Team Darfur athlete Rosanna Tomiuk’s piece on the importance of speaking out about Darfur was published this week in online magazine www.VoicesOfTomorrow.org. We want to thank Rosanna for writing this thoughtful piece, and encourage everyone to follow www.VoicesOfTomorrow.org as more articles by Team Darfur athletes will be published there in the coming weeks and months.

When I imagine the chasm that separates me from another girl my same age who struggles every day to survive what many are calling genocide, I am left wondering how I lucked out.

And when I think about the pressing decisions in my life - like whether to pursue a professional water polo career in Europe or finish up my last year of eligibility as an NCAA athlete - and her life, my concerns suddenly gain a different perspective.

I was born into Canadian freedom that provides endless opportunity, and she was born and raised in the Darfur region of Sudan with a freedom that exists only as a hopeful idea. Her worries? Where is my family? Will I make it to safety? I'm hungry, and I don't want to be alone.

Team Darfur publishes a weekly newsletter featuring national and international news relating to the Olympics and Darfur and showcases member athletes and other advocates.
If you are interested in receiving our weekly newsletter, please email info@teamdarfur.org with Newsletter in the Subject.

IN THE NEWS
 

A Weekly Newsletter by Team Darfur

Top Headlines

June 20, 2008- World Refugee Day, as stated by the UNHCR
What you can do to help
World Refugee Day in the news:Read article.

Our partners in the fight to help Darfur are making their voices heard yet again! On Tuesday, June 17, Mia Farrow, John Prendergast, and Niemat Ahmadi made statements to the United Nations Security Council. Richard Williamson, the U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan called the meeting.

Team Darfur President Joey Cheek in Sunday's Washington Post:

I'm not competing this summer, but I am urging others to think about Darfur and about China's relationship with Sudan. China buys much of Sudan's annual oil output and sells arms to Sudan, helping prop up the government in Khartoum. China is also the genocidal regime's key defender at the United Nations, helping weaken Security Council resolutions that might stem the violence.

I sincerely hope that the newest Olympic champions not only show graciousness toward their Chinese hosts, but also issue a stern call for action in Darfur. With its significant ties to Sudan, China is one of the countries in the world best positioned to do more to stop the killing in Darfur, and it is the responsibility of athletes competing there this summer to say that -- respectfully yet forcefully -- even as they focus on their own athletic accomplishments.

...

Team Darfur cyclist Jimena Florit's piece on the importance of speaking out about Darfur was published this week in online magazine www.VoicesOfTomorrow.org. We want to thank Jimena for writing this thoughtful piece, and encourage everyone to follow www.VoicesOfTomorrow.org as more articles by Team Darfur athletes will be published there in the coming weeks and months.

Coming from Argentina, I have a pretty good understanding of what it is like to live in fear. Our history is full of long periods of military dictatorships during which acts of terrorism against perceived opponents of the government caused tens of thousands of people to become political prisoners, many thousands to be executed and over 20,000 to just disappear - never to be heard from again.

Even today, many people seeking closure are fighting for justice. Time has not healed their pain. Random violence, lack of freedom, and physical and mental abuse has been carved into our cultural soul - families have been broken, dreams of a bright future have been dashed and too many lives have been ruined.

Reuters is reporting:

Sudanese government bombs have hit a primary school and a busy market place in Darfur, killing at least 13 people, including seven children, two aid organisations said on Monday.

A government Antonov plane bombed the village of Shegeg Karo in North Darfur on Sunday. If confirmed, it would be the deadliest bombing raid in Darfur in years.

"According to information gathered by the villagers of Shegeg Karo, the Antonov hovered for a long time and then bombed repeatedly," a joint statement from Darfur Diaries and the Darfur Peace and Development Organisation said.

"The Shegeg Karo school was hit and one classroom was destroyed. It was in session," it added. The youngest child to die was 5-year-old Yusuf Adam Hamid. It said two other children were seriously wounded and 30 more lightly wounded.

Read more about children just like the ones killed at Shegeg Karo school here.

Que votre pays peut-il faire pour Darfour ? 

Che cosa può il vostro paese fare per Darfur?

Team Darfur has compiled a resource for our athletes and fans on what various countries can do for Darfur.  We've started with Australia, Canada, Italy, UK, and USA.  We're actively soliciting recommendations from our partners to include more countries, so keep watching this page! 

For more information: www.teamdarfur.org/countries

For background on Darfur in Italian: www.teamdarfur.org/darfur/italian

For background on Darfur in French: www.teamdarfur.org/darfur/french  

Watch the powerful documentary The Devil Came on Horseback this Friday evening on the National Geographic Channel.

On April 18, 2008, The Devil Came on Horseback will broadcast on television for the first time in the United States. Invite your friends, family, co-workers, anyone and everyone to learn more about Darfur with a house screening. Don't have the National Geographic Channel? You can still the rent the film on Netflix and watch along with the rest of the country on Friday or plan your own screening time during the week.

Details are available at www.thedevilcameonhorseback.com .

About the film:

Team Darfur athletes Joey Cheek and Genai Kerr were featured on ABC World News tonight with Charlie Gibson on Tuesday, April 8th.

Team Darfur athlete Michael Ditchfield on ESPN.com:

Ditchfield, who has been to Darfur to see the destruction and violence, is quick with a response: "When you're dealing with sport and the Olympics, you've got your talent, you have your arms and legs; those are your weapons. But when you're dealing with restoring peace in the world and you've got a platform because you're an athlete, your voice becomes your weapon, and that can go so far! Far beyond the final whistle or even an Olympic medal -- that resounding voice of peace from a platform that people hear."

Tim Dahlberg, the national sports columnist for The Associated Press, wrote a thought-provoking article yesterday about the connection between the Olympic Games in China and China's human rights abuses:

The Beijing Olympics are still four months away, and already there are plenty of good stories to be told. One of the best can probably be found on some pig farm in rural China, where the Communist Party functionary who came up with the grandiose plans for the torch relay must surely by now be knee-deep in muck.

Totalitarian governments tend to have creative ways of dealing with people who make mistakes, and they don't come any bigger than the decision to take the Olympic torch on a month-long relay outside of China when all it's done is provide the perfect platform for protesters.