Fairwell Ms. Hearst

I am going to make this post very brief as regards the exaggerated “Malcolm Harris / Lydia Hearst" feud as it all seems too ridiculous for words…

Personally, no matter what you may hear or read in the press, I still believe Lydia to be a very sweet and charming young woman. In both of our defense, I honestly don’t believe Lydia nor I had any idea how much work and time it would eventually take in forming and maintaining an organization such as Designers For Darfur. I will also say this - - - we were very fortunate to have Lydia Hearst on board at the onset of Designers For Darfur and also in allowing us the use of her family’s great name, as it most certainly did open many doors. But in the end, it has always been up to DFD to perform once those doors had been opened.

It is absolutely amazing to watch how the media and bloggers love to create a fuss and/or feud out of real people’s lives. I am not a celebrity nor do I ever want to be, I am simply a person that is extremely passionate about both my chosen profession as well as the world in which we all live. No matter what people choose to write and/or say about me, nothing can ever stop me from doing either.

I truly do wish Lydia Hearst the best in her journey and thank her for the time that she has so willingly assisted Designers For Darfur.


YOU Can Help End the Genocide in DARFUR:

1. Attend meetings and events.

Join our email list for updated information.
For notices about upcoming events and ongoing campaigns in the NYC area sign up for our email updates by going to http://www.savedarfur.org/ and search by Zip Code or name to sign on to NYC Coalition for Darfur.

NYC COALITION meetings are the first Wednesday of every month
7:30pm Intro, 8:00pm General Meeting All are welcome.
Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew, 263 W.86 St.btwn.Bwy.&West End Ave.
For info: 212-714-4535 email: interfaitharts@gmail.com
(For Brooklyn meetings email Darfur Crisis Committee-Brooklyn For Peace at: TakingAStand7@gmail.com)


2. Every week, make a FIVE-MINUTE phone call for DARFUR
call 1-800-GENOCIDE (436-6243)

a) to receive “talking points” you can use in your conversations with public officials and

b) for direct connection to relevant officials involved in current legislative campaigns - http://www.1800genocide.com/

3. Contribute to Relief Organizations that provide food, water, shelter, medicine & health services to Darfuris
Doctors Without Borders USA http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

American Jewish World Service http://www.ajws.org/ 212-792-2900 and 800-889-7146

United Methodist Committee on Relief http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/ 1-800-554-8583

Save the Children, West Darfur program http://www.savethechildren.org/ 1-800-

SAVETHECHILDREN
(IRC)Women's Commission for Refugee Women & Children http://www.womenscommission.org/ 212-551-3111

World Food Programme website: http://www.wfp.org/ email: wfpinfo@wfp.org 212-963-8364


4. DIVEST investments in companies fueling the genocide in Darfur. http://www.sudandivestment.org/

Lobby your NY City Council Member to pass Resolution 0695-2007, demanding NYC officials to divest NYC govt. pension funds from investment in Sudan. Also, directly pressure NYC Comptroller William Thompson to divest NYC govt. pension funds now invested in Sudan. Call 212-669-3500 or 1-800-Genocide.

Investigate investments made by your own private pension funds; sell-off any of your own funds that now have investments in Sudan (investments that may be paying for the government-funded genocide).

5. Promote the CHINA CAMPAIGN (China is Sudan’s largest foreign investor and trade partner, largest provider of weapons, and chief diplomatic sponsor preventing UN deployment of protective forces.)

Write: Ambassador Wang Guangya, Permanent Mission to the UN of the People’s Republic of China,
350 East 35th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Tell China’s govt. to coerce Sudan President Omar al-Bashir to end the genocide in Darfur long before the Olympics begin in China on August 8, 2008.
Help implement the China Olympics’ campaign. http://www.dreamfordarfur.org/
Lobby your NY City Council Member to pass Resolution 0954-2007, which would pressure American sponsors of the Olympics to press China to coerce Sudan into ending genocide by 12/31/07.

6. Attend Monthly Vigils: first Tuesday of each month, Noon-2:00pm, to maintain pressure on the U.S. government by standing vigil to press for immediate UN troop deployment.
U.S. Mission to the United Nations 140 East 45th St. (between Lexington Ave.& 3rd Ave.)

ADDITIONAL ACTIONS YOU CAN TAKE TO HELP STOP THE GENOCIDE IN DARFUR:

Our officials need to take action – pressure them by personally typing or hand-writing letters – these letters have greater impact than faxes or e-mails. Write a letter to express your support for:

Immediate UN and NATO deployment of an international military force, United Nations peacekeepers, or combined African Union/UN peacekeepers, with a strong mandate to neutralize Janjaweed Arab militias now committing genocide in Darfur and implementation of all UN resolutions regarding Darfur; Continued funding of current African Union troops; Enforcement of the arms embargo against the Sudan govt. and/or imposition of pressure or sanctions on governments and corporations that provide or sell arms to Sudan; Encouraging Arab countries and China (Sudan’s largest financial backer) to exert pressure on the Sudan government to end the genocide against Darfuris; Implementation of provisions of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act, including denial of port entry to ships that have carried Sudanese oil; Asking the United Nations to restore the level of food provision to Darfuri refugee camps in Chad;Implementation/enforcement of stronger multilateral sanctions; Implementation of targeted sanctions against officials in the Sudanese government responsible for the ethnic cleansing campaign against Darfuri tribes, including freezing their financial assets; Passage by Congress, and signing by President Bush, of H.R.180 which supports each State’s right to divest pension funds from Sudan and denies US contracts to companies that do business with Sudan and provide little or no benefit to the people of Sudan; Investigation & prosecution of war crimes in Darfur, other regions of Sudan, and around Chad refugee camps.

Send Your Personal Letters about the issues above to:
President George W. Bush, The White House, Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC 20500.
Phone the White House: 202-456-1111 Fax: 202-456-2461 Email: comments@whitehouse.gov

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Main State Building, 2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20520 Phone U.S. State Department: 202-647-4000 Direct dial: 202-647-6575.

Your U.S. Senators (202-224-3121) and Representatives ( 202-225-3121)
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510

U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515

The United Nations Center for Human Rights and, separately,
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon

Secretary-General: 212-963-5012, Fax: 212-963-4879
United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY 10017

main UN phone: 212-963-1234
Zalmay Khalilzad, U.S. Ambassador & Permanent Representative to the UN, & the U.S. Delegation to UN U.S. Mission to the UN, 140 E. 45 Street, NY, NY 10017 usunpublicaffairs@state.gov

Contact local Darfur advocacy organizations:

Help Darfur People’s Association of NY collect clothing & school supplies for 2 ½ million refugees in the Darfur region. Collect Funds to store/ship/deliver supplies. Obtain Speakers for your events.

2211 Church Avenue - Rm. 301, Brooklyn, NY 11226, Phone: 718-282-0108 ext.282 or call Motasim Adam: 347-683-8017

Help research & prepare Darfuri victims for International Criminal Court;
Pursue water-resource projects in Darfur; Obtain speakers for your events.
Darfur Rehabilitation Project, Inc. http://www.darfurrehab.org/ 973-274-9424 Yahya Osman: yahyadrp@yahoo.com

For current in-depth Information and Advocacy Materials:
1) Genocide Intervention Network, http://www.genocideintervention.net/

2) Human Rights Watch, http://www.hrw.org/
3) http://www.sudanreeves.org/

4) STAND (student anti-genocide coalition) http://www.standnow.org/

5) http://www.enoughproject.org/