MAIN Society Darfur

Photo credit: Lynsey Addario © 2007 AIW Documentary, LLC and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

The story of Darfur in the African nation of Sudan is one of the most horrific and heartbreaking episodes of modern genocide.

For nearly a decade, the people of the Darfur section of the Sudan have been massacred and driven from their homes as the government continues attempts to stop a rebellion.

Living in refugee camps, in many cases without the basic necessities for survival, the displaced Fur tribal members are dying from starvation, malnutrition and continuing attacks by the government forces.

For too many years, the situation went unnoticed by the world as horror stories multiplied. Slowly public awareness began to focus on the genocide and then... Don Cheadle went to Africa to make Hotel Rwanda. He learned first hand of the massacres and what the conflict was doing to the people of Darfur.

Cheadle explained to an interviewer from Germany, "We visited one camp near the city of Tine that had 40,000 people living in it and now there were 200. It's shocking to see the kind of devastation that occurred there and to know that it is still going on."

On his return, he made his mission to get information out about Darfur. He returned to the area with George Clooney and both have been active in using their celebrity to focus attention on this issue and getting others to help...

Their activities led to inspiration for a documentary to raise awareness and help end the conflict as well as the horror.

The press release for the documentary Darfur Now includes this advice:

If someone wants to help, what would you suggest they do?

Follow your instincts and own curiosity. Take stock of who you are and what you have to offer, learn what you can about the conflict and come to your own conclusions.

If you're a talker - talk to people about Darfur. If you're a money person, do something with money. If you think of yourself as a parent and care about kids, look into the ways kids have been affected and how you can help. Rallies can be fun, but not everyone's a rally person. Giving money is helpful, but not everyone has money to spare.

I've heard Don say over and over, "When people ask what can I do, I turn the question around and ask them, 'well, what can you do?'" ...

Start small and realistic and just take one step. That alone can make a huge difference.

What we can do is try to help spread the word...

For his work in Darfur, actor Don Cheadle received the BET Humanitarian Award.

More about Darfur around the Web:

Check out our top Web picks for more information on how this crisis came to be and what you can do to change the current status and provide desperately needed help to the refugees...

Darfur Now - "is a story of hope in the midst of one of humanity's darkest hours - a call to action for people everywhere to end the catastrophe unfolding in Darfur, Sudan. In this documentary, the struggles and achievements of six different individuals from inside Darfur and around the world bring to light the tragedy in Sudan and show how the actions of one person can make a difference to millions."

Rock For Darfur - Going to a concert may not seem a very good way to help out in Darfur, but the My Space musicians are rocking all over the world on November 10, 2007 with a portion of the ticket sales going to the Save Darfur Coalition and to help Oxfam's Humanitarian work in Darfur .

UNICEF Crisis in Darfur - Some 4 million people have been affected by ethnic and political conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan. UNICEF is working with its partners to provide desperately needed food, shelter and medicine for children and families living in overcrowded, makeshift refugee camps.

Save Darfur - Looking for ideas on what you can do or local groups getting together to organize relief fund raisers? Here's a good place to start...

Darfur A Genocide We Can Stop - Updates on the conflict as well as efforts to help the victims and bring those responsible to justice. Donations are requested for keeping up their efforts to make political and humanitarian changes...