Event: Drinks for Darfur

I spend a great deal of time learning about the crisis engulfing my friends in Darfur and sharing my experiences with my friends in America. Now, we finally get to have some action to go along with this talk. The Interfaith Council for Sudanese Peace is hosting a multi-location fundraiser on Saturday, Sept. 27 in the Triangle of North Carolina.

Named "Drinks for Darfur," the Council has partnered with restaurants and bars in Chapel Hill, Raleigh, Durham and Cary to raise awareness and money. This event will allow people to enjoy going out and socializing with friends while supporting a good cause. I personally will be at Tir Na Nog restaurant in Raleigh, NC, where we will have a private screening of "The Devil Came on Horseback" along with other activities.

I know it seems a bit ironic to have an event that involves merriment and food to raise funds for people who are starving and suffering. However, any little bit helps and if this is what it takes to have an impact on the crisis - then so be it. I encourage you to spread the word and come out yourself to support Drinks for Darfur. More information on the events can be found on SaveDarfur.org. Click here for more information.

What: Drinks for Darfur - Raleigh
When: Saturday, Sept. 27 at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Tir Na Nog, 218 S. Blount St, Raleigh
How Much: $10 cover
Who: Anyone and everyone who cares about Darfur and enjoys a good night out.

See you there.

Big Oil Money = Big Problems

In 2000, one of the poorest countries in the world struck gold - black gold. Exxon and a consortium of oil companies discovered vast reserves of oil under the hot, dusty terrain of southern Chad. Millions of barrels to fuel global demand lay just within reach - but there was one major problem: Chad is a land-locked country. It has no ports, no railroads and no water transportation routes; carting barrels of oil on the backs of camels wasn't exactly what Big Oil had in mind. So, in one of the most ambitious projects of its kind, the oil companies built a 665-mile pipeline from Chad to the coast of Cameroon.

This deal would bring billions of dollars to Chad, providing riches in a place where the previous two largest industries were cigarettes and beer. However, Africa has a shoddy track record of getting the money to help anyone but the elite. The World Bank tried something groundbreaking to prevent the new-found riches from being whisked away to a private swiss bank account. It entered into an agreement with Chad that would only give Chad the money in return for investing it in anti-poverty measures. This was hailed as a landmark achievement and the future looked bright. Then, the pipeline was built.

I have heard so many first-hand accounts of the damage to society that occurred thanks to the pipelines. Yes, the oil companies built roads and infrastructure - but home prices rose 500 percent, food prices sky-rocketed and the oil companies imported hundreds of workers from Indonesia and the Philippines. Locals could not afford to stay in their own houses or villages and were forced out. White workers received special passes to allow them to cut in front of any line they wanted and lived in single units with AC. Imported workers were stuffed into barracks eight at a time. Native Chadians were forced to sleep under the stars on the ground. Despite these challenges, many people felt the suffering was worth it because of how the money would change the country for the good overall.

Well, the money started pouring in and the government became more and more corrupt, less and less transparent, and eventually did everything it could to avoid using the money to fund real anti-poverty measures. They have used the crisis in Darfur as an excuse to purchase weapons. They have said "the government is too corrupt to follow the anti-corruption agreement" with the World Bank.

Finally, after eight years of trying to set up a different model - the World Bank quietly ended its "landmark" agreement with Chad. It is now completely up to the will of the government to invest this incredible new flow of money in real, meaningful development activities to benefit the average Chadian citizen.

To read more, check out the New York Times article on this latest setback for my friends and family in Chad. http://tinyurl.com/6kgmu3

Spiraling downward

The steady diet of bad news and impotent peace efforts have continued to flow from the land that I love even while I’ve taken a brief absence from writing. Just because my words have been few and far between doesn’t mean my mind has left Darfur or the men, women and children who are struggling to avoid dying in the dust.

I wish I was being melodramatic – but I’m not. And the situation for millions of families just got grimer with this news:

“Humanitarian organizations Oxfam and Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) have suspended their operations in Kerfi, Eastern Chad, following rising insecurity in the area. The two NGOs say gunmen have increasingly attacked their staff and compounds, the latest incident being a night attack on July 9, when six gunmen shot at and tried to burn a house where Oxfam staffers were hiding. And MSF reported that dozens of local young men beat up their staff members and patients on July 8. The two organizations undertake humanitarian work that supports over 10,000 displaced people living around the town of Kerfi.”

