May 22, 2009

	Amnesty's mission to Chad
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	publish and distribute our mission report to media worldwide meet decision-makers to inform them of the current situation campaign to stop the recruitment of child soldiers and protect women from further violence bring Sudan's president before the International Criminal Court for crimes against his own people
	Read the mission diary
	Heavy hearts and inspiration 'Feed their minds or they will go off to fight' Insecurity is never far away 'They are there on their own' 'I know that my future is not here' It is not yet safe to be a woman here
	Learn more about Darfur
	Amnesty International reports, press releases, and action on the crisis in Darfur and Sudan Click here
	Thank you for your kind words
	"Thank you Alex and Amnesty International for helping to make the world a better place one person, one moment at a time for these people." "We are thinking about you as you take this difficult journey. We wish for peace for the people of Chad. Thank you for going there on our behalf to give them courage and let them know they are not forgotten." Read more messages

Dear ,

Five years ago, groups of armed men on horseback stormed into the Darfur region of Sudan and slaughtered more than 200,000 people. These brutal attacks - backed by Sudan’s government - forced 2 milliion Africans to flee their villages, and hundreds of thousands to seek refuge across the border in neighbouring Chad.

Last week, I went to Chad as part of an Amnesty International research mission to investigate first-hand the fate of these former residents of Darfur. I regret to say that their situation remains dire. They urgently need our help.

This Amnesty International research mission confirmed what we have been hearing:

• Women are being raped, assaulted or killed when they leave the refugee camps to gather water, fuel, and food.
  
  
• Children are being abducted and forced into battle - everyone is doing this: the military, by armed opposition groups and by the armed groups fighting the Sudanese military in Darfur
  
  
• 250,000 from Darfur remain in refugee camps with little hope of going home

In a matter of weeks, Amnesty will be releasing a full report of our findings. We need your help to ensure that the world hears, understands and takes action to stop these grave, daily human rights violations

But our mission team left Chad not just feeling the heavy burden carried by the people of Chad and Darfur - we also left with the inpiration of this country's many courageous and ingenious human rights defenders well lodged in our hearts and minds.

You, as an Amnesty member, helped send us to this region to witness and document the human rights situation. You remain a beacon of hope for the many widows, for the next generation of leaders that need to emerge, for so many who need justice restored.

Will you help us carry on this vital work?

Thank you,



Alex Neve,
Secretary-General
Amnesty International Canadian Section

P.S. You can read the diary I kept over the course of the 2-week mission by clicking here. It was a challenging mission – because of what we saw and heard from those suffering from the effects of the war, and because of what we were unable to see as a result of the deteriorating security situation. You may know that a dozen international aid agencies were recently expelled from the region by Sudan’s government, making the situation all the more desperate.

Please help us bring safety and hope to the people of Darfur by making a financial contribution to Amnesty International now.


Words and images from mission: April 29 - May 13, 2009

"It is not yet safe to be a woman here.  It won’t be safe until there is justice and until violence against women is taken seriously"

"My wife and I simply do not go outside the camp.  Every step outside the camp would bring us closer to danger."

Isaak, the teacher at Bredjing refugee camp. He told me of the abduction of children as young as 9. I discuss in my mission diary entry on child soldiers.	Women and kids at Bredjing refugee camp, including women who have experienced sexual violence.	The remains of the burned-out village of Abu Suruj, bombed in 2008 by the Sudanese army. Attacks on a number of villages in the area displaced an estimated 30,000 people.	Amnesty Chad Researcher Christian Mukosa (far left), and Alex (right front) interviewing demobilized child soldier in N'Djamena

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