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First, let me express my sincere thanks to Pastor Tim and others who helped make this event happen. I am very impressed with your communities' engagement on the conflict in Darfur, and very much appreciate the opportunity to be with you here today to talk about what more you can do to help end the conflict in Darfur.

Thirteen years ago this month, 90 days of horrific violence and bloodshed consumed the small, land-locked country of Rwanda in East Africa. The international community stood on the sidelines while nearly 1 million innocent civilians were killed.

The extent of the horror and tragedy that unfolded in Rwanda was not a surprise. Repeated pleas from Canadian General Romeo Dellaire, former commander of the U.N. mission in Rwanda, for additional U.N. peacekeeping troops fell on deaf ears of the world’s top political leadership.

For those of you that have seen the movie “Hotel Rwanda,” recall the dramatic scene of the Western military personnel entering the country to evacuate their citizens who were living and working in Rwanda. Some 2,000 personnel from several countries, including France, United Kingdom, United States and Italy, had come to evacuate their expatriates and, as General Dallaire put it, "Though they were stumbling on corpses, they remained firm in totally ignoring the catastrophe."

Once the reality of what happened in Rwanda sank in – rivers overflowing with dead bodies, women and children being hacked to death with machetes -- the international community renewed the pledge that "never again" would such a paralysis of political will prevent the global community from protecting innocent civilians victim to mass atrocities – even in Africa.

And yet today, what the U.S. Administration and Congress have declared to be genocide continues in Darfur, Sudan. Four years after two rebel groups attacked government outposts in Darfur, innocent civilians continue to die, either at the hands of government-backed militia, opposing rebel forces, or malnutrition and disease.

Recently, the U.S. State Department confirmed that at least 1,500 villages have been destroyed, leaving more than 2.5 million Darfurians displaced, with an additional 2 million dependent exclusively on humanitarian aid for survival.

Despite significant international outcry and the signing of various cease-fires and peace agreements, the government of Sudan has consistently demonstrated a commitment to propagating continued violence and suffering in Darfur. Furthermore, what began as an uprising by two distinct rebel groups in Darfur has splintered into at least 14 factions with disparate objectives.

Additionally, both the government of Sudan and rebel groups have proved disruptive to humanitarian relief operations in Darfur. Since July of 2006, there have been an alarming number of attacks targeting aid workers, with restrictions on visas and travel permits for U.N. staff, journalists and other aid workers becoming more frequent.

As violence in Darfur continues to escalate and spill over into neighboring countries like Chad and the Central African Republic, it is clear that increased pressure – from the United Nations, multilateral government coalitions and global citizen activists – is necessary in order to persuade the Sudanese government and rebel factions to end the terrifying violence in Darfur.

In reflecting on the Rwanadan tragedy, the late Illinois Senator Paul Simon said, "If every member of the House and Senate had received 100 letters from people back home saying we have to do something about Rwanda, when the crisis was first developing, then I think the response would have been different." This is why your voice is so important. As American citizens we have the privilege of living in a democracy where we are able to communicate with our government officials. Your advocacy on Darfur HAS made a difference.

As the old cliché goes: all politics are local. Your phone calls, letters, faxes and meetings with your senators and representatives are tallied, recorded and taken into consideration by your elected officials as they vote on legislation and consider priorities of their service to you – their constituents.

I know that many of you have already communicated to Congress and the White House about how important Darfur is to you, and many of you have attended similar events to this one, rallies, and other protests to express your moral outrage at the continued violence in Darfur. So I’m sure many of you are feeling frustrated, exhausted, and left wondering -- really, what’s the point? What can I do that will actually make a difference?

First, let me say again that what you have done, are doing, and I hope will continue to do to raise awareness about the situation in Darfur with your peers and government officials IS making a difference. Because of your constant advocacy, both to the White House and to Congress, the U.S. government has been forced to make Darfur a priority.

The hard reality is that there are no easy answers, no quick fixes, no silver bullet that will resolve the conflict in Darfur. The history of Sudan and the motivations behind the current conflict in Darfur are complex. But this is no excuse for silence. Let me remind you that for 21 years Sudan was engaged in a civil war between north and south which left 2 million people dead, the entire Southern region decimated, and hundreds of thousands of refugees. It wasn’t until primarily people of faith in the United States became engaged in advocating on the issue that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in January 2005, in large part brokered by the United States.

Still, the international community has a good idea of what needs to happen to stop the violence in Darfur, and I’ll briefly outline what I see as the three most important next steps toward peace, all of which the U.S. government must be engaged in:

First, the international community must find a way toward a political resolution through increased diplomatic pressure. Death and destruction in Darfur will not end without a sustainable political agreement that is negotiated between warring parties. Unification, to the extent possible, of the various rebel forces in Darfur is probably the most important first step.

Second, the international community must find a way to effectively protect innocent civilians in Darfur. The Khartoum government must accept and cooperate in the implementation of the hybrid A.U. / U.N. force. There is already a U.N. mission in South Sudan – the Bashir government has no excuse to keep resisting more peacekeepers in Darfur.

Third, we must continue funding humanitarian aid. We need to both advocate the U.S. government for appropriate levels of funding for Darfur and continue to give generously ourselves to humanitarian organizations providing direct relief to Darfurians. But, clearly, to achieve the aims described above, more government resources will be required for diplomatic activities, support for the hybrid force, and for humanitarian aid.

By way of concluding my remarks, I would like tell you about Abdullah. I met Abdullah about seven months ago in the Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya. Kakuma is home to more than 100,000 refugees – 80 percent from Southern Sudan – and the other 20 percent is made up of persons from Somalia, Ethiopia, the Congo, Rwanda, Burundi and more -- which tells you something about the stability of the entire region.

The day I met Abdullah, the sun was blazing hot in the dry, desert-like environment. I met Abdullah near the barracks that was the intake center for new arrivals. Men, women and children lay sprawled out on their mats under the roof of the open-walled tin structures. I was shocked to learn that these new arrivals were from Darfur – they were all resting and saving their energy, as they were fasting for the holy month of Ramadan according their Muslim tradition.

Abdullah was also from Darfur and served as the Darfur community chairman in Kakuma. He fled Darfur in 2003 when fighting initially broke out. Abdullah lost a brother and a sister in the initial fighting – his parents fled to Eastern Chad while he and another sibling fled to Darfur.

Somewhat in awe, I asked Abdullah how he got to Kakuma. He said, “Well, we started walking.” I said, really, how long? He sort of shrugged and said, “Days, until we found aid workers who helped us get transport the rest of the way.”

My colleagues and I continued to talk to Abdullah. We asked him what he hoped for. He said peace. “Peace in all of Sudan” he said, “especially in Darfur.” We also asked him what he wanted us to share with other Americans. He said “to continue advocating for peace – to put more pressure on the government of Sudan to make peace in Darfur.”

As I left Abdullah and the other several hundred Darfuri refugees in Kakuma, it struck me – these people are not really asking for much – are they? To hope for peace and ask others to advocate for peace.

You know, last week President Bush gave a speech at the Holocaust Museum. It’s quite a good speech actually. At one point he said, “The words, 'never again' do not refer to the past – they refer to the future.” Dare I amend the President's quote to include the present. The words 'never again' refer to the present and the future.

So, my hope is that we will all leave here today committed to joining Abdullah in hoping, praying and advocating for peace. Your efforts are not wasted, and I look forward to your questions.

Learn more about ELCA advocacy efforts for Darfur