Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition

In August, a group of Pittsburgh citizens with a shared concern over the ongoing crisis in the Darfur region of Western Sudan came together to form the Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition.

Media reports at the time indicated that as many as 50,000 deaths had already resulted from the civil war, primarily from raids on civilian populations by the janjaweed militias. These raids and widely reported cases of rape and looting of villages, had forced upwards of 1.5 million people to flee their homes for makeshift camps in extreme Western Darfur or in neighboring Chad where they were subject to epidemic and starvation.

In late August, the Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition submitted a resolution on Darfur to Pittsburgh City Council, which called on the US government to do all within its power to bring a peaceful solution to the crisis.  Councilman Sala Udin was kind enough to sponsor the resolution, which passed city council unanimously on August 25. 

Councilwoman Twanda Carlisle, who told of having visited Sudan recently, asked to be added as a co-sponsor.  August 25 had been declared an “International Day of Conscience for Darfur.” News on the Pittsburgh City Council resolution and kindred activities going on around the country, was posted on www.savedarfur.org, the website of a national coordinating body with whom we are in contact.

A number of developments since August give grounds for hope that the humanitarian crisis may have eased; aid organizations have stepped up their deliveries of food and medicine, and some stabilization of the political and military situation may be in progress.  The involvement of the African Union, the European Union, the UN and the US government, which was an early advocate of aid to Darfur, now gives greater grounds for optimism. Still, the picture continues to be uncertain.  While the health situation in the camps has improved, the 1.5 million displaced need to be returned to their homes. For this to happen there must be a disarming of the Arab militias and the Darfur rebel groups and a political solution to the problems giving rise to the underlying civil war. Only continuing international pressure is likely to ensure a successful outcome.

The Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition will keep informed regarding the situation there, cooperate with other local efforts through national networks like Save Darfur and lobby for maximum action on the part of our government and international bodies like the UN.  Members of the Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition include Molly Rush, Sister Barbara Finch, Wanda Guthrie, Alberto Colombi and David Edwards. If you would like to participate in our effort and find about our next meeting, please contact David Rosenberg at (412) 371-9447 or jumphook@aol.com 

- David Rosenberg. With the other individuals mentioned, David Rosenberg launched the
Pittsburgh Darfur Emergency Coalition. David is a historian and archivist and is past President of the Tri-State Region, Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs.