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9/8/2004
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Unanimous Resolution Calls for Immediate International Intervention in Sudan
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HOUSTON, TX – The board of directors of Holocaust
Museum Houston has officially recognized that a state of emergency now
exists in the Darfur region of Sudan as its people face the horrors of
genocide. For the first time in the history of the organization, at its
recent meeting of its board of directors, the museum has unanimously
adopted a resolution to condemn the genocide and call upon individuals
and nations to intervene.
The sentiment of our board is clear,” proclaims Holocaust
Museum Houston Chairperson Eileen Weisman. “This is a chance for the
people and the nations of this world to stand up and show that we have
learned our lesson—that cruelty and atrocities toward our fellow man
will not be tolerated.”
It has been sixty years since the Holocaust, and horrors
against humanity continue. Survivors of the Holocaust know better than
anyone else on this earth the effect of senseless hate and terror being
imposed by one human being on another.
As reported by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, it is
estimated that between 50,000 and 100,000 men, women and children have
already died and millions more have been driven from their homes in
Sudan’s western region of Darfur. The United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) projects that as many as 350,000
civilians may die over the coming months as the result of direct
violence and conditions deliberately inflicted on targeted groups by
the Sudanese government and its “Janjaweed” militia allies. The victims
of these actions are largely members of the Fur, Zaghawa and Masaalit
ethnic groups, considered in Darfur to be “Africans.”
“The Holocaust was allowed to happen because the majority of
the world stood by and did nothing,” continues Weisman. “We cannot be
silent and allow intentional and abhorrent acts of murder and
destruction to be inflicted against a targeted group of men, women and
children in our world today.”
It has been further reported that the Khartoum-based
government is fueling ethnic and racial violence using the Arab
Janjaweed militias against the people of Darfur. These
government-sanctioned actions aim to pit ethnic groups against each
other; restrict international humanitarian access, which threatens mass
starvation; and encourage violence against civilian targets. These
results of these actions are devastating.
Refugees fleeing to neighboring Chad report government-allied
militias committing horrific acts of murder, rape and destruction in an
attempt to rid the region of black Africans.
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Committee on Conscience
Chairman, A. Berstein said, “We began warning about the threat of
genocide in Darfur at the beginning of this year. That threat is now
becoming reality.”
The United Nations adopted the UN Genocide Convention in 1948,
which defined genocide as the intentional physical destruction of a
national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. In agreeing to the
Genocide Convention, nations pledged to “undertake to prevent”
genocide.
“Apathy provides the rubber stamp of approval to these
murderers. If we’ve learned anything from the experience of the
Holocaust, we have learned that good people cannot stand by silently
while other human beings are being systematically destroyed,” asserts
Weisman.
Holocaust Museum Houston alerts the community to the
atrocities taking place in Darfur and calls upon individuals to condemn
these acts and urge the United Nations and world leaders to secure
safety for their fellow human beings.
Updated alerts and information can be found at the USHMM Committee on Conscience website at committeeonconscience.org or at savedarfur.org.
Holocaust Museum Houston promotes awareness and educates the
public of the dangers of prejudice, hatred and violence against the
backdrop of the Holocaust by fostering remembrance, understanding and
education. The museum is open to the public and located in Houston’s
Museum District at 5401 Caroline Street, Houston, TX 77004. Its
Internet address is http://www.hmh.org.
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| | For media inquiries,
please contact:
Ira D. Perry
Director, Marketing & Public Relations
Tel: (713) 942-8000, ext. 103
Mobile: (832) 277-5693
E-mail: news@hmh.org
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| | The Museum is open to the public seven days a week.
General admission is free.
Monday to Friday,
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday,
Noon to 5 p.m.
First Thursday of each month, 5 to 8 p.m.
| The Laurie and Milton Boniuk Resource Center and Library is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Library is closed Saturdays and Sundays.
The Museum is closed for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. For other holiday hours, visit the "Events" tab on the Museum’s Web site at www.hmh.org.
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