"If not me, who? If not you, who? If not now, when?"

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Bush, Va. lawmakers asked to help Darfur
12/04/06

Hundreds of people steadily streamed into a Williamsburg synagogue on Sunday to sign letters asking President Bush and lawmakers to put an end to the genocide in the African country of Sudan. Fighting has been going on in the Darfur area of Sudan for several years and has also spread to neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic. Besides an estimated 400,000 killed, women are being raped and millions have been driven from their homes.

Shelly Conrad, the program committee chairperson at Temple Beth El, began organizing a letter-writing campaign after deciding she had had enough. The event's slogan asked simply: "If not me, who? If not you, who? If not now, when?"

The committee planned a community-wide open house, asking people - including congregations of various faiths - to come and sign letters requesting help for the nation from federal officials and members of Congress from Virginia. At one point, after the nearby Methodist church let out and congregants walked to the temple, it was standing-room only. Even as the event was ending at 3:30 p.m., all the tables in the temple's small sanctuary were filled with people signing letters. More than 1,000 letters to 10 officials, including Bush and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan as well as Virginia U.S. Sens. George Allen and John Warner and Sen.-elect Jim Webb, were signed and stuffed into envelopes.

"We want to snow them," Conrad said. "Someone has to stand up and say 'no' and call our conscience to the problem." The "Save Darfur" campaign has also attracted attention from celebrities such as George Clooney and Mia Farrow. Anyone wishing to sign a letter can stop by Temple Beth El at 600 Jamestown Road in Williamsburg from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, or call 220-1205 for more information. Donations, including help with the mailing, are also being taken.

http://www.savedarfur.org/newsroom/clips/bush_va_lawmakers_asked_to_help_darfur/

Learn more & take action at these links...

Be A Witness: http://beawitness.org/splash /

DarfurGenocide: http://www.darfurgenocide.org /

H.O.P.E. for Darfur: http://www.hopefordarfur.org /

Save Darfur: http://www.savedarfur.org /

[southerncrone]

1. This is where our troops could have made a positive difference

If we were going to send our troops overseas, this is where we could have made a REAL difference, plus secure allies with natural resources far more abundant than sand & oil. These people are truly in a living hell & need help.

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2. YOU can make a difference. Please visit the links posted in the OP to take action.

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3. ...

:kick:

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4. ...

:kick:

[H2O Man]

5. My daughter,

who is 12, was watching the news with me over the weekend. When she saw a commercial about Darfur, she asked me why our military was in Iraq, rather than helping people in Darfur?

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6. ..

:kick: