Tonight, Darfur took the national stage. In front of probably more than 50 million viewers, Gwen Ifill, asked the vice-presidential candidates what they would do about Darfur. And, most likely, this was in no small part due to your letters and e-mails asking her to do so. Watch the video below!
Ifill referenced Sen. Joe Biden supporting intervention in Bosnia and Kosovo. Sen. Biden, who has visited refugee camps in Chad, responded that he does "not have a stomach for genocide", that we should impose a no-fly zone and that "we can lead NATO if we take a hard stand." Gov. Sarah Palin responded that she also supported a no-fly zone and stressed that Alaska Sudan divestment legislation had been introduced and needs to be passed. Let’s dwell on that for a moment: Sudan divestment, a movement started by students such as yourselves, was endorsed by a vice-presidential nominee during primetime.
You wrote letters, you e-mailed, you made sure that Darfur was not ignored in a national policy debate. This is your victory.
As Nick Kristof said, let’s treasure the moment.
Now let’s get back to work.
-Maggie Tiernan, National Advocacy Coordinator.