Day of Conscience for Darfur, Crissy Field Rally, San Francisco, April 30, 2006 (3 of 3)

George Miller was schedule to appear but was home recuperating from a back injury. Cynthia Miller spoke of her trip with George Miller, Barbara Lee, Pelosi, and others to Sudan recently. She recounting hearing so many horror stories from women in the conflict region who had been raped, had their villages burned, had relatives murdered, and government helicopter gunships assisting in the genocide.

Barbara Lee spoke of her two trips to the Darfur region of Sudan and efforts being made to pressure the Sudanese government to end the genocide. In January 2005, she first visited Darfurian refugee camps with Don Cheadle and Paul Rusesabagina. Working with others she was able to get two major California retirement funds (CalSTRS and CalPERS) to divest from Sudan. The best place to hit Kartoum to effect change, she said, was in their pocketbook. Both Stanford and the UC system have recently divested. She is proud that the Congressional Black Caucus has pushed two states to divest all together, Illinois and New Jersey. Some of the next steps she named are getting more large companies to divest. "We will not remain silent while genocide takes place."

Charlie Clements spoke of the recent cutting of food rations to the people of Darfur from 2,000 to 1,000 calories per day because donor nations are not living up to their pledges.

Spoke about the shame of Muslims killing Muslims and what the Koran has to offer in the way of hope. She added that in the Koran the murder of one single person is tied morally to killing all of humanity.

He spoke of the Darfur genocide having been described as "Rwanda in slow motion" and said it is the job of people of conscience to take action to "slow it down even more."

He said he came carrying a message from a small Darfurian girl who pleaded with him to help her mother get back home. He promised he would carry her message to the world. People in Darfur want help and security.

The students marched in a large circle around the rest of the crowd while leading the crowd in chants of, "Genocide No More, Save Darfur," and "What Do We Want? NATO (Peacekeepers), When Do We Want It? Now!" The West Africa Highlife Band played a blend of Calypso that got the mostly young crowd of highschool and college students to their feet before the short march.

He urged participants to take the Darfur Pledge to call Congress and the White House every day until something more is done by the US to assists the victims of the conflict in Darfur.

Recounted how he had to stop counting the number of family and friends who have been murdered in Darfur in the last few years. He spoke of bodies being deliberately thrown into wells to poison and contaminate people's water supplies. He agonized that promises of help are not coming, the people of the region are losing hope waiting for so long. Can the people of the US and the world help now?

Susannah Sirkin called for immediate deployment of a UN protection force (rather than their expected 2007 arrival), divestment, and pressuring Bush in America and leaders in France and other Western nations to take action now.

Silvestro Akara Bakheit spoke of the massive rape of children and women, the murdering of men. Darfurians are the brothers and sisters of humanity and the time has come to get leaders moving to help.

Nikki Serapio spoke of the new government offensive of late with stepped up gunship attacks and the tactic of surrounding villages on the ground to prevent escapes from slaughter. He declared that in the end we will show Khartoun what the Darfur coalition is made of.