Darfur Olympics

Day 8 of 8: The Closing Ceremony

Our partners, Gabriel Stauring and Katie-Jay Scott of i-ACT / Stop Genocide Now, produced this event in Chad. Please visit their website to help bring Darfur's voices to the world.

Think for a moment about all the time, money and effort that has been spent to stage the Beijing Games. Now think about the time, money and effort that has been spent, over the same time period, to help the people of Darfur.

In our closing ceremony, we juxtapose images from Darfur - showing the anguish underwritten by China - with images from the promotional materials for the Olympics. The disparity could not be greater.

Now that China's complicity in the Darfur slaughter is known to all the world, we invite you to help us keep the pressure on China to bring security to Darfur. Please visit the organizations featured throughout the Darfur Olympics to find ways to take action. To stay involved with Dream for Darfur, sign up for our newsletter

Thank you for your concern about the people of Darfur and for participating in the Darfur Olympics.

Broadcast-quality footage of many of the videos on this website is available to members of the press.

Support Darfuri Diaspora Groups

Many of those in the Darfuri Diaspora community hope to provide better lives for family and friends still living in Darfur and Eastern Chad. Darfuri Diaspora groups provide support for the Darfuri population with an array of services from humanitarian aid to assistance with resettlement in the United States. Please visit the websites of these groups to support their vital work:

Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy
The Darfur People's Association of New York
Darfur Alert Coalition
Darfur Association of the United States
Darfur Peace and Development

Take Action

Throughout our campaign, we've worked closely with other organizations. Please visit the websites of the groups below to find out other ways take action for Darfur.

UUSC's Drumbeat for Darfur campaign calls for constant action to raise the decibel level of voices urging the Bush administration, Congress, and other institutions to make ending the genocide one of their highest priorities.

Harnessing the power of online video, 24 Hours for Darfur helps concerned citizens understand the situation in Darfur and transmit their concerns to political leaders.

WITNESS's The Hub, the world's first participatory media site for human rights, has been featuring our daily Darfur Olympics webcasts throughout the week. Today, you can watch our Closing Ceremony on their front page. Visit The Hub's media library to connect with other groups taking action on Darfur, and learn more about how videos can be used to create change.

Mia Farrow's Blog

Shame on Everybody (Aug 28, 2008)

We need to pressure UNAMID to get their act together and PROTECT. And shame on everybody for caving and accepting conditions that would produce a force that will never do anything. Where was UNAMID this week while Kalma camp was being attacked? Where are they NOW while aid workers are blocked from entering?? Why cant 9000 guys protect two camps? Eufor is doing great work in CAR and eastern Chad ... Read More

SOS: Unamid, where are you??? World, where are you??? (Aug 26, 2008)

Sudanese army surrounding camp. Yesterday Khartoum ordered an attack on Kalma camp. Dozens of residents were killed, and more than a hundred were wounded. Most are women and children. Kalma is home to 90,000 people displaced by government/janjaweed attacks upon their villages. Government forces are again massing outside the camp today. Residents fear a second assault. Although humanitarian aid ... Read More

(Aug 25, 2008)

Kalma IDP camp attacked The Sudanese army, using at least 60 armored vehicles, has invaded Kalma camp, which shelters some 90,000 displaced Darfuris. As of this morning, my sources on the ground report 30 displaced persons have been killed and (according to MSF)at least 65 wounded. Most are women and children. Homes are on fire and heavy shooting is ripping through ... Read More

Collateral Damage (Aug 24, 2008)

Bakit Oumar is seven years old. He lives with his grandmother and his 8 year old brother in Koubigou, a camp for displaced people near Goz Beida. Their village was destroyed by Janjaweed. They have no father. More recently their mother abandoned them. They have nothing. They have never seen a toy. In January, 2008 things got a whole lot worse. While the boys were playing near their home they ... Read More

Kaltum's story... (Aug 20, 2008)

It was 'food distribution day' at Oure Cassoni. As I sat waiting with the women, Kaltum was sitting next to me, began to tell me her story. She was unusually detailed in her account and clear about the dates and the events that changed her life. "In January, 2003 aircraft first flew over Karnoi. On Saturday they came -- not bombing, just circling low over our shopping market. But then, on June 3 ... Read More

Darfur Daily News

INTEVRIEW-Darfur peacekeepers face logistics nightmare (Aug 15, 2008)

KHARTOUM, Aug 15 (Reuters) - It will take weeks to deploy more peacekeepers to Darfur even once reinforcements arrive because of the difficulties of operating in the remote region of western Sudan, the force commander said on Friday. ... Read More

Conditions allow about 500 Sudan immigrants to stay, work in US with temporary legal status (Aug 14, 2008)

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Immigrants from Sudan granted temporary legal status can stay and continue to work in the U.S. if they reregister with the Department of Homeland Security, the federal government said Thursday. ... Read More

Lifting the veil (Aug 14, 2008)

A witness and victim of the conflict in Darfur finds a voice ... Read More

Sudan's Bashir to make first trip abroad since ICC move (Aug 14, 2008)

By Opheera McDoom KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir will travel to Turkey in August, his first trip abroad since the International Criminal Court moved to indict him for genocide in Darfur, a presidential source and state media said. ... Read More

Rebels say Sudanese government has launched new offensive in northern Darfur (Aug 13, 2008)

By Sarah El Deeb, The Associated Press KHARTOUM, Sudan - Rebel leaders say the Sudanese government has launched a new offensive deep into rebel-held desert areas in northern Darfur. ... Read More