Political Quotes

“I rise to address the crisis in Darfur. I wish I could do more than speak out, but at the very least, I will continue to speak out. Today I want to specifically speak to an urgent humanitarian crisis. On January 17, 14 United Nations organizations, including UNICEF, the World Food Programme, and the High Commissioner for Refugees, issued a joint statement on Darfur. These statements are usually just ignored. They are somewhat repetitious by nature, usually dry as dust, and they languish unnoticed on a bookshelf. This statement is different. This statement is a plea. It is a plea for help, a desperate plea for help. This statement outlines the efforts of humanitarian agencies in Darfur over the last 2 years. It outlines the heroic efforts that have been made to save hundreds of thousands of lives from a brooding genocide. The statement reads: In the face of growing insecurity and danger to communities and workers, the [United Nations] and its humanitarian partners have effectively been holding the line for survival and protection of millions. That line cannot be held much longer. Humanitarian access to those in need has become highly limited. Attacks on both civilians and those trying to help increase by the day. There are an estimated 14,000 aid workers in Darfur, most of them Sudanese, who risk their lives every moment of every day to save innocent people. In recent months, these relief workers have been murdered, raped, and attacked repeatedly.”