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We blog for Darfur

November 20th, 2006Esra'a (Bahrain)

Indeed we do. Sankar and I are finally done setting up the website, after an all day’s work, and thanks to his graphic skills it’s looking quite amazing.

We did not want a straight-forward banner mostly because we needed something to attract more attention, something to get people to think and question. We wanted our banner to raise curiosity. Isn’t it great that the comments on Mideast Youth is what resulted in this entire campaign? It started with Jordan’s suggestion for a shirt, which we liked enough to use as our title. And then we had Drima bringing attention to a very depressing article, to which Yael replied with a suggestion for bloggers to do something about it, and then Sankar and I took it a step further and brought it to life. Networking at its finest. Let’s always keep this up.

Expect posts and more from Drima. He will be very active in this campaign. Yael from Good Neighbours will also help us run the campaign and spread the word to as many people as possible.

Maybe with our consistent efforts, our help will be within reach.

If you own a blog, consider putting the visible image on the right to your sidebar. If you think you’re committed enough to be a participant, we urge you to join us.

In the meantime, visit our website. It will be much more busier within the coming weeks, with a more specific ‘about’ page – this won’t be general. We aim to prove the fact that when the media fails to give attention to this, we fail to act. We are mostly disappointed with the Arab networks, who give little to no coverage of the situation. Not that any of us are big fans of the Arab media in general.

Shirts with the logo of this campaign, which we think is a powerful statement, are available on our e-store.

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22 Responses to “We blog for Darfur”

  1. #1 Edo River - November 20th, 2006 at 8:47 pm

    I have decided to get my students doing some research on this topic beginning this week. I have read the articles from　the New York Times and I kept thinking the US government would do something.
    It seems it is up to us to get more people talking about this topic. One thing I need are a single place to find alot of pictures. Do you know of a source?

  2. #2 Drima - November 20th, 2006 at 9:16 pm

    Edo River, I’m afraid there isn’t a single place to find many pictures but you can surely try flickr.com and search for Darfur.

  3. #3 Drima - November 20th, 2006 at 9:58 pm

    BTW Edo, I think I might just start gathering pictures to put up in one place so they can become easily accessed.

  4. #4 The Sudanese Thinker » A Campaign is in the Works - November 20th, 2006 at 10:42 pm

    [...] The previous article got me seriously disgusted and depressed. I felt so damn helpless but I don’t anymore. While discussing the Darfur situation on Mideast Youth, an important realization was made. If we were all truly aware of what’s going on, this will not happen, or it will at least not be as bad as we allow it to be. The problem is that most people are too occupied with other news. In the Western media not enough deserving attention is given to Darfur. Don’t even get me started on the Arab media though. It’s far worse. [...]

  5. #5 Yael - November 21st, 2006 at 2:22 am

    Beautiful website!!! You guys are amazing.

  6. #6 We blog for Darfur at Good Neighbours - November 21st, 2006 at 2:53 am

    [...] The folks over at Mideast Youth have done an amazing job creating a website for our first (of hopefully many!) joint project: We Blog for Darfur. Literally over-night from the time the idea was born they’ve created a website , banners such as the one you see in the sidebar here and that we hope people with blogs will put on their own sites, link to the website, and join the We Blog for Darfur campaign. They’ve even made up t-shirts that you can buy to wear and get the word out. [...]

  7. #7 Aliyah! Step-by-Step: Making a Life in Israel » Get your own, make a difference - November 21st, 2006 at 3:17 am

    [...] Good Neighbors and Mideast Youth have joined together to bring the world’s attention to the genocide that is going on in Darfur since the mainstream media is ignoring it. [...]

  8. #8 Yael - November 21st, 2006 at 5:02 am

    Hey guys I have a comment or maybe suggestion that, given that is coming from an Israeli will hopefully not be taken as criticism. Is the slogan on the big banner at the top noting that 400,000 Sudanese victims matters almost as much as 5,000 Palestinians (militants included) really the message to lead with as a rallying cry? I guess that the phrasing makes it seem sort of like a competition for suffering and whose is greater, and a sense of denigrating the feelings of grief and suffering that the families of those 5,000 palestinians (and even militants have families) feel.

