Author: Laura Heaton

To mark his first 100 days in office, President Obama held a prime time news conference last night, which amounted to a State of the Union-esque reflection on his first three months. The president focused on many of the domestic and a few of the global issues on the minds of Americans right now. Clearly, President Obama has more than enough pressing concerns to fill up an hour-long public address and Q&A. But conspicuously absent from the news conference was any mention of Africa. Not even one. We can probably assume that the president was at least thinking about Africa’s ...

It’s been nearly two months since the Government of Sudan expelled 16 aid agencies that were providing life-saving assistance to the people of Darfur. The initial outcry of concern for the estimated 1 million people at-risk has largely faded from view, but this attention deficit should certainly not be interpreted as “no news is good news.” The reality could not be further from the truth. As Omer explained in his recent post, this “lull” in the humanitarian panic is largely circumstantial – the rainy season, and the disease it will bring, has not yet begun – and in no way ...

This morning, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hear testimony from Ambassador Johnnie Carson, President Obama's nominee for assistant secretary of State for African affairs. Follow Enough Said live on Twitter to get the play-by-play from the hearing, starting at 9:30 EST ...

The Canadian vegan handbag company Samsara, created by Matt & Nat, has included Enough in its One Dollar Donated campaign. Over the course of a year, Samsara has committed to donate one dollar for every bag sold. Now, Enough is contending with three other non-profit organizations to win a portion of the money Samsara raises. We've fallen into to third place, so we could really use your vote. Please send the link to your friends or post it on your Facebook wall and ask them to vote for Enough too. Matt & Nat make it very simple. Just click here, ...

Senator John Kerry (D-MA) reflected on his recent visit to Sudan in an op-ed in today's Boston Herald. He outlined a host of issues that need to be addressed to bring peace to Sudan, and he rightly emphasized the interconnectedness of the various components. Despite the complexity of the challenges, Senator Kerry struck an optimistic tone about the way forward, which is encouraging coming from the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: The visit reinforced my conviction that broad and direct engagement is the best way to promote peace in Darfur and throughout Sudan. We must start by recognizing ...

Five members of Congress and leading Darfur activists were arrested today in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C. The group gathered to protest the dire humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan, which was exacerbated by the government's recent expulsion of 13 international aid agencies. State-sanctioned violence in Darfur began in 2003, forcing an estimated 2.5 million people from their homes and into camps where they are dependent on aid. Now, the government's decision to prevent major aid agencies from providing food, water, and basic services to the people living in the camps means that starvation and disease loom. "We ...

Today at 10 a.m. members of Congress and leading Darfur activists will march to the Sudanese Embassy in Washington, D.C., to protest the ongoing genocide in Darfur and call for action by the United States and world leaders to ensure the safety of Darfuri citizens. Their civil disobedience is expected to result in their arrest. Participants include: Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD) Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) Jerry Fowler, Save Darfur Coalition John Prendergast, Enough Project Sam Bell, Genocide Intervention Network Follow us on Twitter from the event, and check ...

It makes for a dynamic evening when a conservative U.S. senator, a contingent of human rights activists, and two filmmakers from California get together to talk Uganda. At the U.S. Capitol yesterday evening, a diverse crowd drawn together by Invisible Children and Resolve Uganda gathered for a film screening and series of short presentations on the curse of the Lord’s Resistance Army, a brutal rebel force infamous for its recruiting techniques: an estimated 90 percent of its force is made up of child soldiers. Enough co-Founder John Prendergast provided the overview of Africa’s longest running conflict, focusing on recent U.S ...

“We gather today to mourn the loss of so many lives, and celebrate those who saved them; honor those who survived, and contemplate the obligations of the living.” So began President Obama’s poignant remarks at the Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Days of Remembrance ceremony yesterday in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol. Surrounded by Holocaust survivors and rescuers, members of Congress, and activists, the president highlighted the theme of this yearly event: What You Do Matters. "Today and every day we have an opportunity as well as an obligation to confront these scourges, to fight the impulse to turn the channel ...

On April 24, 1915, Ottoman authorities in Constantinople arrested hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, marking the beginning of Armenian genocide, in which 1.5 million people were killed. Today, survivors, their families, and supporters gathered at the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in Yerevan, Armenia, to take part in a silent mourning procession that marked the 94th anniversary of the genocide. A photo from this morning's commemoration shows mourners gathered at the museum's eternal fire, which was encircled with flowers offered by the survivors and supporters. The Armenian genocide is one of six genocide anniversaries recognized in April. This year, survivors from Cambodia, Darfur, ...