Darfur: the Untold Story Documentary Film Howard Event

SALAM SUDAN FOUNDATION (SSF)
DESTINATION DARFUR: THE UNTOLD STORY FILM,
Monday, June 22, 2009
Howard University, Washington, DC,

DR. HASHIM EL-TINAY, President

We in SSF-IPQI believe and have been emphasizing the fact that people everywhere yearn for justice and peace and want to feel that they can make a positive difference in their lives, the lives of their families, and in the world. That’s why we constantly advocate and use a language of hope and change for the better. Deep in our hearts we believe and are working for changing the prevailing culture of death to a culture of life. We know very well that understanding, reconciliation and enlightened co-existence are more difficult than settling accounts through the gun. That’s why SSF-IPQI’s mission is to facilitate common ground and win-win solutions between warring parties, through Thoughtful Dialogue.

We in SSF-IPQI agree with those who believe that we continue to need to avoid rhetoric and engage in honest conversations in this country, in Sudan and globally, about how to connect our increasingly diverse communities across differences of race, class, religion, politics and culture. We also need to nurture healthy, inclusive communities that offer hope, reconciliation and progress. As we said time and again, this task demands the best of everyone. We in SSF-IPQI strive to practice that by listening more with the heart. That is possible if we practice Thoughtful Contemplative Dialogue which invite us to listen mindfully to ourselves, to one another, to text, and to whatever else calls us.

We in SSF-IPQI also believe that one of the most reliable ways to guarantee sustainable peace is through supporting the democratic transition stipulated in the 2005 CPA. We have been consistent advocates for a change of American foreign policy towards Africa, The Arab, and the Muslim world for many years. We welcome the positive signs of the new Obama administration in this regard and wish the ongoing CPA conference in Washington success. We hope that the success of this conference will clear the way for the Obama administration to immediately lift economic sanctions, remove Sudan from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, and normalize relations with Sudan.

This in turn, we hope, can open the way for a political settlement and peace in Darfur. A bright future is possible for the people of Darfur, the people of Sudan, America, the region and globally if we all embrace a culture of peaceful dialogue rather than the prevailing culture of war. The presentation of this documentary that you are about to see, is part of our Bridges21 US-Sudanese people to people diplomacy 2009 initiative. Our intention is to update the public of the sad reality of the people in Darfur and not use their misery for ideological and political ends. Our Bridges21 is also part of a strategic initiative to enlighten American and world public opinion with regard to the media coverage of Sudan which we believe has been, in large part, tainted by a mindset of stereotypical and culture wars rather than by the truth. This documentary, we hope, will give us a taste of the truth, and with some luck, this truth will finally set us all free.