I sit up and take notice when the brutal actions of angry thugs are causing MSF (one of the most fearless humanitarian groups in the world) to leave their mission. 10,000 lives in danger due to the actions of six gunmen. This is the reality on the ground.

The politics are getting heated up more than usual with the impending indictment of Sudan’s president by the International Criminal Court for charges of crimes against humanity. While the government-forced rallies in the Sudanese capital have slowed down, the calls from other governments to avoid the indictment have increased. The African Union has weighed in, asking the ICC to drop the indictments.

The question I have for you is this: What message does it send Sudan’s president if the African Union (his peers) are standing by his side and urging the ICC to drop the case? Is this a good thing because it means they are united and focused on diplomacy and peace, or a bad thing because it gives credibility to a genocidal leader?

Arrival: Part One

Africa hits me like a wave on the beach the moment I step out of the airplane.  The oppressive heat washes over me despite the midnight hour. My first breath of African air leaves my teeth feeling gritty and my throat dry.  I make my way down the shaky steps that lead not to an air-conditioned terminal with a smiling airline employee, but rather to the broken black asphalt of the airport tarmac with a rigid solder staring at me with his machine gun casually draped across his shoulder.  Ahh, I'm home.

As the other passengers pause to adjust their luggage and strip layers of clothing, my sisters and I begin sprinting.  We run because we know.  We know that on the other side of this dark expanse of pavement lies the cattle stable known as the international arrival room.  Shuffling lines of tired, hungry and dazed passengers await the slow; the speedy might get out before the mosquitoes start biting.  It's a mad dash I've performed each time arriving back to this desolate country and no strange look from an already-exhausted aid worker will change my mind. 

It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the fluorescent light flooding the brown cement "welcome" building. It's almost as if the Chadian government set it up to give people one last chance to change their minds. The cracks in the wall whisper doubts: are you sure you want to come to Chad? This is your last chance to turn back, murmurs the rusted ceiling fan swirling weakly overhead.  Moving into a line, the room quickly fills up behind me.   Peering past the kiosks where grumpy men look for every excuse to stall our progress with pointless passport inquiries, I see my parents.  Thin, dusty and radiant – excited that their children are back safe from a semester at boarding school. 

The soldier looks up and motions me forward across the yellow line.  I step forward and hand him my passport, but I pause right before it lands in his hands.  "Asalam Alek," I say in the local Arabic dialect, greeting him in is native tongue.  A smile breaks the rough surface of the face and he responds, intrigued by the white teenager who knows the language.  I eagerly chat with him to let him know that I am different, that I care and that I know his country well.  Hope that this will give me the upper hand becomes true as the words work their magic. After a cursory glance at my paperwork he waves me through, past another rigid guard and into the chaos that waits me on the other side of the blue boundary line.  Victory; I am back in the land I love.

Interfaith action

I have been fortunate to participate in two interfaith events recently in Raleigh, N.C. The first was a wonderful "Tents of Hope" event held at Meredith College and the second was a meaningful "Peace Vigil" held at NC State University. The "Tents" event brought together a local muslim school, jewish senagogue and area christians to paint three tents, which will be sent to join hundreds of others in a major awareness campaign in Washington, D.C. The vigil included members of the Presbyterian, Episcopal, Methodist and Muslim student groups singing and reading well-written prayers. It also included a poignant candlelight circle. Both events were well organized and I deeply appreciate everyone who participated.

There are two main reasons I enjoy interfaith events:

1. I lived an interfaith life. Although I am, and my family is, evangelical christian, growing up in Chad we lived in a predominantly muslim area that had pockets of tribal religions dotting the landscape like swiss cheese. Every day I would come into contact with someone of a different faith, as I played with muslims, sang with christians and went mango-hunting with animists. This world taught me the value of respecting others and broadened my worldview. Unfortunately, interfaith mingling is not very common in the U.S., as we tend to surround ourselves with those like us and shun those who aren't. I miss living in that interfaith community where we could disagree, but still enjoy life together.

2. The violence in Darfur is not based on religion. Although most of the tribes involved in the current crisis are muslim, the fighting is not based in religious bigotry. The catastrophe in Darfur is fueled by decades of oppression, poverty, lack of natural resources and just plain evil. Men, women and children of all religions are suffering and enduring this evil. Any person of faith should be rocked to their core at the destruction in Darfur and be urged to action by their beliefs. We are stronger together when fighting evil and are ineffective if we get sidetracked by inter-faith bickering.

