Save Darfur: Mobilizing Public and Political Support Through Media Exposure

Introduction

Since February of 2003, 400,000 or more people have died in the Sudanese region of Darfur.[1] In addition, the crisis has produced over 3.7 million internally displaced people (IDP) and has sparked a refugee crisis in neighboring Chad.[2] Today there are over 584,000 Sudanese refugees in several neighboring countries.[3]

These people have been targeted by the government-back militia, the Janjaweed, and marked for ethnic cleansing. Only recently has the world recognized the situation as one constituting genocide. This realization has generated a response on the part of international organizations such as the United Nations (UN), states, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). One such NGO is the Save Darfur Coalition.The Save Darfur Coalition

The Save Darfur Coalition is a non-profit, non-governmental, umbrella organization, composed of over 130 million people and over 170 faith-based, advocacy, and humanitarian organizations.[4] The goal of the organization is to "raise public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and to mobilize a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of two million people in the Darfur region."[5] The coalition fulfills its mission by employing "media outreach, public education, targeted coalition building, and grassroots mobilization to pressure policymakers and other decision-makers in the United States and abroad to help the people of Darfur."[6]Campaigns