l i s a l a p e e r y . c o m

Sexual abuse allegations against children in Sudan will be investigated now that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called for a probe on January 26th.

While the "Lost Boys" of Sudan have garnered attention through writing their own books, magazine articles,  and being featured in documentaries and on Aaron Spelling's popular show "7th Heaven," the smaller group of "Lost Girls" of Sudan are hardly mentioned. As matter of fact, I can't find any articles about the girls written after 2005. It could be because of their numbers; the group of boys forced to become refugees is believed to be a little more than 26,500, while the girls number just above 13,000. This puts fewer women in each country to band together, and gives them a smaller voice. Reportedly, many of the women have a lot of fears as a result of their experiences. Read more about their stories here and here.

The Sudan Tribune reported on January 17th the number of war-related deaths in Darfur equals 250,000 for the past six months.  Six months ago they were reporting 250,000 deaths during the past two years.  This means the violence is more than doubling as time goes on. We have to act now to Save Darfur.  Anything we can do help will have an impact.

Journey to Darfur, produced by actor George Clooney, features footage shot by he and his father Nick, a politician, during a 2006 visit to the wartorn region. Interviews with victims of the Janjaweed militia and refugee camp footage are featured in the documentary. The film premiered January 15th on American Life tv.

The Arabs vs. the Africans, the North vs. the South. This is the short summary of the war in Sudan, as chronicled in the film God Grew Tired of Us. Narrated by Nicole Kidman, the movie chronicles the story of Lost Boys who were forced to flee their homes when Muslim militia ordered all non-Muslim boys killed or castrated.

Committed. Mia Farrow, actress and UNICEF ambassador, unveiled her moving image presentation Darfur/Darfur, at Brown University on Friday, January 26th. The exhibit, Darfur/Darfur, is a narrated collection of moving image photographs about the genocide in Sudan. Farrow took the  pictures on two harrowing trips through the war-ravaged region of Darfur in 2004 and 2006; the  aid workers she traveled with have all lost their lives. Farrow, who said she's been studying the situation for the past three years, six hours a day. She returned to Darfur on January 14th.

 AP Photo by NEDRA PICKLER - 2 weeks ago

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, left, talks to women living in the As Salaam camp in Sudan's Darfur region on Jan. 9, 2007. The women have been living together under a tarp for a month, while they wait to be assigned a plot of land in the camp. They said they came from Abu Sackeem, about 50 miles north, after janjaweed militias stole their livestock, looted and burned their homes, and killed several of their husbands.

New Mexico governor Bill Richardson paid a visit to Sudan in an attempt to convince the country's president to allow more peace keepers into his country and discuss other aspects of resolving the war. Richardson and President Omar Al-Bashir announced the renewed peace agreement on January 10, 2007. Sudan agrees to a 60-day cessation of hostilities, designed to allow time for joint African Union/United Nations discussions with rebel leaders to consolidate their demands so that they can participate productively in a peace summit. The latest agreement is to take effect no later than March 15, 2007. Rebel leaders have also said they buy into the agreement.

Al-Bashir has been keeping 20,000 UN peace keepers and police from 70 countries out of the western Darfur region. They would be protecting a population of 2.5 million, and enforce the resolution to end the war signed in May, 2006.  In the past four years, 200,000 deaths have occurred and 2.5 million are displaced in other countries and continents. Richardson said there are plans to press the rebels to participate in not only the peace resolution, but also adhere to a cease-fire. While rebel factions signed the agreement, they are not adhering to it. If Pres. Omar Al-Bashir does not opt for a cease-fire, his government may be ousted, according to Minni Minnawi, leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement. Minnawi was the only Darfur rebel leader to sign the peace agreement, and is currently serving as special advisor to Pres. Al-Bashir, pictured right.

Richardson, who recently threw his hat into the presidential race in 2008, is one of the few leaders who have a relationship with Al-Bashir. On two occasions the men have worked together toward the release of American prisoners.

Richardson recently paid a visit to North Korea as well. The trip to Sudan was organized by the Save Darfur Coalition.