Action Alert: Save Darfur

"If every member of the House and Senate had received 100 letters from people back home saying we have to do something about Rwanda, when the crisis was first developing, then I think the response would have been different."
-Former U.S. Senator Paul Simon commenting on the 1994 genocide in Rwanda


This call to action is from the Save Darfur Coalition:

Later today, the House of Representatives will vote on whether or not to provide critical funding for African Union peacekeepers in Darfur.

Already over 300,000 lives have been claimed and millions more have been left homeless and starving by the ongoing genocide in the region. African Union troops continue to serve as the only line of defense for innocent civilians in the region, and it is critical that the U.S. continues to provide them the funding and resources they need.

In mid-February, President Bush requested that Congress provide $389 million for peacekeeping and humanitarian aid programs in Darfur. Congress must provide these funds at a minimum, and should provide at least an additional $100 million. Recent events have made it clear that the peacekeeping component of the President's initial request was much too low because it was written with the expectation that the United Nations would soon be deploying its own peacekeeping force in Darfur to relieve the under-funded and under-equipped African Union. Unfortunately, the prospect for a quick transition to UN peacekeepers in Darfur is now in serious doubt. We need Congress to provide the additional funds necessary for the African Union to continue and improve its peacekeeping mission.

Please call your Representative today and ask that he or she support increased funding for African Union peacekeepers in Darfur within the FY06 supplemental spending bill.

Just one minute of your time can have a tremendous impact for the millions of innocent men, women, and children in Darfur who live every day in fear of murder, starvation, and rape.

You can find contact information for your Representative here, or you can simply call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected. We have included a sample call script below. Thank you once again for your commitment to helping the people of Darfur.

After you've made your call, please send email us at info@savedarfur.org and let us know how it went.