TORCHES WILL LIGHT FOR DARFUR

Lexington Winchester Star, MA
Oct 3 2007

The Winchester Common will be filled with local youth and adults from
Winchester schools, churches and temples, who are gathering, torches
in hand, to show solidarity with the people of conflict-ridden Darfur,
at noon on Sunday, Oct 7.

Panther Alier, a "Lost Boy of Sudan," Katie Fallon and Karen
Hirschfeld, Winchester natives who have been active in advocacy for
Darfur, will speak.

The event is part of a national "Torch Relay" to highlight the
connections between China, host of the 2008 Olympics, and the
four-year-old genocide in Darfur, Sudan’s far western region.

Winchester activists will then bring their torch, a symbol of the
Olympic Games to a major rally at Boston’s Government Center at
3:30 p.m.

The people of Darfur have been chased from their homes, attacked,
raped and killed at the urging of their own government since 2004.

This mass violence has led to the displacement of nearly 3 million
people, and is currently one of the world’s worst humanitarian
disasters. Efforts to end this conflict have consistently been
blocked, largely by Sudan’s President, and often by China, Sudan’s
largest trading partner. As one of only 5 Permanent Members on the
United Nations Security Council, China has enormous international
influence. Yet, it has been unwilling to use this influence to
pressure Sudan to curb genocidal militias, adhere to ceasefires,
stop bombing civilian targets and remove barriers to humanitarian aid.

China is also the proud host of the 2008 Olympic Games. Because China’s
leaders are so interested in ensuring that the 2008 Summer Games
in Beijing are successful, they are very sensitive to international
activism. Therefore, the international spotlight on Beijing leading
up to next summer is an ideal opportunity to demand that China wield
its influence to make Sudan stop the violence against its own people
in Darfur.

China’s theme for the 2008 Olympic Games is "One World, One Dream".

They have designed an elaborate route for the Olympic Torch.

Activists have taken the symbol of the torch and created their own
"Torch Relay". This one, which has already started (at the border of
Chad – the country to the west of Darfur – home to many refugees),
will travel to the sites of all previous modern genocides – Rwanda,
Armenia, Bosnia, Poland, Germany and Cambodia, and call attention to
the ongoing genocide in Darfur.

A Torch Relay will also pass through the United Sates, educating
Americans about the China– Darfur connection. The US Torch Relay,
which was launched in September in NYC, will end in December,
first traveling to more than 20 states. For more information, visit

The event in Boston event on October 7th will include a torch-lighting
ceremony and rally featuring survivors of modern genocides and speakers
including Dr. Gloria White-Hammond.