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Meeting on the subject ofSudan
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Meeting on the subject o f SudanOffice of Donald Payne, Assemblyman, N.J., who was represented by Algene Sajevy, 13 February, 2012 Our group: William Deng, , Andrew Eiva, Gouma Mahamat, Fakiri Jawish Taha, Ahmed Jedda, Al Sutton. Our group presented the following topics: 1.Humanitarian aid: ! There is no question as to the severity of the humanitarian crisis (see Susan Rice quote in our letter to Congressmen.) To that end, we have been organizing delivery of medical supplies to Juba. We now face the blockade by al-Bashir of delivering this aid. We are hopeful that our people on the ground will implement transport of the medicines to the appropriate refugee camps. Lisa Grande, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for South Sudan, said, ““We have been packed since November. All we need is access to the area. Security clearance has constrained our response”. ! We will continue to urge the Administration to clear the way for humanitarian access. 2.Response to the Sudan crisis by our Administration: ! Our letter of January 24, 2012 to the Congressmen who wrote President Obama on November 21, 2011 remains unanswered, as does their letter. We are concerned with the apparent lack of support of this Administration. We quote President Obama’s remarks on the Libyan crisis: “To brush aside America's responsibility as a leader and – more profoundly – our responsibilities to our fellow human beings under such circumstances would have been a betrayal of who we are. Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. And as president, I refused to wait for the images of slaughter and mass graves before taking action." How does the crisis in the Sudan not meet that standard? ! We intend to follow up our letter, and seek remedial action. 3.The matter of slavery: It has been proved that slavery has been a part of the terrorism perpetrated agains the indigenous African Blacks in the Sudan. One study has estimated 200,000 as the number of slaves taken since 1983. Although the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 (CPA) finally forbade slavery, it did not deal with the remaining men, women and children that remained in slavery, estimated as 40,000. Groups, such as Christian Solidarity International (CSI) are making efforts to free some of these slaves. We are closely following the work of the CSI. 4. The participation of Afro-Americans in the plight of the marginalized Sudanese: For a number of reasons, the Afro-American community has not expressed alarm that the Arabization efforts in Sudan are directly attacking the identity of Black Africans, destroying their villages, culture, languages, and way of life. One would think this to be a serious concern to African-Americans and to all people. We are seeking to create an awareness through the leadership of educators and scholars. An upcoming symposium by Molefi Asante in Philadelphia will address this issue. ! Ms.Sajevy was attentive, and assured us that she would help us implement a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus, to the extent that she was able
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