Support efforts to end genocide in Darfur

...or get it out of my system.

I’m in the very early stages of organizing a dinner benefit/fundraiser. It seems the Sudanese gov’t is doing an EXCELLENT job of pretending that “cease fires” mean that genocide is NOT still occuring, and I’m getting sad about this whole thing again.

Anyone ever organized a benefit dinner? Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

to the congregation of my church, requesting that we collectively figure out something to do.

that has been near and dear to my heart for a long time now. I’ve been watching closely for two years, now, and trying to learn what I could about it.

The more it escalates, the more it grows, the harder it becomes for me to understand. There are still some very basic questions with answers that are so complicated, or so oversimplified, or so contradictory that I’m having trouble making sense of it all.

I’ve found lots and lots of really distilled, simplified versions of the motives for the genocide, but there are some very basic questions to which I’m having trouble finding thorough answers.

If anyone has seen any really informative, detailed books, websites, etc. let me know, please. I’ve been disappointed with the info I’ve found thus far.

Specifically, I’m looking for detailed information on the exact role of the Sudanese government (besides just arming the Janjaweed). I think I understand pretty well the civil war and the SLA’s role in creating a crisis, but I don’t very well understand the ties between the military conflict and the civilian genocide, which appear to have different motivations…although, I’m gleaning that information from collections of really inadequate information. I’m unclear as to why the Darfur region is where the effort is concentrated against civilians. I’m looking for better answers about Chad’s response (over the last several months, refugees-and attacks against them-have been spilling over Chad’s border).

Who’s a good teacher? Anyone know?