Ithaca Blog

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Aid for Darfur from Ithaca, on November 30

200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million violently displaced in Darfur, in western Sudan in Africa, in a governmental campaign for control over oil.

China is a major trading partner of Sudan, buying 60 percent of Sudan's oil, and has actively interfered with peace efforts.

The United States has offically declared the situation genocidal, and has initiated economic sanctions.

In California, a U.C.L.A. student named Adam Sterling started a campaign for a bill requiring California to divest from companies that benefit Sudan. The bill was passed into law.

In Ithaca, recent efforts are not yet overtly political or legal, but for relief and awareness. The Northern Light Learning Center, an educational and home-schooling organization, is sponsoring an Ithaca Benefit for Darfur Refugees on Friday, 30 November at the Women's Community Building from 6 to 8 pm.

The event will feature a speaker from the Genocide Intervention Network, music by cellist Hank Roberts, and food donated by local stores and restaurants.

Tickets are $15 and are available at the Women's Community Building and at Juna's Cafe on the Commons.

Stephen Burke
for Ithaca Blog

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hmm, hundreds of thousands killed and millions displaced in a campaign over control of oil, interference from a foreign government... why does that sound familiar?