For more ways you can help out and raise awareness and action for Darfur, check out my 20 WAYS I CAN HELP link on the right.

How to Eat a Mango

You always know the whereabouts of the riverbeds. You can see them coming, still far off in the distance as you make your way forward on your bone-jarring journey across Eastern Chad. The rivers – dry, of course – are highlighted on the horizon by the long line of lush green mango trees that seem to rise out of nowhere. Sucking sustenance from some deep water table lying dormant under the earth’s sandy floor, they grow together in mighty groves stretching as far as the eye can see. Once among them, the air changes and you can sense it. It gets cooler, fresher and is laced with a sweet fragrance that lingers above the carpet of dried leaves. You can raise your eyes without squinting and listen to the foreign sounds of monkeys rustling in treetops. Up above, you hear the creaking of a limb straining under the weight of its treasure – mangos!

These plump, juicy and fibrous fruits have been called many things throughout the ages, including such portentous titles as “fruit of the gods.” I don’t doubt that ancient mythological creatures would treasure the sweetness and sense of fulfillment one gets from devouring a ripe mango, but I am skeptical that they would actually eat one for fear of getting their hands sticky and staining their white robes.

After personally enjoying mangos on four different continents, I have come to the conclusion that the world lacks some serious mango know-how. I have seen people try to peel it, chop it, rip into it and all have managed to get themselves incredibly messy. Please, allow me to explain the best way to eat a mango, learned from the experts themselves in the dry riverbeds of Eastern Chad.

Step 1: Get a mango. Big, juicy and ripe (otherwise they are kind of sour). Look for the ones that are starting to turn reddish or yellow and not just solid green. Avoid the ones with maggots.

Step 2: Get a knife. Doesn’t have to be big, just effective.

Step 3: Stand the mango upright on a hard surface. Each mango has a broad side and a narrow side – point the narrow side towards you.

Step 4: Carefully cut off one entire broad side of the fruit. Position the knife just off-center (to avoid the hard inner core) and in one clean stroke, go from top to bottom.

Step 5: Cut the half of mango by making deep cuts in a criss-cross pattern (like tic-tac-toe). Don’t cut the skin, but go deep enough to separate the “meat” into little squares.

Step 6: Grab the cut half and flip it inside-out. Push the outer edges back and the center toward you. This will make the squares “pop out” and stand ready to be eaten. Enjoy.

Step 7: Repeat steps 3 through 6 with the other side of the mango. Enjoy again.

Step 8: With the knife, carefully peel off the skin from the remaining core.

Step 9: Hold the core in the middle with your hand and eat the fruit around the edge, similar to biting the crust off a piece of bread. Now, you have eaten an entire mango with very little mess.

Step 10: Get out the dental floss and remove the hundreds of fibers stuck between your teeth, rinse your hands and wipe your smiling face.

These 10 steps have provided many hours of succulent bliss in my life and I am glad to share them here. Unfortunately, with the current chaos and violence wreaking havoc on the areas of Eastern Chad and Darfur, there is little time to enjoy the simply pleasures provided by the mango. These lands are embroiled in what the UN calls the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis" and all food is now scarily scarce. More than 200,000 people have already died and millions more are on the verge.

We can help. We can restore peace, justice and hope to this land and its beautiful people. We can assist my friends and their families return to enjoying the simple fruits of life. For a list of things you can do, check out the 20 WAYS I CAN HELP link on the right side of this page.

Our great big world...

One of my most memorable New Year’s Eve celebrations in my young life was the one at the turn of the millennium. While the rest of the world was trying to outdo their neighbors in either Y2K panic or frenzied jubilation, my family was packing our bags for a special, one-night vacation.

We quickly loaded our clothes and toiletries, eager to get on the road and experience one of the biggest events of our lifetime - the change of the millennium. Our excitement would have you think we were headed to New York City, or Paris or Sydney to ring in the year 2000 with millions of other revelers. But this was not the case – we were going someplace better. We were headed all the way across town to the unoccupied house of an aid worker friend.

Why was this house special? For starters, the aid compound had electricity. With this privileged existence came the real prize – satellite TV. We bundled ourselves into our rough and tumble 4x4 and drove through the dusty town as evening fell. We quickly settled in to our home away from home and immediately turned on CNN International. My family gathered in front of the flickering screen, soaking up the images of the outside world and its rich diversity of celebrations. We saw amazing fireworks, huge parades and extravagant shows. Outside, the donkey started braying. We saw people dressed in their glitz and glamour braving the cold to giddily grip their microphones. Through our window came the far-off wailing of a Muslim call to prayer. As CNN’s coverage flew us around the world to witness noisy celebrations, we gathered together as a family on the concrete floors and lit a few quiet, orange candles.

