congregations Kol Shalom and Beth Israel. For $5 per month, people receive about eight postcards to mail to U.S. and world leaders and the media; additionally the postcards update those sending them with current information about the genocide.

Additionally, people can contribute to the purchase of backpacks full of supplies for refugee children as well as solar cookers so refugees will not have to leave the relative safety of camps to find firewood, which exposes many women and girls to rape. T-shirt sales benefit the Jewish World Watch purchase of these items while also raising awareness.

The committee also plans a book discussion on “Not on Our Watch.” And on March 11 and 12, Neveh Shalom and Beth Israel will host Camp Darfur in Portland (see story above).

“Genocide is happening right now as we speak; we must mean Never Again,” said Neveh Shalom Associate Rabbi Bradley Greenstein in offering a prayer for Darfur.

Funding for printing t-shirts and other resources for the new committee are from the Robbie Ball Memorial Fund for Darfur Victims. Ball’s parents Mel and Elaine Ball established a memorial fund 10 years ago after he died from Hodgkin’s disease at age 25. With the formation of the new committee, the Ball family decided to rename the fund and designate the money already collected to the effort because their son was “a tireless supporter of tikkun olam during his entire life.”

For more information on the committee or to join the Postcard Brigade or buy backpacks or solar cookers, contact Greenstein at greenstein_sarah@yahoo.com or call Neveh Shalom at 503-246-8831.