Aid Agencies to U.S. Advocacy Groups: You’re Hurting Darfur, Not Helping

Women displaced from their homes lined up one morning in February to getwater from a pump in the Hamadiya camp at Zalingei in West Darfur.

While the atrocities occuring in the Darfur region of Sudan require attention from the world community, advocacy groups in the United States that are often run by Zionists with hidden anti-Sudan agendas are actually harming humanitarian relief efforts on the ground in Darfur. Agencies such as InterAction and Action Against Hunger are actually making public statements about the harm that these U.S.-based advocacy groups are causing in Darfur.

While reading the article below, please take a moment to make du‘ā’ (pray) for the suffering people of Darfur, and to donate to one of the aid agencies listed below.

Here is an excerpt from a New York Times article:

...Save Darfur has gotten into hot water with aid groups helping the refugees of the conflict.

In February it began a high-profile advertising campaign that included full-page newspaper ads, television spots and billboards calling for more aggressive action in Darfur, including the imposition of a no-flight zone over the region.

Aid groups and even some activists say banning flights could do more harm than good, because it could stop aid flights. Many aid groups fly white airplanes and helicopters that may look similar to those used by the Sudanese government, putting their workers at risk in a no-flight zone.

Sam Worthington, the president and chief executive of InterAction, a coalition of aid groups, complained to Mr. Rubenstein by e-mail that Save Darfur’s advertising was confusing the public and damaging the relief effort.

“I am deeply concerned by the inability of Save Darfur to be informed by the realities on the ground and to understand the consequences of your proposed actions,” Mr. Worthington wrote.

He noted that contrary to assertions in its initial ads, Save Darfur did not represent any of the organizations working in Darfur, and he accused it of “misstating facts.” He said its endorsement of plans that included a no-flight zone and the use of multilateral forces “could easily result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of individuals.”

Another aid group, Action Against Hunger, said in a statement last week that a forced intervention by United Nations troops without the approval of the Sudanese government “could have disastrous consequences that risk triggering a further escalation of violence while jeopardizing the provision of vital humanitarian assistance to millions of people.”

Aid groups also complain that Save Darfur, whose budget last year was $15 million, does not spend that money on aid for the long-suffering citizens of the region.

Read more:

• The New York Times: Darfur Advocacy Group Undergoes a Shake-Up
• InterAction
• Action Against Hunger USA
• Action Against Hunger UK
• Islamic Relief USA: Darfur Crisis
• Islamic Relief UK: Darfur: an unremitting crisis