I feel that I know nothing about the janjaweed - when and why they got started, why the government supports them and who they really are. From my reading I have learned that Sudan has been involved in some kind of civil war ever since the country was established in 1956. Is Darfur an area that the government wants "cleansed" of Africans for economic reasons (ie, do the Arabs want the land)? What must happen for the genocide to no longer be useful or valuable to those perpetuating it? Peace keeping efforts may help for a short time, but ultimately the incentives for the janjaweed's actions need to be removed. Regardless of the reasons for what is happening in Darfur and now Chad as well, we need to know how and why this situation developed so that we can see how similar it is to historical events such as the Holocaust. Most Americans don't know where these countries are and have no interest in finding out. Perhaps an in depth program devoted to the origins and evolution of the situation would help those of us not in the media to gain an understanding of why this is happening. Otherwise, people will watch the 3 minute segment on the news, cluck their tongues and declare how awfill it is, and then promptly forget about it. Unless we are shown that there are potentially harmful ramifications for us, the American populace - with the exception of a few - will do nothing.

I'm only 19 years old, but I know in my heart that helping these people of Sudan and the Congo is what I was put on this earth to do. I've been emersing myself in the news from central Africa for the past three or four years, and I'm determined to make my way over there sometime soon to start living my dream. I'm a licensed and certified EMT, but I can't find an organization that will take me in that capacity. If I can't find one, I'll just save some money and go there on my own. I hope there are more people my age that are wanting to help people in Africa the way I do--I think people misunderstand people my age because they think that we don't care about anything this massive (they probably think that all we care about is music, partying, and watching television), but that's just not me. I speak to everyone when I say that we need to join together and help the people of Africa any way we can. I'm going to do my part in the fight for peace and I hope you will do the same.

I see my own grandchildren who have too much of everything. Then I read about the goings-on in Darfur & Chad. My heart aches. What can I do, other than make my feelings known to my representatives in Washington? Does that really do any good? I, too, thank Ann Curry for bringing this news to the American public. But, does the American public care about anything beyond TomKat & the latest personality divorces? God, what is the matter with people?

They do not have oil or anything we want that is why the USA will not help.

I feel that our goverment has turned a blind eye to these people and that it takes so long for them to get the help that they so deserve. I would like to know how I can help if at all. They need military protection. Just like we have helped countless other countries. There was also an article about children sex slaves it so cold hearted and shameless to prey on the babies, women and children of this world. We should watch out for each other. Please let me know how we can help.

Great work that resonates very strongly with me; I salute Ann Cury's courage and obvious concern about the fate of the people whose suffering is unbearable. I hope to see both UNICEF and the UN to move very quickly and protect these populations. In the merantime, I also have been advocating with Senators and Congress to see them take action the sooner possible.
Once again, congratulations to Brian william, Ann Cury and the MSNBC team for taking on such a difficult cause.
Warm regards,

Why are the Sudanese "rebels" who are causing so much death and suffering to Darfi citizens permitted to go unchecked? Forget the UN. How about a mercenary force? Soldiers of fortune? Those defenseless souls in Darfur need help and protection. Stay safe, Ann Curry and crew, great work, genuineTV journalism. How refreshing after last week's election.

Introduction: I'm not interested in having any of my comments posted on your site, concerning this Darfur situation (others have stated the problem in an excellent manner- no need to reiterate what is already shared among those concerned).
I do however, want to thank your organization (and especially the team that is doing the story in Chad/Sudan- that endeavor is potentially dangerous), for bringing this tragic situation to the nation's attention.

Mr. Williams:

Kudos to you and Ms. Curry for covering the atrocities in East Africa in the sensitive manner that you have. My heart breaks for all oppressed people, but especially for the people of East Africa -- Sudan, Ethiopia and Chad -- with whom I lived for a year as a military intelligence specialist after being drafted in 1972. The Vietnam conflict was over, but a “silent war” was just beginning to spread in the Near and Middle east, fomented largely by the unfair and exploitive foreign policies of the United States, Italy, the UK and Russia for decades. What we have in the region now is localized corruption learned from the superpowers, who clearly will never intervene and stop the genocide they initiated. I’ve given up on any kind of rescue of this region by human, bureaucratic means. In my humble opinion, it should not be overlooked that East Africa is the true cradle of humanity (if not Eden) ...and ... that the volatile Great Rift Valley from Syria through sub-Sahara Africa portends changes of biblical, symbolic, literal and mythical proportions. I was befriended by some wise and very mysterious Ethiopian Orthodox/Coptic holy men during my tour ... and they always believed that one day deliverance would come in a most dramatic fashion to the people of East Africa, where “Hebrewism” is presumed by some to have originated. Also, it should not be overlooked that it is Axum, Ethiopia ... and not Jerusalem ... which is in possession of the storied Ark of the Covenant. Are the Ethiopian Highlands the true mountains of Zion? Could be. In the meantime, I choose to observe these heartbreaking circumstances in biblical and mythical proportions and pray for the miraculous deliverance so desperately needed by these people, who, paradoxically, and fittingly, may share the color of skin of the One whose birth we will celebrate in a month.

Thanks again for sterling, heartfelt coverage.

Randall Carter Gray
Signal Mountain, Tennessee
randallgray@mac.com
http://www.tanata.squarespace.com

It is a tragic situation indeed. It angers me so badly that the US government spends money in such disturbing ways and these poor people have to simply do without. If this part of the world had something that the USA would want (oil, diamonds, you get the idea) or a threat to ISRAEL we would be there with all guns locked and loaded. It is tragic that these folks have nothing to offer otherwise money would be spent there with no limit like it is being spent for an ungrateful nation like Iraq.

Very tragic. Very sad. My hat off to Anne Curry for having the courage to report what others (our so called 'leadership') prefer to ignore.

I am currently doing my internship to be a high school social studies teacher. I have donated to help the people of the Darfur region before and urged family and friends to do the same. This was months ago and some of the responses I got in return were, why should we help, we have problems right here in the United States. While this may be true, people in the United States have oppurtunity and for the most part we do not truly realize how hard life could be if we would have been born somewhere else.

Something does indeed need to be done. For those of you that say we would be doing something if there was a political gain, think about the following. Our troops are stretched thin as it is. What would we do? Start a draft? I am sure many of you that say we are not involved because of politics would also not support a draft.

There needs to be a GLOBAL effort to end the genocide. The United States can not fight every battle by itself.

While I do applaud NBC and Anne Curry, there needs to be a stronger effort in the US to inform everyday citizens. These issues need to be talked about in the classroom regardless of state standards and trying to cover material for the end of the year exam. Also, the local news needs to cover the situation in Darfur.

Brian,
I missed your broadcast tonight but my class at a local jr. college is studying this complex problem as a topic in Critical Thinking. We have split into groups representing the "players", researched motives, missions and behaviors and are attempting to arrive at a solution, a "third option" that will involve those who "can and must" in order to rectify the problem, which, at a very basic level is first and foremost getting the world to declare the genocide real. To that end we have come up with an idea: fund the refugees in Chad and neighboring states; cut off the janjaweed and Khartoum gov't and starve them with sanctions. The Chinese, willing to play the capitalist game, will then have to decide what image they want to portray in the world. Just as we have safe haven for abused women and children, just as we fund Foster Care, so too can we (the U.N., individuals etc) fund those who receive refugees and keep them safe. We can't get aid in, but we can get people out, sanction the rest and let the sharks eat each other.
Sincerely yours,
Kiki Day
Adjunct Prof., College of Lake County, Illinois

While the tragedy in this region is truly that, it is no different than the people of Iraq have endured for years under Saddam's regime (mass graves, raping of women, famine). My question is: which countries and people do we help and how do we make those choices?

