Seeds Will Grow

15.9 mi / 25.6 km
June Total: 94.5 mi / 152.1 km

How can I talk about this? But how can I not talk about this?

These thoughts alternately swirl in my head.

I don’t want to think about the reality that at least 60,000 people were massacred in El Fasher, Sudan last October and November, despite the many warnings and appeals from local Sudanese groups and international organizations. In a heart rending testimony from the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab’s Nathaniel Raymond to the UK parliament last week, his main point was more could and should have been done to prevent this atrocity: “As the city became walled-in and UAVs hunted civilians from the sky, no meaningful response came from either the UK or US governments.”

It’s a reality so terrible – and the videos I saw from that time were so violent – that I don’t want to think of them or mention them or share them. I don’t want to magnify the depraved and evil actions in our world. I would prefer they did not exist.

If we stay silent, it still happens. If we ignore it, people still suffer and die.

El Fasher, which was likely “…the largest single incident mass killing event of the 21st Century to date was also arguably the most accurately predicted mass atrocity in human history… satellite data and computing power cannot by itself generate either political will or moral courage.”

So, if we speak? There are no guarantees ~ but, maybe one more person cares. Maybe one more person witnesses where dehumanization leads. Maybe one more person starts looking for ways to stand with Sudanese people at this terrible time. And, maybe if enough of us care, we create the political will that lends our governments moral courage to do the right thing.

Today, I share these screenshots from the Telegram channel @NewsFromSudan, an independent initiative founded in 2024 to document human rights abuses in Sudan. These screenshots warn that another massacre may be imminent, this time in the city of El Obeid, Sudan. The RSF militia, which is armed by the United Arab Emirates, is surrounding El Obeid and repeating many of the strategies used against El Fasher.

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Each day in June, I’m walking in solidarity with Sudanese refugees. My goal is to walk 3.1 mi / 5 km per day to raise $4,000 USD this month. $10 came in this weekend from a Korean friend. Thank you!

We still need to raise $2,667 in the next two days.

All donations will help Trauma Rescue Aid feed more than 700 Sudanese refugee families. Please rush your donation today for July’s food distribution:

PayPal: tinyurl.com/traid2024
Venmo @ TRAID2024
Korean Won: tinyurl.com/traid25
Pledge a Monthly Donation: gofundme.com/traid2024

Regardless if you can give, will you speak about and contact your government regarding the impending atrocities in El Obeid? The very least they can do is condemn the UAE for arming the RSF with weapon systems that are targeting civilians. Thank you!

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