"I'm a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin',
I'll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest...
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten...
And I'll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it,
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it,
Then I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin',
But I'll know my song well before I start singin'...
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall."
Bob Dylan, A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
Hard Rain Journal 9-17-06: Global Day for Darfur
By Richard Power
Today is the Global Day for Darfur.
Hundreds of thousands of people have already died in Darfur. Over two million people have already been displaced. Over three million people are dependent on humanitarian aid.
In two weeks, on September 30, if the UN Security Council and the great nations do not act, mass killing on the scale of the Rwandan genocide could occur.
It important to know: Do not turn away, even if you feel helpless. Do not allow yourself or those you know to concoct some rationalization about why such holocausts occur. To simply know, i.e., to bear witness, is to change the world, even though you may never detect the change or understand how you have contributed to it
It is important to pray: It doesn't matter if you call it prayer or meditation. Just turn your consciousness and your heart to Darfur. You can call upon the Force by whatever name you know it, or simply take a gentle in-drawn breath and radiate the great compassion.
It is important to act: You can act directly or indirectly. You can do it publicly, or anonymously. You can do it with your voice or your money or your toil. Just do something. There is power in action however seemingly insignificant.
Save Darfur's Take Action - Educate Others section has a downloadable Powerpoint presentation, complete with a script, so that you can deliver talks to your organizations and in your communities.
The Genocide Intervention Network has a list of "Ten Things You Can Do Right Now."
Here is a summary of the posts I have written about Darfur; the posts include excerpts and links to some important news and op-ed pieces.
DARFUF-RELATED POSTS:
GS(3) Thunderbolt 9-14-06: Darfur Update -- Two Weeks from Rwanda II?
Hard Rain Journal 9-8-06: Sudanese Bomb Civilians & Mass Troops, But US Media Highlights Release of Salopek
GS3 Thunderbolt 8-30-06: Urgent Action is Needed on Darfur, US's Security Council Proposal is a "Sham"
Hard Rain Journal 8-24-06: Updates on Darfur & Katrina, Failures of the Human Spirit
Hard Rain Journal 8-3-06: Darfur is A Mirror Held Up to the Souls of the Great Nations, & What It Reveals is Hideous
Words of Power #25: Lost Symbols, Part II -- The Rainbow Serpent Hisses, Lessons about Sustainability & Survival from Darfur, Senegal and Ecuador
Words of Power #12: The Fallen Tree (Spiritual Challenges of the 21st Century Global Security Crisis, Part II)
Richard Power is the founder of GS(3) Intelligence and http://www.wordsofpower.net. His work focuses on the inter-related issues of security, sustainability and spirit, and how to overcome the challenges of terrorism, cyber crime, global warming, health emergencies, natural disasters, etc. You can reach him via e-mail: richardpower@wordsofpower.net. For more information, go to www.wordsofpower.net
Darfur, Sudan, Genocide, Human Rights, United Nations, Human Rights Watch,