As the president of the Amnesty International Chapter of Carrollton School in Miami, for the past three years our focus has been the Genocide in Sudan. The goal of our club is to raise awarenes about human rights issues, specifically, to raise awareness of the horrors occurring in Sudan. When I saw Ann Curry's first report on Monday, I was horrified. I thought to myself how can a person be raping women, burning houses, and killing people just because of their ethnicity? Ann Curry's report brought me to tears, yet I found some hope amidst the tragedy and suffering of the Sudanese people. This hope stems from the dream that people who see this report take the initiative to find out more about the situation. For people to take the initiative to stop the killing, to stop the abuse, and to stop the suffering.

Even though I am a senior at Carrollton, just a young adult, I know that I can empower my peers and my community to act. I know this because many in my high school and community have written letters to congress and have donated money to different organizations such as Save Darfur, and an organization which buys stoves for women in refugee camps so that they don't have to leave the camps and be in danger of getting raped or killed. So if young Sacred Heart girls can take the initiative to stop the killing, then why can't lawmakers and others in the world stop the killing. This issue is not about being Republican or Democrat, it's not about being Catholic, Islamic, or Jewish, this issue is about taking action to stop the killing and horrific acts that are unfathomable, yet real.

If Sudan was a threat to Israel, the Bush administration would have invaded them already.

I have been following the situation in the Sudan for many months. It is certainly a tragedy in the pure sense of the word. NBC news has been doing a great job through nightly reports, but the problem(s) don't seem to be diminishing. If I could get on a plane and go there and do something to stop the horror, I would. It is about time the rest of the world decides to send troops there and stop. once and for all, the GENOCIDE and rape of the Sudan Africans. Talking is over. WE MUST TAKE ACTION. It is so frustrating that nothing that is being done helps. For once, let the US take a lead and go into the Sudan and stop this once and for all. It is the right thing to do.

I am deeply touched by Ann Curry's reports from Darfur, especially by the fact that these poor raped women and girls feel there is no future nor hope for them to be loved and accepted in a marriage relationship because they have been "damaged." As a believer in Jesus Christ, how I long to embrace these dear ones and tell them there IS One who loves them deeply and that there IS hope.... I am grateful for the portion of your website that lists agencies which are involved in Chad. That provides a valuable starting place for putting my concern into action.

The UN is a political organization. The UN Security Council is motivated by action that promotes the interests of the member countries. What interest is promoted by taking action AGAINST the Govt of Sudan? We know the US gets valuable intelligence information from the Sudanese Govt. We know China gets oil. Until the world sees a benefit to rescue humanity from extermination as the RIGHT thing to do, genocides will happen as the world looks on.
The Govt of Sudan does not want to lose control over the people. One way is to make Darfur an example: kill the population. That is the punishment for striving for freedom from totalitarianism.
The bottom line: totalitarian govts can manage diversity by exterminating an ethnic group.
But where is the humanity of democratic govts? If the US is powerless in pressuring the Sudanese Govt, then what is the definition of a Superpower?

Please read 'Darfur Diaries: Stories of Survival' available on amazon. Maybe we should send a copy to each member of Congress, the Senate, and the White House staff. And if they don't have the attention span to read the book, they can watch the 57-min documentary film: 'Darfur Diaries: Message from Home', also available on amazon.

Why is nothing being done to help the people in Darfur and Chad? I can not believe that we (USA-government) are just sitting around watching this happen. Does anyone watch what Ann Curry is reporting? What is being done to these people goes beyond what Hitler did in WWII. Wake up world, these people need our help, where in the hell is the United Nations? I thought they would be taking a front seat on this issue, but I guess they don't care. After all we wouldn't want to make anyone in Sudan mad at us. Like, who cares what Sudan thinks. And the children, how in the world can we continue to let these children be treated like garbage that is just thrown to the side. I pray that NBC will continue to bring this situation to our living rooms each night, maybe someone that has the power to get help will.