by Jesse Sherer
On Sunday, May 22, The Sisterhood of Congregation B'nai Israel in Freeport, along with the cooperation of other religious and local organizations, will be presenting: "An Evening of Education and Action For Darfur" at 7 p.m. at the temple. The event will include a panel discussion and petition and letter signings to help educate and bring awareness to this humanitarian crisis.
"We decided to do this because of what happened to the Jews during World War II when the world did nothing and then said 'never again,'" said June Cadel, a member of the congregation's Sisterhood. "The only way that 'never again" will occur is if people take action."
The panel will include Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-4th District); American Jewish World Service President Ruth Messinger; Abdulbaji Adussamb, president of the Darfur Rehabilitation Project and a native of Darfur; Rabbi Anchelle Perl of the Chabad of Mineola and a well-known speaker on the lessons of the Holocaust; and Dr. Wong of Doctor's Without Borders.
Rabbi Perl will speak of the similarities between Darfur and the Holocaust -- mainly that the world knows what is happening but turns their eyes from it.
"There is no comparison to the Holocaust but there is still a connection," said Rabbi Perl. "We have seen this before, and this is what happens when we lose compassion and the ability to live together despite our differences."
Darfur, which means land of the Fur, is located in the Western part of Sudan and covers an area equivalent to the size of Texas.
The area has been the scene of clashes between farming communities such as the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa, and nomadic groups, which has led to countless deaths and the destruction and looting of homes. The government blamed the clashes on competition over scarce resources.
In February 2003, the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA), a new opposition group, took up arms against the government because of a perceived governmental lack of protection for their people and the under development of that region.
The rebel groups have been critical of the government saying they have been oppressing the blacks in favor of the Arabs.
According to Amnesty International, the support for SLA came mostly from the agricultural groups in the area. The SLA also spawned a faction named the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
The Sudanese government responded by giving free reign to Arab militias. These groups known as Janjawid (guns on horseback) began a retaliation effort of attacking villages, killing, raping and abducting people, destroying homes and other property, including water sources and looting livestock.
The government-backed Arab militias have been accused of war crimes against the region's black African population. The United Nations has called it one of the worst humanitarian crises but has not yet termed it a genocide.
According to estimates by the BBC more than 2 million people have been forced to leave the area and more than 180,000 have been killed as a result.
"We in the U.S. have a full plate but we should not be ignoring things going on in the world," said Congresswoman McCarthy. "We want to put sanctions on the Sudanese government unless it stops. We want to make sure we have legislation, which will supplement humanitarian aid for these people. These actions are overdue and it important that people understand that this is going on in the world."
"We are hoping that people come away with a sense of urgency and word of mouth to force action," said Cadel of the evening.
Congregation B'nai Israel is located at 91 N. Bayview Avenue in Freeport. For directions please call 516-623-4200. The event is free of charge.
