A very good piece by Randy Newcomb on the Sudan movement in Foreign Policy. (In the spirit of full disclosure, Randy is president of Humanity United, which is a donor to Enough.) Randy honestly discusses some of the challenges and divisions regarding Sudan activism, while rightly noting that we face a series of crucial events in the next year and a half:
“Exercising the political will necessary to craft a road map for lasting peace in Sudan will not come easily, nor will success. And that is precisely why the Darfur movement is needed now more than ever. Will it help apply immediate and meaningful pressure to those in power, at home and abroad, and ensure meaningful action to bring peace to the people of Sudan at this critical juncture? Ultimately, history may judge the Darfur movement not on the last five years, but on the next 18 months. With deadlines in Sudan looming — and both the north and south rearming themselves for civil war — it seems likely that the epitaph of the Darfur movement is far from written.”
His points are well taken. The activist movement on Sudan has changed in lots of ways since it began – some good and some bad. Now we will see what we have collectively learned and if we can be effective at a time when the stakes are very high.