As midnight struck, we sat around illuminated by the twin glows of our candles and the TV and enjoyed being a part of the great big, beautiful human race. It was fun to feel a part of something spectacular even though it stood in stark contrast to the reality of life in Chad. But despite the fun being held elsewhere, as I looked outside my screen door, I remember thinking – there is no other place I would rather be than right here, right now. I love my family and I love Africa.

Small steps

I had the pleasure of teaming with the UNC-G chapter of STAND for their DarfurFast evening on Dec. 5. The event consisted of two presenters (myself included) and two musical acts. It was held at a cool community space known as The Hive in Greensboro, NC. Although small, the evening was meaningful and the entertainment very good.

The Hive was hard to find and in a not-so-good part of town. However, the light from within the room shone into the street and welcomed us in. Standing outside briefly, I noticed people would stop on the sidewalk and be drawn into the happenings indoor – people who are now aware of the tragedy in Darfur only because they were strolling by.

Although the crowd was small in number, they were engaged and asking good questions. To me, this is more important than having hundreds of disinterested people simply being nice to you as you speak! DarfurFast in general was a huge success, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars across the country to fund protection campaigns in Chad and Sudan.

Kudos to the organizers for persevering and for doing something, even a small something, to help bring the Darfur crisis one more step closer to ending.

DarfurFast

On December 5th, students around the world will ask their peers, families, and communities to join them in DarfurFast by fasting from one luxury item for one day and donating the money they would have spent on those items to protect civilians in Darfur. Just three dollars– less than the cost of a latte– can provide protection for one woman for a year.

For more about this international campaign led by students, go to www.standnow.org/darfurfast

On a personal note, I have been invited to speak at a DarfurFast event in Greensboro, N.C., that evening at 7;30 p.m. Sponsored by the UNC-G STAND chapter, this event will include a mixture of music, art and awareness. For more information, email standuncg [at] gmail [dot] com.

Hope to see you there!

The danger of doing good

Here’s an interesting recent development in my former hometown of Abeche.

Several members of a French agency have been detained in Abeche due to the accusation of child trafficking. The French agency, Zoe’s Ark, is being accused of illegally trying to export hundreds of children back to France. France, UNICEF and Chad have all denounced this “rescue mission” and are pressing criminal charges. Meanwhile, hundreds of host families were waiting pointlessly at an airport in France to receive a Darfur orphan. Officials contend that some of the children are not from Darfur and some are not orphans – but most importantly, they say Zoe’s Ark did not follow international law governing the movement of children.

Read more about this in the UK’s Times newspaper.

I do not know this group and cannot say whether their motives were good or evil, but either way, this is a gravely unfortunate situation and illustrates the danger of inexperienced people trying to “do good.” Humanitarian work needs to be left up to the professionals.

I remember when an American mega-church raised thousands of dollars and sent the pastor over to my town in Chad to “do good.” The pastor was clueless to the local culture, local needs and was more intent on giving the money then thinking carefully about the consequences. He dropped into town unannounced, gave all the money to a local pastor with instructions to do good, and then left. Five days later, the local pastor was gone and so was all that money.

In our rush to come to the aid of people (which is a very good thing, by the way) we can sometimes act without thinking. I would like to assume that this is the case with Zoe’s Ark – a group of generous people with good intentions rushing ahead without playing by the rules. My prayers are with these children, no matter where they end up in this world.

Darfur peace talks open in Libya

Today, key UN and other international leaders are meeting in Libya to begin official peace negotiations to try to end the long-running conflict in Darfur. However, many people are calling the negotiations futile and doomed since the main rebel group’s leader pulled out before it started. It is true that there is severe intra-fighting between the splintered rebel groups and no one voice that speaks for the people of Darfur. That fact makes a comprehensive peace agreement virtually impossible. But is all really lost before it’s even started?

If one views peace talks like a win-lose situation (like a sports game) where the win is a piece of paper with everyone’s signature promising everlasting peace, then, yes, these talks are doomed.