    I understand that the point is that the media gives attention out of proportion to anything that occurs in the West Bank and in Gaza that is Israeli-perpetrated in comparison to everything else that happens in the world. As an Israeli I find it upsetting, infuriating and unfair especially when something occurs like the kidnapping and murder of a 17 years old Israeli settler kid on his way to school doesn’t even get a mention in the international media while on the same day the five palestinians who were injured but not killed made front page news on the BBC.

    So I do understand. But maybe there is a better way to get the point across that the media is unfairly not covering this without making it at the expense of the grief of the palestinians who have lost loved ones. And I guess I’m thinking about how our Ramzi over at GN must feel to see that.

  9. #9 Esra'a - November 21st, 2006 at 5:38 am

    Indeed there are a lot of concerns. We are working on something less sensitive. I’ll leave it up to Drima to decide.

  10. #10 Yael - November 21st, 2006 at 6:03 am

    Thanks Esra’a :) Yep Drima should get final word here.

  11. #11 Drima - November 21st, 2006 at 7:12 am

    I had the same concerns Yael… I hope Sankar will settle it soon. Damn is he one active helpful guy.

  12. #12 Esra'a - November 21st, 2006 at 9:59 am

    I don’t think he’ll have a problem with it. If I tell him what needs to be done in terms of design his reaction would be “yaaaar. oro.” That’s Sankar language for “yes.”

    Great guy to work with. :)

  13. #13 Esra'a - November 21st, 2006 at 11:48 am

    Update your banners, the suggestions have been forwarded to Sankar and it’s all been fixed.

  14. #14 Jina - November 21st, 2006 at 12:14 pm

    yarrr Esra’a… let me know if you guys need any more banners in different sizes. State the banner size and me make banner. Me very lazy to make bunch and put them anyways but me might when me not feeling lazy sometimes soon.

  15. #15 Mohamed Yahya - November 26th, 2006 at 5:56 pm

    Hey folks,

    You are really very inspiring.I was impressed by this excellent work.Please continue to keep it on.For those asking for more images,photos please visit the US Holocaust Musem page.www.ushm.org,or http://www.hrw.org,sudanreeves.org anetc..
    Please let me know if you need more help.

    God bless.
    Mohamed.

  16. #16 Howie - November 26th, 2006 at 6:17 pm

    Guys-

    Another idea on pictures. Mohamed Yahya and I met a photographer at UCLA that did some amazing photo work on Darfur. A young American guy. I cannot recall his name…but maybe Mohamed will remember. Incrediable and moving pictures. The guy did a presentation the same night Mohamed spoke there last year.

    Mohamed can be contacted at http://www.damanga.org

    God bless

    Howie

  17. #17 Esra'a - November 26th, 2006 at 6:27 pm

    Howie and Mohamed,

    Thanks a lot for your encouraging comments. I checked out your website and we’re definitely going to link to it. :D

  18. #18 Howie - November 26th, 2006 at 8:58 pm

    Esra’a-

    Wonderful and thanks

  19. #19 Mohamed Yahya - November 27th, 2006 at 10:22 am

    Dear Friends,

    Yes,Howie is right.He means our friend and former US Marine who has served with the African Union troops in Darfur for several months.Mr.Brian Steidel.No one ever had photos like he had.He took them by hemself directly and live from the scene.But what i know for the time being is that he is working on his new book about Darfur.And it was difficult to get access to his photos before his book was published,unless he authorised that.I came to understand this when he contacted me recently.

    So let’s to try a different source.

    Thanks…Mohamed.

  20. #20 Mohamed Yahya - November 27th, 2006 at 10:33 am

    Hi Howie,how a bout Adam Sterling at UCLA.Would you able to reach him to see if he got some of that photos..I don’t have his contact now.Otherwise i would go to http://www.ajws.org
    Good luck.Mhd

  21. #21 Howie - November 27th, 2006 at 10:47 am

    If anybody could get permission from him…those photos were very powerful.

  22. #22 Esra'a - November 27th, 2006 at 10:49 am

    I wonder when his book would be released.

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