I just heard this NPR program on the genocide in darfur. I highly recommend it. And today I got this important message from an old friend. Read on...

On Tuesday, Jan Egeland, the UN's most senior humanitarian official, had this to say about Darfur:

* "a man-made catastrophe of an unprecedented scale" looms within weeks unless the Security Council acts immediately to deal with the spiralling violence, looting and internal displacement.

*"we could see hundreds of thousands of deaths" if aid groups are cut off from the refugee camps.

*"In Darfur all of our nightmares have become realities," he said, telling reporters later the situation is worse than at any time since early 2004. The humanitarian lifeline for three million people is in jeopardy and “we are at a point where even hope may escape us.”

(Full article at http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=19647&Cr=Sudan&Cr1=Darfur)

We're talking thousands on thousands--if not millions--of men, women, and especially children who are about to be killed for no other reason than their race. Between 300,000 and 400,000 civilians have already died; they continue to die at an estimated rate of 1,000 people per day. It's no surprise then that Holocaust museums around the country have been ceasing all normal operations to lobby about Darfur full time.

Ok, Darfur may sound like it's very far away, and that there's nothing you can do, but that's not the case at all. If you take even ten minutes, yes, that's ten minutes, starting right now, you can help end the genocide. Here's some ways you can start:

1. Educate yourself about what's happening. The crisis has a lot of foreign names in it, but it's simpler than it first appears: the Sudanese government is using a militia group known as the Janjaweed to wipe out various ethnic groups in the Darfur region that revolted against the central government. You can learn more very quickly at http://www.savedarfur.org/situation/ or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darfur_conflict.

2. Send a prewritten e-mail to your elected representatives. You can find a number of them at http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/sudan/actions.do and also at http://capwiz.com/africaaction/home/.

3. Make a ten dollar donation to Doctors Without Borders, or one of the many other NGOs helping to lessen the crisis. You can find a list of good organizations at http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=2756&l=1.

4. Post a note on your blog. One of the main problems is that many Americans just don't know anything about the violence; even a brief note in a blog is a fast way to get it in front of a few dozen more people.

5. Write to your local or school newspaper to ask them why they're not covering this issue in their international headlines. You can find good talking points at any of the above sites.

6. Mention the crisis to friends, family, or colleagues. Every person who hears about the crisis is one more person who can help stop it.

7. Discuss the issue with your church group or community group. Many youth groups or other church organizations are on the lookout for good causes for fundraisers and educational opportunities. This is a great one.

8. Buy a Darfur bumper sticker or T-shirt. They're eye-catching advertising, can help start a conversation, and the profits go to support Darfur advocacy groups. Check them out at http://www.cafepress.com/darfur_crisis.

9. Join a Darfur e-mail list at http://www.africaaction.org/campaign_new/signup.php or http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/sudan/actions.do. It'll help keep you up to date even when the situation isn't in the American media.