But instead of viewing the peace talks like a sports game, let’s view them as a medical conference. Here, talented men and women with experience in international diplomacy can get together and put their heads together to come up with a long-lasting cure. We must share ideas, listen to the opposite sides and then push for action. So much can happen when people get together around a common goal.

I would much rather they have “doomed” peace talks than no peace talks at all.

The Picture

This picture from my childhood strikes a chord deep inside me. It makes me wonder what has happened to my young, carefree friends in the picture. Our dreams were filled with optimism - not murder and mutilation. Without the luxury of escaping the violence like me, have they been murdered? Are they hiding in the wilderness? Have they joined the fight? Do they have families and are their families safe? These are the burning questions that I want answered. I want to track them down, find them, and tell their stories. Can you help me?

PRNews Award = Wider Audiences

As I said in a post not too long ago, I am in the business of sharing stories. I do this at work during the day and on behalf of my friends in Darfur every other second that I can.

One of the founders of the public relations (PR) industry said “the essence of PR is doing good and telling others about it.” I believe this is true – but in the case of Darfur, someone is doing something very bad and I’m telling about it. I enjoy taking a complicated subject and making it something that can be understood and acted upon.

As I get to learn and grow as a communicator, I have been given the opportunity to speak to larger audiences. Recently, the international PR industry magazine – PRNews – named me one of the “15-to-Watch Best Young PR Stars” in the country. I am honored and humbled…. and really excited at using this recognition to reach wider audiences with my message. I am not someone special, but I have the privilege of serving a great God, having a great family and working with a great team.

To read the press release by the University of North Carolina, click here.

Nighttime Ritual

The soft glow of the moon outlined the four beds lined up like soldiers at attention as I slowly began my nighttime ritual.
First, I walked outside my house and headed to my bed, stepping through the cool sand and avoiding a few wayward bricks. I passed the large queen-sized bed that belonged to my parents, past two identical twin beds with matching pink sheets for my sisters and continued down the line until I finally reached my own wooden frame. Once there I made sure the inch-thick wooden slats were all aligned evenly to prevent uncomfortable holes from developing in the night.

I slowly unfurled my dusty, flat mattress that had been rolled like a taco all day long to prevent the harsh sun from baking the sheets all day. The mattress, with its color faded from green to white, was long overdue for a refill of cotton and was thinning badly – leaving walnut-sized lumps eager to destroy a good night’s sleep.

A quick shake of the sheets to brush off any insects and leaves that might have accumulated during daylight was followed by a swift deployment of the overhead mosquito net. Taking great care to never lift a corner of the netting once it was unfurled, I slowly tucked it in with sheets under my bed. Now my flimsy fortress was complete.

Slipping my hand under the middle edge of the bed I undid the tucked netting and slithered my body inside, as if I was sneaking under a fence. Once my torso was inside, I spun and sat on the edge of the bed with the netting secured tightly around my legs to deny access to any adventurous bug. Lifting one foot after the other, I brushed off the sand and brought each leg into the safety of my cave.

Once safely inside, I gave a quick survey of the area and pounced upon a wayward cricket that, despite my best efforts, still had managed to sneak inside my mosquito net. Once he was put in his place (on the other side of the netting) I was finally free to relax and lay my head against my board-like pillow.

Snuggling under the sheets heated from the sun and feeling the cool African breeze against my cheeks was a great feeling. As I concluded my nighttime ritual, I gave one more look up at the brilliant night sky, said a prayer, and drifted off to sleep.

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For ways to help stop the violence in Darfur, click on the 20 WAYS I CAN HELP link to the right.

Sharing the Story

Numbers have a way of numbing people. Statistics bombard us about everything, from how many out of ten dentists recommend a certain product to the gruesome statistics of genocide. It’s too easy to distance ourselves from the horror when it’s couched in numbers – that’s why I tell stories.

Stories have the ability to draw an audience closer to a topic than anything else. Stories bring humanity to pain and context for atrocities. It is much harder to ignore something once you care for it.

I jump at every opportunity to share my story of growing up in Chad on the border with the Darfur region of Sudan. The latest chance was with a local newspaper, the Cary News. The Sept. 4, 2007, edition contained a profile of my childhood and a rather interesting photograph of me in traditional clothing!

To read the Cary News article about me, click here, or go to www.carynews.com and check out the Names & Faces section under the Arts section.

This article has sparked several follow-up conversations, which is the point of sharing my story in the first place. Due to this article, several local groups are going to learn more about the crisis facing my friends in Africa and a local high school has a mentor for his senior project of raising awareness about Darfur in his neighborhood. Stories have a way of building upon themselves.

