But first, let's deal with something far more serious than the economy, and that is the terrible situation in Darfur, where government sanctioned violence and murder is literally meaning that hundreds of thousands are starving to death.
The conflict in Darfur, a region of Sudan located in the north eastern part of Africa, has been rising for the past 3 years. It is estimated that 450,000 civilians, (men, women and children) have been killed and approximately 2 million people who fled the fighting are now displaced, homeless, starving, and still being persecuted. Many are living in refugee camps but as the violence escalates and the camps are being attacked, aid workers are being evacuated leaving the people of Darfur with no where to go.... and NO hope of survival.
The international community acknowledges the desperate nature of the situation. The United Nations Security Council has passed resolutions to send a UN peacekeeping force to supplement the ill-equipped and under funded 7,000 troops African Union peacekeepers. However, the Sudanese government sees UN troops as foreign invaders. Aside from NGO's (non government organizations) Darfur has received little help from the international community, because politics has become an insurmountable obstacle.
I often write about my friends at Knightsbridge International who go into areas bringing food and medicine where it is usually considered too dangerous for aid groups to go. They were working in Afghanistan in 1995 and again in 2002 before our troops went in. Rwanda, Chechnya, Burma, Cambodia and Sri Lanka (after the tsunami and into rebel held territory where no one else was going) are just a few of the vacation spots they have brought aid to. They are slightly crazy, as they like to get an adrenaline rush along with their good works. But they deliver the goods directly to those in need, and 100% of the money donated goes to the work, as they assume their own overhead. (MG) Reading this passage sent goose bumps along my arms and tears down my face ... These are really the good guys. The CBS early show just did a story on them, and three of the knights are the subject of a documentary that you may have seen on PBS (Adrian Belic's award winning "Beyond the Call"). Here is a link to the CBS piece:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/10/earlyshow/main2666759.shtml
Two LA based ladies have created a web site to help raise $1,000,000 for medicine and supplies that Ed Artis, Dr. James Laws and others will personally deliver to the camps in the region that are the most needy. I know these guys well and vouch for them. They are the good guys. You can go to the web site www.onedollar4darfur.com and donate with your credit card or send a check to: Knightsbridge International, PO Box 4394, West Hills, CA 91308-4394. Your dollars, euros and pounds will go directly to help save the lives of kids. (And if you are crazy and want to go with these guys on a mission, let me know and I will put you in touch.)