Compassion Permanence

If I were to hold up a pen in front of you and ask whether or not it exists, you would reply with a resounding “yes!” If I moved the pen behind my back and out of sight and asked the same question, I would get the same response. How do you know the pen exists even though you can no longer see it? The reason is that you and I, as adults, have grasped the concept of object permanence. We know that just because it’s not right in front of us doesn’t mean it fails to exist.

Babies, on the other hand, have zero capacity for object permanence. Once a brightly colored toy is not in front of them, the object ceases to exist for them (as far as child psychologists can determine). Out of sight, out of mind.

Too often, we as humans treat injustice the same way as the baby treats a toy. If it’s not in front of us and does not directly involve us, then it ceases to exist or matter. As mature global citizens we must develop a sense of compassion permanence. We must be able to consciously engage a broken world and the injustice in it even when it’s not right in front of us.

Countless mass atrocities, human rights abuses and lives could have been saved throughout history if only individuals had not looked the other way. This is our world – we must engage it.

The debate

So, many of you are probably wondering if my video question was used in Monday night’s CNN/YouTube Democrat Presidential Candidate Debate. The short answer is no, it wasn’t. However, much to my delight, the issue of Darfur was addressed by using equally impressive and emotional video questions from aid workers in Chad. The real victory is that for five minutes, the “entire” world watched US presidential candidates react to the issue of Darfur. This is quite impressive – the crisis facing the African villages where I grew up is now valued enough to take time in a nationally televised debate to address it.

Here is a brief rundown of what I observed during some of their answers:
Gov. Richardson – A strong, steady advocate who would prefer to use the UN to achieve peace in Darfur. He advocated a permanent UN troop presence, with soldiers coming from Muslim countries. He sees “doing right in Darfur” as a way of restoring America’s leadership in the world.

Sen. Biden – Very outspoken against the genocide and showed true emotion while passionately addressing the crowd. He obviously has little patience for diplomacy and is an advocate of swift action (what action was not clear). “These children will be dead by the time diplomacy takes it course” was one of his quotes.

Sen. Clinton – Wants to “act and not talk.” Not as passionate as the others, but proved she has given the issue real thought by throwing out many possible actions, including a no-fly zone led by NATO and supported by the US, targeted divestment, increased sanctions and more. She said US ground troops were not needed but did advocate using US logistical support for the AU/UN mission.

Whirlwind Week

When I posted my CNN/YouTube debate question two weeks ago, I had no idea what it would spark. The video question caught the attention of the YouTube.com Political Editor and before I could hardly blink, I was asked to be interviewed live on CNN.

Last Wednesday, I had the privilege of going on national primetime TV and sharing my passion for saving my friends in Darfur. The experience was both surreal (sitting in a cold room speaking to the voice in my ear) and exciting (spreading an important message, even if for just a few seconds).

The response from that interview has been impressive. Many people were genuinely moved and encouraged by the interview and reached out to me to let me know. I have had a nurse tell me she has found her life’s calling after seeing me, a missionary kid share deep secrets, a newspaper contact me about writing a feature piece and a theatre director in London call for an interview. I also did an interview with the local 24-hour news channel, News 14 Carolina. This aired on Friday and over the weekend as part of their Presidential Debate coverage.

Granted, it is nice to receive the many encouraging emails and phone calls – but what means more to me is the fact that Darfur was placed on the national and local agenda for at least one week and prompted genuine, strong reactions from people as they discovered the truth.

Purpose of this blog

I write this blog not only to provide the occasional commentary on world events pertaining to Darfur, but also to share the stories of life in Darfur as I knew it before the genocide began. My hope is that these creative pieces will grab your attention and make you want to learn more about this region and its wonderful people. They are all based on real life events or people I knew as I lived and played in Eastern Chad.

To save you the trouble of scrolling through months of posts, here is a list of some of my more creative pieces:
A Night Without Gunfire
Evacuation Is Not An Option
The Water Boys
When Is A Chicken Worth Its Weight In Gold?
A Tale of Two Girls
How To Catch A Bat

CNN/You Tube Debates

I have submitted a question for the upcoming Democratic Candidate Presidential Debate on CNN. They are accepting video questions via YouTube and so I thought I would give it a shot. I apologize for the crummy resolution, but my only video camera was on my digital still camera.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvR6kFrzAA4